Leo Enticknap notes:
 
 
> As you point out, pirated domestic videos look awful due to this replicative
>  fading.  No doubt this
> is part of the reason why domestic digital videotape has not materialised, as
 it
>  might result in
> people being able to make perfect pirate copies.
 
This is an important issue in film studies, but it's one that the
public is largely unaware of in regard to their own photos and videos.
While their family photos, when properly stored (and not on an
emphemeral color process), can last a long time, many will be shocked
when they go to review those moments that they've stored through their
camcorders.  And copying generations of videotapes is a temporary
solution at best for those very reasons.  My students are shocked,
though, when I point this out in class and warn them to back up or
review their home tapes from time to time.
 
Don Larsson
----------------------
Donald Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)
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Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite