A great deal of video formats have been introduced since the medium was first developed for television in the USA in 1956.  As an artist working today, the formats that you are most likely to use are VHS and a limited variety of digital videos.  Older video art work and moving image archives may use a far wider variety.  Some of these older formats face particular problems as the manufactures cease to produce and service the older equipment.

The internationally touring, Gerry Schum, Ready to Shoot, exhibition, shown in the Norwich Gallery in early 2005, includes work originally made on 1/2 inch reel-to-reel video, from 1971 (in this case transferred).  Despite the large amount of material that exists on this format, the decline of reel-to-reel video players creates very real practical problems for those wishing to view this kind of early video work.  With formats proliferating so widely and technology developing so quickly, there may, in time, be similar problems with popular formats being used today.

Analogue
VHS, a video format sometimes used for video art in the 1980s and still frequently used for viewing copies, is an analogue system.  Analogue videos are cheap, but, because of the way they carry their information or signal, are prone to instability.  The term 'analogue' refers to the continuous electric signal carried by magnetic particles 'glued' on the tape.  This means the state or arrangement of the magnetic particles determines the picture produced by the video.  This state can be altered by the circumstances of the video's storage but also just by playing it.  This change can affect the picture and may lead to deterioration. 

While VHS was not designed to give high-resolution pictures or long-term life, other professional analogue formats such as Beta SP, and even the older high-band U-matic format, can still give a very good quality picture.  Hi-8 is a recent popular analogue camcorder format.

Digital
Digital video records and encodes moving images into a series of ones and zeros.  This means that the information recorded is stable but if any deterioration should occur, it can also be monitored very easily.  It also means copying between like-for-like digital formats becomes a process of exact duplication.

A common mistake, though, is to assume that anything digital is automatically excellent quality.  If the source material is poor, copying it onto a digital format will not improve it, though it may make it more stable.   The recording quality capabilities of digital video cameras can also vary. 

Digital information may come down to numbers, but the tape and cassette that hold the signal are still physical objects subject to the normal stresses and strains.  They still need to be treated with care.

Digital Camera Tapes
If you're working with digital video, it's likely that you'll, almost exclusively, be using either mini DV (digital video) or DVCAM.  Both formats look the same but DVCAM will only play in good quality Sony players and is considerably more robust.  A telling difference is that mini DV is aimed at the home consumer while DVCAM is for the more professional user, and noticeably more expensive.

To cut down on size and weight some digital formats, mini DV particularly, use compression to record and reduce information.  Compression effectively replicates certain unchanging parts in the picture rather than storing what seems like the same information, over and over.  While this is what makes it possible for the tape to be quite so small, it also makes the signal easier to break-up and, despite the fact that information is replicated, it still means some original information has been lost.

Mini DV compresses more than DVCAM and it plays slower to get even more information on the tape.  This means the information is more physically compressed too, and thus, again, less stable.  DVCAM is more robust and made to last longer.

DVCAM is made by Sony while the similar small digital video tape, DVCPRO, is made by Panasonic.  DVCPRO runs at a faster speed than DVCAM and as such, arguably, gives a better and more stable signal.  It is, however, far less popular than DVCAM meaning that users of DVCPRO face the problem of discontinued equipment, potentially, much sooner than Sony users.  DVCPRO tapes will have problems playing in Sony equipment.

The link below leads to a useful website with trouble shooting information and advice for digital video cameras and formats.  It s easy to scan through and has highlighted sections that address different individual problems, such as format interface difficulties and other problems with playback.

www.adamwilt.com/Tidbits.html

Formats for archiving
If you're working with digital video and have the access, you might want to think about copying or 'migrating' your work onto Digital Betacam, other wise known as Digibeta.  Digibeta compresses only a neglible amount, far less than DVCAM, and is physically more stable and strong.  The policy of archiving with Digibeta has been adopted by many of the larger galleries with video art collections; these include the Tate in the UK and the Foundation of the Conservation of Modern Art in the Netherlands.  Unfortunately both Digibeta players and tapes are very expensive.  Many moving image archives use the analogue format, Beta SP.  This has a high recording quality and has been given a degree of maintenance promise from Sony, but its length of life is hard to ascertain.

If you do not have access to a Digibeta set-up, which is nearly more than likely, don’t worry. Intriguingly, although its use is advised, many major television companies and corporations frequently do not archive onto Digibeta and instead use DVCAM.  As an aside, it is thought that if the popular industries continue to favour formats other than Digibeta, Sony may even stop producing it.

In the absence of Digibeta, try to use DVCAM over mini DV - the difference is substantial.  Both of these formats are small, however, and thus potentially vulnerable to physical damage: it would be a good idea to make a second copy to place in a different location.

If you're looking to copy analogue tape work, for preservation purposes, onto either Digibeta or DVCAM, this becomes a process of digitisation.  The digitisation section of this site provides some information.  Also, if you're looking to create an archive master, you should think about what the process of mastering should entail.

Whichever format you use, you will probably have to migrate your work to a new tape, or even format, after several years.  It is suggested that work be transferred to a new tape roughly every seven years.  If you keep track of your work and monitor how it's behaving, it should be obvious when to do this.  As it is, developments in the medium may lead to migrating, before you strictly need to.

In the future
Information and advise about video is always developing.  DVCAM was introduced in 1996; does this mean that it's already quite old and may soon be succeeded?  Will Digibeta be phased out?  Will the HD or high definition and Blu-ray technologies, currently in development, bring larger changes?  This is the reality of working with video - change, development and a degree of unreliability.  We can only work with the information that we have to hand now, but we need to include in our thoughts, the potential for change in the future.  The decisions you make about your work should include thoughts about change and how this could affect the work and whether it can be taken onboard.