Video is an affordable medium that is easy to use but, like film, is subject to deterioration. Unfortunately, because video formats have changed and developed it also makes it hard to be sure about how videos will age and behave in the future. It follows then that long-term use of the format requires some thought. The video section of this site gives information about the following:

- Formats and Preservation, the differences between analogue and digital, and information and thoughts about choosing a format to archive on. A case study from Gaby Wijers discusses Project Preservation Video Art in the Netherlands and some of the facets of video preservation.

- Mastering and the technical procedures suggested for doing so. Jackie Hatfield discusses the project; 'REWIND: Artists Video in the 70s and 80s' and in doing so draws out the logistics of re-mastering and re-evaluation.

- Damage and Maintenance and how video can deteriorate and where possible, how this can be reduced.

- Storage; how to treat cassettes and what environmental factors provide stability for video. There are also some thoughts about labelling.

- Restoration, identifying the matters of priority and information about the different procedures.

- Digitizing with information about the process, including technical advice but also some sober notes of reflection.

- Resources with details of video houses and links for information.

Steve Seid from the Pacific Film Archive provides a shrewd but apt list of pointers for beginning to think about video preservation. While these shouldn't induce panic, they do bear consideration.

The Terrible Tenets of Video Preservation by Steve Seid, Video Curator, Pacific Film Archive

1) Video is not a durable good. And was never intended to be.

2) Format obsolescence is the only certainty.

3) If a new storage medium is attractive because it is convenient, do more research.

4) Never allow the linkage between the original materials and the preservation medium to fade: the difference between the two, no matter how minute, should inform all usage.

5) Consider the ephemera, documentation, and recollection surrounding an archived work to be part of it.

6) More resolution than needed is better than almost enough.

7) Understand that in the near future data storage will not be a limitation.
a) Also understand that compression means "gone forever."

8) For every dollar spent in preservation, put aside 25 cents for the next migration.

9) Understanding the context of a work is as important as understanding the physical materials.

10) Always assume that someday you'll return to the original elements.
a) Saving original elements means saving their playback equipment.

11) Assume that the original was better.

12) Never confuse intention with possibility.
a) Don't assume anything "for" the artist.
b) Both artist and archivist begin with "ar" but there they part ways.

13) Create a list of works to save, then start at the bottom.

14) The individual components of videotape are dumb, but collectively they are smarter then we are.

15) Remember that rust never sleeps, but archivists do.

16) Save what you can. Don't despair the rest.