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Info Wanted: Coloring question regarding VHS preservation...

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I’m really curious…but how much color loss would you imagine comes from a VHS tape from 1989/1990 if any? Every tape I own of the footage is the same…but a new version of the same music video is up on MTV/Veoh’s site that has a lot more color saturation than anything I own. If there are no stills from 1989, how am I to know if this newer version is correct? Should I expect color loss on a promotional VHS version of the video? Any opinions would be appreciated.

Here’s a screenshot

comparison.

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sunday256 said:

I'm really curious...but how much color loss would you imagine comes from a VHS tape from 1989/1990 if any? Every tape I own of the footage is the same....but a new version of the same music video is up on MTV/Veoh's site that has a lot more color saturation than anything I own. If there are no stills from 1989, how am I to know if this newer version is correct? Should I expect color loss on a promotional VHS version of the video? Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

Here's a screenshot

 

comparison.

Colors in a video on VHS tape don't "fade". It's magnetic tape, not film.

 

Besides look at your examples...which looks better to you? Your VHS example has better clarity and a natural looking color....IMO

 

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I'd say that MTV was just following the recent trend of making things all dark and blurred. 

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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The clarity issue is due to the fact that the VHS version is a capture I did to MPEG. The capture from MTV you see is from their flash video so obviously the definition quality isn't up to par.

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I don't think images can "fade" on a VHS so much as just not work anymore.  If anything, the image quality is strictly due to the source quality as well as the limits of the VHS tape itself - things like chroma and analog noise.  Maybe it looks faded due to the transfer process when the tape was first made.

I guess that is the good thing about computers now... you can take the VHS and enhance the colors so as to have the saturation you like while retaining the detail that you want (short of the same video being put out in higher definition).

         

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Monroville said:

I guess that is the good thing about computers now... you can take the VHS and enhance the colors so as to have the saturation you like while retaining the detail that you want (short of the same video being put out in higher definition).

Indeed - and the key phrase here is 'the saturation you like', since without further reference sources (or the opportunity to consult the director / DoP) you can't really pin down which look was actually intended.

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I do have a contact that was on hand for the on set photo shoot. And I've sent her a message to see if she has any knowledge. I might be able to get a hold of the director, but that could be a long shot. It's odd to see it this color after so many years. It just makes little sense why there's such a huge difference unless the process to VHS ripped out the coloring.

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Most of my VHS tapes have aged pretty well (20+ years) but there was one occasion when I ordered a tape from eBay of a 1975 TV movie called "Eric" (one of Mark Hamill's early films). 

The image on the tape was almost totally gone- it looked like everything was in a blinding snowstorm. The color was totally washed out and the images were so 'faded' that only the very darkest areas were visible. I have no idea what could have caused this- the sound on the tape was fine, so I doubt that it had anything to do with being too close to a magnetic source. 

I returned the tape to the seller and was eventually able to find another copy, which was in good shape.