Info Wanted: To open or not to open... a mint VHS 1995 THX Widescreen OT box set?

Hi everyone,

I have a dilemma…I recently got my hands on an unopened box set of the 1995 THX Widescreen edition and i’m wondering should I just keep it forever sealed, or open it once to digitize it and then set it aside for safe-keeping?

Only until recently did I learn of the amazingness that is the Harmy Despecialized edition, and so is it even worth digitizing this VHS and messing up the mint nature of it? That said, even if I preserve it perfectly, signal loss will continue over the years rendering it useless from a practical standpoint…

what do you all think?

-ks1

I think whats on there is better preserved on laserdisc. I’d keep what you have sealed.

I had this same thought with sealed copies of ESB and ROTJ on Laserdisc. I ended up taking both out of the plastic; ROTJ to watch and ESB to frame on the wall.

As others have said, it will already be better preserved by other means or others preserving the same tapes. So I would keep it sealed to keep it’s collectable value in tact. Also if the tape is already damaged due to no regular use then you would ruin it’s collectable value for nothing.

Val

Thank you all for the responses…I’m settled now on keeping it sealed. I have a 4:3 vhs version that I’ve already digitized, and with the Harmy editions out there it’s not worth messing with the mint value of this tape; may the remanence be with you!

-k