When Wanstead resident Paul Hollins started digitising his family’s video tapes just over a year ago, he didn’t realise it would turn into a business with a mission to help local residents protect fragile memories
If there’s one thing many of us have learned over the last few years, it’s that the small, everyday moments often become the most precious. A wobbly camcorder clip of Christmas morning. A family holiday filmed on VHS. A wedding video tucked away in a drawer. These recordings aren’t just old tapes. They’re living snapshots of who we were, and they’re worth protecting so they can be enjoyed by future generations.
The challenge is that the media we relied on in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s wasn’t built to last this long. Magnetic tapes slowly degrade over time. The binder that holds the magnetic layer can break down, tapes can stretch or stick, and if they’ve been stored in lofts, garages or damp cupboards, mould can become a real issue. Many people are surprised to learn the expected lifespan of tape was often quoted as around 10 years in ideal conditions. Now, we’re regularly dealing with tapes that are 30 to 40 years old. In some cases, a tape might play once and then fail, which is why acting sooner rather than later matters.
DVDs can also be vulnerable. Disc rot is a gradual deterioration of the disc’s layers, sometimes due to manufacturing issues, but also accelerated by heat, humidity or tiny cracks. It can show up as freezing, pixelation, missing sections or a disc that won’t read at all. If a DVD holds the only copy of an important family event, that’s a risk most of us would rather not take.
There’s another practical reality, too. Working machines are getting harder to find, and the era of widespread servicing and repair has largely faded. Even if you still have a player, it may not be running at its best. Many households simply don’t have the equipment anymore.
That combination of emotional value and technical fragility is exactly why I set up Tape Transfer Pro here in the local area. It began when my brother and I discovered some tapes belonging to our late mother. We were close to throwing them away, but curiosity won. Hearing her voice again was a proper stop-you-in-your-tracks moment. I started digitising my own family archive, then neighbours and friends in Wanstead, South Woodford and nearby areas asked if I could help with theirs.
The goal is simple: remove the stress from the process. People shouldn’t have to post irreplaceable tapes across the country and hope for the best, or hand them to a high street counter without knowing who will handle them or when they’ll be returned. Keeping transfers local, handled carefully and personally, makes a real difference. Because in the end, this isn’t really about formats. It’s about protecting memories now, so your kids and grandkids can press play later and feel like they were right there with you.
For more information on digitising old video tapes, visit tapetransferpro.com
