A demonstration of VHS generation loss

Video signals decay rapidly when copied repeatedly on domestic VHS video recorders. This video demonstrates the results, showing the degredation of the signal up to 11 generations. William Basinski did this with audio signals in an ambient epic called "The Disintegration Loops", however; the music in this video is written by me (using similar analogue mag-tape techniques to Basinski).

You can download the full music from http://www.zenpho.co.uk (DX10 tapeloops)

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• VHS
• generation
• loss
• decay
• video
• disintegration
• loops
• basinski
• zenpho

[444damn]

how did you make the audio on this?

[zenpho]

@444damn

Thanks for asking about this. More details about the setup I used are up at zenpho.co.uk/toshiba.shtml

The full soundtrack is also up at zenpho.co.uk/retail.shtml#dx10

Hope this helps,

[ZOMGUsetheforce]

VHS tapes get grayer as it gets older. Just like humans!

[zenpho]

@ZOMGUsetheforce Hehe. I guess you're right. ;o)

[blindmansarrow]

simply beautiful! you did a fantastic job with the visuals. you should upload it without the writing at all, though, please, just let it b e the video some time?

[zenpho]

@blindmansarrow I found the original master tapes the other day, and I made a whole albums worth of music to go with this....

Your comment made me think about producing an extended DVD version soon, one with more footage to go with the rest of the music I made (plus the original video without captions, as you requested). I'll let you know when it's done.

[mstblue]

This sure gets creepy after the 6th generation.

[crowdzor]

I think this would have been a better video if just had the original audio

[DarkAndMartyr]

I like the choon, but i wish you had copied the audio 11 times to see how that decayed also.

[Azartusfar]

Don't worry, Autism effects many kids your age.

[galaxywarper92]

This is why I'm eventually converting all of my VHS tapes to DVD; especially ones that documented road trips, family and friend get togethers, and home movies. DVD's aren't perfect either, but VHS tend to be more fragile to the elements and manhandling. Not to mention as this video shows, however depressing and creepy it maybe, you can only copy and preserve VHS's for so long.

[SebiStudios2]

Still better than digital.

[FIX97]

Very nice video, you could make a horror movie using old VHS, it's really creepy after generation 5 :P

[dieselboy87]

hey zenpho are you aware that this video has since become the topic of an urban legend, supposedly bringing misfortune and even insanity to people who watch it for too long? just thought you'd like to know. :P

[jeffjana]

End of 2:43 is a skeleton in bottom left!

[whalewhalewhale]

so i get there's the commonality with basinski with how it degrades, but I reckon it probably shares more with 'i am sitting in a room' by alvin lucier just kind of the way the composite elements become more and more simplified or generalised? I suppose the disintegration loops is a sort of graduation from lucier... Great video anyway.

[extremehockeyfan]

if you kept making more generations, the tape would eventually have nothing on it and it would just be pure static :) thanks for making this!!