VideoPreservation Website

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Formats ID Homepage | Formats from 1956-70 | Formats from 1970-85 | Formats from 1985-95
Library Home | The Video Guide
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Video Format Identification Guide

This site is produced for archivists, librarians, curators and conservators who want to identify the videotapes in their collections. Since video recording became a viable technology in 1956, there have been over 50 different formats created. Most of these formats are represented in this chronology.

Clicking the date ranges at the left will load thumbnail images of the prominent videotape formats and a short essay on the formats for the particular time period. As obsolescence of video media and hardware is of prime concern, this chronology labels each format with one of the following designations:

Extinct
Critically endangered
Endangered
Threatened
Vulnerable
Lower risk

Click here for more information on these designations.

 

   
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