ABSTRACT

In archival terms, videotape is a machine-readable record-that is, a magnetic medium that requires a machine to translate it into recognizable images. Unlike film, a photographic medium that requires only light and magnification to “read,” videotape requires playback equipment. Hold a piece of film up to the light, and you will see an image; hold a piece of videotape up to the light, and all you will see is brown plastic.