# Best Case and Worst Case Scenarios for Tape & Box Preservation 

In an ideal world, every tape and its respective box would be in pristine condition. However, we acknowledge the realities of physical media and have defined our best and worst case scenarios accordingly.

#### Types of VHS tapes:
The VHS format has several variations, which offer different levels of quality:

- Best: D-VHS - This format is the most advanced, offering the ability to record and playback digital video. D-VHS supports high-definition recording up to 1080i.
- Better: S-VHS - Super VHS was an improved version of the standard VHS, offering better video quality, typically 420 lines of resolution compared to VHS's 240 lines.
- "Worst": Traditional VHS - This is the original and most common format, which offers the lowest video quality in comparison to the others, typically around 240 lines of resolution.

### Best Case (in this example "Limbo")
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- The tape has **original** or as close as possible to original box art to the date it was released. This enables us to accurately represent the content and maintain the historic aesthetic of the tape.
- The tape and box show **very little wear and tear**. They have been well-kept and stored properly, which enhances the quality of our digitization.
- We receive a **high-quality 300dpi+ scan** of the box art, which allows us to faithfully reproduce the tape's original appearance in our digital archive.

### Worst Case (in this example "Like Water for Chocolate")
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- The tape is received in a **torn or worn box**. This not only affects the aesthetic value but also can imply improper storage that might have compromised the quality of the tape itself.
- A **DVR'd tape**, i.e., a tape recorded from a Digital Video Recorder (DVR). This is a non-original box, leading to challenges in representing the content accurately either because the DVR itself was low quality or because of a rare missing banner image.

### Note
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Despite the challenges we might encounter, we will always do our best to maintain a complete archive of every tape that is submitted. However, when it comes to the watchable catalog, "Worst case" scans may be removed from the streaming site if there is a better option available for the scan or if there is an official banner from The Movie Database (TMDB) or The TV Database (TVDB) available.

Also, it is fine and expected for your tape to fall in between a best and worst case scenario, we are trying to expand this archive to as many people as possible, but having a loose rating system also allows us to decide how things should be represented on the archive.

Finally, special exceptions are made in the case of a considerable value being placed on the cover or the tape itself, in some cases getting a good scan can require physically ripping or cutting the box which could devalue it sentimentally or monetarily. So, please provide context if your tape applies.