Hi-Fi sound plops and converts to mono

[Quasipal]

I would appreciate your input as to what you feel is 'acceptable' for converted videos. Not that I am charging for the service, but I like to think that I am getting it right for important recordings.

So, on to my question.

When there is damage to a tape - even momentary - the Hi-Fi sound is disturbed. It may be a buzz, a bout of clicks or momentary mono switching (and the muting that goes with that). Now, when you are doing conversion, do you disregard the Hi-Fi track if there are dropouts or do you accept small disturbances? I have been using mono, however for some reason on some commercial tapes the sound is very muffled when using this track - even with tweaking. Shame really as a good mono soundtrack can be lovely. It seems to me that the distortions on the stereo soundtrack can spoil a recording - even small glitches. Then again it may be that I am too sensitive.

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

[Soopafresh]

I think you need to accept the limitations of the media, especially if it isn't in the best condition. As tape gets old, dirty and worn there will be visual and audio glitches. There are a few things you can do to clean things up, but as the old saying goes "you can't polish a turd". You're going to notice the glitches much more than others.

Youtube has some of the worst looking and sounding video but if the content is fascinating or rare then quality is quickly overlooked.