On the television screen, a woman named Adriana stands in ... Sexy Girls, Sexy Guns” on a VHS tape, which Mitsu Okubo has gingerly loaded into California’s hardest-working VCR.

If you have a classic and the tape is in the right condition, you've got a treasure in your hands. VHS owners should know that tapes degrade 10% to 20% throughout 10 to 25 years and footage can be ...