Generation loss with video files?

[497902]

Lets say I copy a video file again, again and again, will the quality get worse?

Just copying with Finder.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

No, unless the copy process gets interrupted and you get a corrupted file. But since a file on your computer is digital and consisting of 1s and 0s, copying a file will not somehow lose a zero here and a one there. If that would be the case, the file would be unplayable, unlike with analog copying, where the degrading is inherent to the material the video was copied from and to and the read and write head of the VCR. VHS tapes also get worn out if you repeatedly play them. Just like a book gets worn out by repeatedly using it. A PDF does not get worn out.