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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have

Unfortunately I'm not surprised at all. Hell even HOME MOVIES can be taken down due to the copyright nazis. Say for example if I made a movie using my own camera of one of my pet rats eating cheese and decide to turn the radio on in the background for "dinner music" and go on to upload the clip on You Tube or do the live thing on Facebook..odds are pretty good that the clip will not be available for very long.

they copyright nazis argue that if you don't enforce copyrights, you lose the right to them
 
but why do they bother if they aren't going to monetize their old libraries?

Because one never knows when an opportunity to monetize might spring up. Example: "Jeopardy!" ends. Maybe the demos get too old and the TV stations start to bail, looking for something more millennials will watch. Maybe Trebek retires or dies and the production company just decides to call it a day rather than find a replacement. The "why" is unimportant. What you'd have is a lot of instant nostalgia for the show, and an instant market for those classic episodes. Enter the rightsholder with a pay-per-view streaming service or even a series of DVDs. If the complete history of "Jeopardy!" had been sitting on YouTube for years, available to all for nada, there's a significantly smaller pool of buyers for the nostalgia capitalization plan. So the rightsholder sits on the shows, protects them zealously and waits to pounce as soon as the show's corpse is cold.
 
if a company goes outta business, does their IP fall into the public domain, like this old Monkey Wards loss prevention training video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNtFuR-4eqk

The "new" Montgomery Wards would own the rights to that video even if today they don't have any actual stores. Once the folks bought the name Montgomery Wards to relaunch they took over more/less everything that was associated with that company. Its like with radio airchecks. I have a tape of Don & Mike taken from WAVA in 1987. At the time the station was owned by Doubleday. If I would post it online today WAVA's current owners Salem Media would have the right to get the aircheck removed if they so desire since when Salem took over WAVA they got the rights to everything associated with WAVA including logos, airchecks and so forth from the past and present.
 
if a company goes outta business, does their IP fall into the public domain,

Keep in mind that owning a domain name is not a substitute for having a trademark on the company name. However, owning the trademark on a company name gives you legal standing when challenging the holder of the domain name.

If a famous domain name isn't renewed, and it's not covered under the terms of the company's dissolution, and the registrar is unable to contact the existing owner, it's possible that the domain name will become a premium domain, subject to a $10,000 registration fee.
 
Well, I didn't make it to either of those community yard sales I mentioned this past weekend, but I did pick up more tapes at an indoor flea market on Sunday, one I've been to before many times. Really good finds in terms of commercials and local news footage, some from more distant markets.

TAPE 1: The Munsters episode taped from TV Land in January 2003 with commercials; two episodes of Have Gun Will Travel, two episodes of Marshal Dillon (Gunsmoke), episode of The High Chaparral, two episodes of The Rifleman, one full and one partial episode of Rawhide taped from Hallmark Channel in January 2003 with commercials

TAPE 2: Port Charles and General Hospital episodes taped from WEWS in Cleveland on November 20 and 21, 1997 with commercials; partially taped-over recording of Look Who's Talking (1989) copied from rental tape; partial episode of Thirtysomething taped from WEWS on 1/10/1989 with commercials; partial Big Ten Television Network football broadcast of Indiana Hoosiers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini taped from WEWS on 11/5/1988 with commercials, part of the halftime show and part of the third quarter were all that were found before the tape ran out

TAPE 3: Behind the Music episode on Celine Dion and Celine Dion: All the Way: A Decade of Song taped from VH1 on 1/16/2000 minus most commercials; clip from the 57th Golden Globe Awards with Barbra Streisand accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award taped from WBBH in Fort Myers on 1/23/2000; Indecent Proposal (1993) taped from USA in January 2000 with a few commercials; Overboard (1987) taped from TBS Superstation (Dinner and a Movie) in February 2000 minus most commercials; partial broadcast of Street Signs taped from CNBC on 1/1/2000 with commercials

TAPE 4: Several episodes of The Flip Wilson Show taped from TV Land in July 2004, some episodes have commercials, others do not

TAPE 5: Episodes of Sewing with Nancy and America Sews with Sue Hausmann taped from WNEO/WEAO in Akron in October 2002 with promo blocks between programs; two episodes of The Carol Duvall Show and partial episode of The Insider's Garden taped from HGTV on 10/26/2002 with commercials; episodes of From Martha's Garden, From Martha's Home, Smart Solutions, TIPical Mary Ellen, The Carol Duvall Show, Simply Quilts and Decorating with Style taped from HGTV on 10/28/2002 with commercials

TAPE 6: First two episodes of Nearly Departed (short-lived NBC sitcom) taped from WKYC in Cleveland on April 10 and 17, 1989 minus most commercials; Iron Eagle (1986) taped from WOIO in Cleveland in November 1990 with commercials; ABC Sunday Night Movie presentation of Commando (1985), TV5 Eyewitness News at 11 with Jim McElroy and partial broadcast of Sports Sunday with Bob Stevens taped from WEWS on 12/2/1990 with commercials

TAPE 7: Part one of Windmills of the Gods (CBS miniseries) taped from WJW in Cleveland on 2/7/1988 with commercials

TAPE 8: The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (1983) and partial episode of Perry Mason taped from TBS on 3/6/1993 with commercials; tape then cuts to the opening of another TV5 Eyewitness News broadcast from an older recording circa 1990 before the tape goes blank

TAPE 9: Guarding Tess (1994) taped from TBS Superstation circa 2001 minus commercials; Contact (1997) taped from TBS Superstation circa 2001 minus commercials; Arnold Palmer: Golf's Heart and Soul (Golf Channel documentary) taped circa 2001 or 2002 minus commercials; partial broadcast of Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary (CBS concert special) taped from WINK in Fort Myers on 1/9/2002 with a few commercials, also includes the first 12 minutes of WINK News at 11:00 with Jim McLaughlin and Lois Thome

TAPE 10: Soul Plane (2004) taped from Showtime circa 2005; X-Men 2 (2003) taped from FX circa 2005 minus commercials; Menace II Society (1993) taped from unknown pay TV channel circa 2005

TAPE 11: Parts 7-12 of From the Earth to the Moon (HBO miniseries) taped on April 26, May 3 and May 10, 1998

Additionally, I purchased five more tapes of Dark Shadows airings on the Sci-Fi Channel from the one vendor who has them. Still going through those, but when last I purchased some, around January 1996 was around the time the last ones I bought were recorded. Several local commercials from the Central Ohio area are found on those tapes as well.
 
Today at Goodwill while looking for a pet cage I did find something interesting..well quite a bit actually. One they now are selling VHS tapes again and TWO I actually bought one for a QUARTER !! Now the fun part...the only thing on this tape was 6 hours of non-atop Nick&Nite programming with commercials, promos, entire shows..everything It was like someone had started the VCR to record Nick and let it roll until the tape ran out. I would say the tape was recorded back in summer of 1988 as there were quite a few summertime ads like for Country Time Lemonade, Six Flags Theme parks, Econo Lodge motels and VISA. Mister ED, Donna Reed, Dragnet, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Car 54, Make Room for Daddy and Patty Duke, SCTV.. entire episodes. Now this is what gets me..Nick at Night aired two promos for upcoming shows to be "coming soon" to Nick at Night and yet there is ZERO information about any of those shows that I could find anywhere online.

1. The Yahoo Serious Show...the promo ( which aired several times that night )..showed a little girl asking '..are you SERIOUS ??' Then Yahoo Serious pops up saying "..Yes I am SERIOUS " and both scream YAHOO !! and the v/o guy saying "Coming soon to Nick at Nite". I knew about the movie from 1988 that starred Yahoo Serious called Young Einstein but a show starring Yahoo Serious ?? I have never heard of it.

2. A promo for a sitcom titled "Brits and Grits". A former London police bobby named "Reggie" takes a job as a sheriff's deputy somewhere down in the deep south. To me it sounds like Benny Hill comes to Mayberry. The clip of this show in the promo shows Reggie stopping a woman along side a county road someone and after giving her a ticket he goes back to the squad car only to bring out a tea set and telling the woman "..Time for Tea !!". The promo ends with the two of them toasting their tea cups and Reggie says "..Cheers"..and just like the one with Yahoo Serious..The voice over guy says "..coming soon" and then the Nick & Night logo appears.

Regarding Yahoo Serious and Brits & Grits..I wonder if Nick at Night had planned on airing these shows only to decide at the last moment not too. From what I can recall Young Einstein didn't do well at the box office perhaps this could be a reason why that channel declined to air Yahoo's TV show but Brits & Grits...nothing at all.
 
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Goodwill actually stocked a recorded tape for once? All I ever see at my local thrift stores are retail tapes. If there's any blank tapes, they are unopened and brand new. I suppose they aren't taking recorded VHS tapes due to the copyright/content issues.
 
Goodwill actually stocked a recorded tape for once? All I ever see at my local thrift stores are retail tapes. If there's any blank tapes, they are unopened and brand new. I suppose they aren't taking recorded VHS tapes due to the copyright/content issues.

Our local ARC thrift stores ( similar to Goodwill ) here in Denver are no longer taking audio cassettes either for the same reason..copyright issues. After my recent issue with one of my old airchecks and Iheart Media..can't say that I blame them.
 
Goodwill actually stocked a recorded tape for once? All I ever see at my local thrift stores are retail tapes. If there's any blank tapes, they are unopened and brand new. I suppose they aren't taking recorded VHS tapes due to the copyright/content issues.

do they stock other used writable media?
 
Our local ARC thrift stores ( similar to Goodwill ) here in Denver are no longer taking audio cassettes either for the same reason..copyright issues. After my recent issue with one of my old airchecks and Iheart Media..can't say that I blame them.

do they have other writable media that might have copyrighted material?
 
Yesterday I went to a place in Amherst called Jamie's Flea Market, which is said to be the largest flea market in Northeast Ohio. There were a lot of vendors, both inside two big buildings and outside. I managed to take home three recorded tapes, although I had kind of hoped to find more given how big the place is.

TAPE 1: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) taped from Pay-Per-View circa January 1992; WWF WrestleMania VIII taped from Pay-Per-View on 4/5/1992

TAPE 2: Long block of Disney movies and shows called "The Disney Day Off," including an episode of The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, an episode of Adventures with Mickey, Disney's Rootin' Tootin' Roundup (1990), Mickey and Donald Kidding Around (1983), Benji the Hunted (1987) and Scary Tales of Halloween, all taped from WUAB on 10/24/1992 with commercials. At the end of the tape is the original broadcast of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror III taped from WOIO on 10/29/1992 with commercials.

TAPE 3: Disney version of The Prince and the Pauper (1990) taped from WEWS on 3/5/1994 with commercials; Mickey and the Beanstalk (1947) taped from WEWS on 3/5/1994 minus commercials; Dumbo (1941) taped from WOIO (Cinema Nineteen) in July 1994 with commercials; first few minutes of a broadcast of News Channel 5 at 11:00 taped from WEWS in January or February 1996 (Jim Hooley fills in for Ted Henry); A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Garfield Christmas Special and Mickey's Christmas Carol taped from WOIO on 12/19/1996, ads from Garfield and first break from Mickey are included, the rest are cut out (I happen to have another copy of that night's CBS broadcasts of Charlie Brown and Mickey with ads anyway); partial Cinema Nineteen presentation of The Jazz Singer (1980) taped from WOIO in July 1994 with commercials (taped on the same day as Dumbo)

All three of those tapes were purchased from outdoor vendors. Many indoor vendors sold retail tapes and movies, a few sold blank tapes still in their packaging, and one indoor vendor's booth contained a VHS storage cabinet full of recorded tapes labeled "Playboy"--no thanks.

Another indoor vendor was selling what appeared to be bootleg DVDs of more recent movies, some that haven't even been released on DVD yet, like Bad Moms and The Magnificent Seven. Those DVDs were spotted in little slipcovers with inserted papers containing two pictures of poorly-copied movie posters indicating what was on them (two movies on one DVD in most cases). No interest in that either and I was surprised to see those being sold out in the open like that. :\
 
Here's all of the tapes I have gotten recently, minus those that are without commercials entirely, or are duds copied from retail/rental tapes.

10/1/2016 - Moving Sale. There were at least 50 tapes in two different boxes, but I couldn't grab them all without struggling with a ripped bag. A couple duds in the mix, so these are only the keepers.
Tape 1 - End of the South Alabama-University of Arkansas Little Rock basketball game and the Professional Figure Skating Championships taped off ESPN 1/31/1999 with commercials (Aired against the Super Bowl on Fox)
Tape 2 - Episode of ER taped off KNDO/NBC 5/13/1999 with commercials; partially-taped over airings of "Captives" (1994) and "The Defenders: Payback" (1997) taped off Showtime 3/13/1999 with promos in between shows
Tape 3 - The Chevy Skating Spectacular taped off KAPP/ABC 2/21/1999 with some commercials (most are partial breaks); partial broadcast of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships taped off KAPP/ABC 2/13/1999 with commercials
Tape 4 - Partial broadcast of the Primestar Skate International taped off KCYU-LP/Fox 11/9/1997 with commercials; full broadcast of the Thrifty Car Rental Skate America, ABC World News Sunday and partial airing of Inside Edition Weekend taped off KAPP/ABC 11/9/1997 with commercials
Tape 5 - Vail Figure Skating Festival taped off TBS 11/9/1997 with commercials
Tape 6 - "Escape from Terror: The Teresa Stamper Story taped off KNDO/NBC 8/17/1996, some ads intact, others cut out; "The Doctor" (1991) taped off KAPP/ABC 8/18/1996 with commercials
Tape 7 - World Figure Skating Championships taped off KAPP/ABC 3/22/1997 with commercials

10/21/16 - garage sale
Tape 8 - "Lethal Weapon 3" (1992) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; "Unforgiven" (1992) and "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) taped off Cinemax 3/20/1994 with promos in between the two movies
Tape 9 - "The Big Lebowski" (1998) taped off Showtime 6/26/1999; partial clip of Showtime Boxing from Mandalay Bay taped in June 1999; most of an episode of Happy Hour (short lived variety series), full episode of Silk Stalkings and first few minutes of an episode of Renegade taped off USA Network in June 1999 with commercials
Tape 10 - Third season premiere of Supernatural taped off KCWK-9 Walla Walla (now defunct)/CW 10/4/2007 with commercials; several other episodes follow from 10/11, 10/18, 10/25 and 11/2/07
Tape 11 - Partial broadcast of the 1998 TNN Music City News Country Awards taped off TNN 6/15/1998 with commercials. Still haven't looked at the rest of this, but it is marked with Hot Shots! Part Deux and an episode of Hot Country Nights (on TNN).

10/22/16 - Estate sale. This was a disappointing sale. There were two bookcases full of blank VHS tapes (over 250 in all!) But only one of the SIXTEEN I bought had commercials. The other 15 were chock full of 1980s TV shows (Miami Vice, Star Trek TNG, The Equalizer, Simon & Simon, even reruns of Black Sheep Squadron) but not a single commercial break was found on any of those tapes. What a shame. This person loved the pause button.
Tape 12 - "White Lightning" (1973), "Gator" (1976) and partial broadcast of "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings" (1975) taped off TBS 9/18-19/1990 with commercials

10/30/16 - Estate sale, this time out near Union Gap. Five VHS tapes are keepers, as well as one Betamax tape (there were three, I picked up two of them). This was a very old house where the folks lived for decades. I have a Beta player, but rarely use it.
Tape 1 - Nature episode taped off KYVE-47/PBS 2/28/1993 (Hebrides: The Secret Islands). I haven't checked the rest of this tape yet, but there is content afterwards (looks like a western show or film).
Tape 2 - Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail taped off KYVE-47/PBS 8/13/1997 with a partial intershow before the program; partial episode of Young & The Restless and first minute or so of Martha Stewart Living taped off KIMA/CBS in November 1998 with commercials; two more episodes of Y&R taped around the same time afterwards w/ commercials
Tape 3 - "Pale Rider" (1985) taped off KAPP/ABC 12/20/1992 with commercials - taped in 2 hour SP mode, so the movie is incomplete
Tape 4 - Married...with Children episode (rerun from 1987) taped off K53CY/FOX Yakima 12/13/1992 with commercials; episode of Family Matters taped off KAPP/ABC 12/18/1992 with commercials; Kenny Rogers: Keep Christmas with You taped off KIMA/CBS 12/18/1992 with commercials. Poor over-the-air signal on the first two programs, and the third is mostly in B&W with a clear picture, even though my heads are clean. This is my first content found from the first incarnation of Fox in Yakima. They would later become K68EB (but keep the KCY name), and in 1995 changed their calls to KCYU-LP.
Tape 5 - The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies taped off KIMA/CBS 5/24/1993 with commercials - this was all that was on the tape.

Beta tape - Super Bowl XXII taped off KXLY-4 Spokane/ABC 1/31/1988 with commercials. Great find!
 
Update to Tape 1 - the western show was the last hour or so of "Rio Diablo", aired the same evening on CBS/KIMA and has commercials. Travis Tritt starred in the TV-movie along with Kenny Rogers.
 
A list of what? The sporting events I have? I've got many new tapes on top of the 1992 Mariners video that I need to go through as well.
 


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