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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have

One tape at an estate sale and another tape at a yard sale today, both Yakima.

Tape 1 - Episode of Discovery Journal (Northern Ireland) and two late-night infomercials (Super DuraLube and Pro-Form Cross Trainer) taped off The Discovery Channel 4/16-17/1994 with some commercials. Maxell T-120
Tape 2 - 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' (1964) taped off Encore circa 1993 with Pirie Jones' introduction segment before the movie. BASF T-130 (SP)

I also found two tapes that had C-SPAN footage from the 1997 2nd Inauguration of Bill Clinton, and another tape that had an episode of 48 Hours from January 1991 after 'Singin' in the Rain,' both minus commercials. Not the greatest finds this week, but that's the thrill of the hunt!
 
WheelRob said:
The oldest tape I recall having in my household featured Peter Pan with Mary Martin. Wikipedia says that NBC re-aired its 1960 telecast (the last of three different versions of the production) several times, but the only post-70's airings were in March 1989 and March 1991 before Disney Channel acquired the rights to it. Our tape had to be the 1989 airing off NBC, because it had traditional commercials, one of which was (coincidentally?) a Peter Pan Peanut Butter commercial featuring Mark Linn-Baker, and another was the classic Raisin Bran "Everyone deserves two scoops" commercial, both of which can be found on YouTube and are dated 1989. Also, the version of Peter Pan on our tape edited out a dance sequence where Liza, the Darlings' maid, flies to Neverland and dances with the animals. Wikipedia notes that this scene was edited for time beginning with the 1989 airing.

The tape had bits and pieces of other shows or possibly TV airings of movies, but I have no idea what they were of. I re-watched Peter Pan countless times and would sometimes bring the tape to friends' houses to watch it with them. Unfortunately, while holding the tape outside a friend's house, I dropped it on the pavement of their driveway and it broke. Thankfully, I found the official VHS (released by the now-defunct company Goodtimes Home Video) at a yard sale not too long after that, and of course, it can be found on YouTube nowadays, and it was released on DVD as well. The earlier two productions were also remastered for a Blu-Ray release.
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Did it have the classic Raisinetts commercial as well? My cousin remembers watching that tape and told me she remembered that commercial.
 
Jman8606 said:
Did it have the classic Raisinetts commercial as well? My cousin remembers watching that tape and told me she remembered that commercial.
Click to expand...

This one?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNutHPstjbI

I don't remember seeing it, but I'm pretty sure whoever taped this (probably my mother) stopped recording during most of the breaks, which is probably why I only recall the Peter Pan peanut butter and Raisin Bran commercials. I also remember one of the acts (I believe the pirate ship scene) was cut off at the beginning.
 
For my friends on here who use YouTube, I'm having a bit of a problem with the site. I wanted to upload a new video to my account, but whenever I try to play it back, it keeps saying "This video is unavailable." It doesn't have any content ID matches or blocks or anything like that. Does anyone have any idea why this would be happening?
 
Haven't updated in a while, but this past week was a doozy of tapes. A yard sale out in Pomona (east Selah) on Friday brought mid-1980s goodies. Then had to be up in Ellensburg for errands and stopped at an estate sale west of town near exit 106, and a yard sale near the HS...more finds!

Friday - Pomona. Nothing locally taped. Great stuff however!
Tape 1 - 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' (1981) taped off KTXL-40 Sacramento on 10/14/1985 with commercials; '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968) taped off KTXL-40 in October 1985 with commercials...the Sunday that their 2000-foot stereo tower went online. JVC T-120
Tape 2 - 'My Favorite Year' (1982) taped off KTXL-40 on 5/14/1985 with comercials; episode of The Twilight Zone taped off KRBK-31 in May 1985 minus commercials. Maxell T-90 (only my second blank tape found with this length)
Tape 3 - 'Hooper' (1978) taped off KTXL-40 5/17/1986 with commercials; 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) taped off KCRA-3 in May 1986 with commercials. Kodak T-120
Tape 4 - 'Sorry, Wrong Number' (1948) taped off KTXL-40 8/20/1985 with commercials; 'North by Northwest' (1959) and part of NewsPlus at 10 taped off KTXL-40 in July 1985 (somewhere between 7/29-7/31) with commercials. Sony T-120
Tape 5 - 'Missing' (1982) taped off KXTV/CBS on 3/13/1985 with commercials; episodes of Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents taped off KRBK-31 3/13/1985 with commercials; episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents taped off KRBK-31 3/14/1985 with commercials; another episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents taped off KRBK-31 in early April 1985 with commercials; episode of Benny Hill taped off KTXL-40 in April 1985 with commercials. JVC T-168. I've never seen any of these in the wild before, and I never knew they even existed. Custom-made? Gives you over 20 minutes extra in SLP...
Tape 6 - 'Strange Invaders' (1983) taped off KTXL-40 on 2/16/1986 with commercials; 'Body Heat' (1981) taped off KTXL-40 5/27/1986 with commercials; episode of Three's Company taped off KOVR-13 in June 1986 with commercials. Sony T-120

and now Saturday, first the estate sale west of Ellensburg...
Tape 1 - All three parts of The Ship, a BBC2 reality series, taped off History Channel 10/14, 10/15 and 10/16/2002 with commercials; ends with a few minutes of a KAPP Local News This Morning broadcast taped in summer 2002, no doubt off a non-stop, 'left the VCR running' recording that was taped over by the History Channel stuff. Unknown T-120
Tape 2 - Episode of Egg: The Arts Show, The Red Green Show, Waiting for God and first half-hour of Mystery! taped off KYVE/PBS (K69BE) in March 2001 with promos. TDK T-120 in SP
Tape 3 - Episode of A&E Top 10 taped off A&E on 11/5/2000 with commercials; part of 'Santa & Pete' (1999) taped off KIMA/CBS (K51BD translator) 12/5/1999 with commercials. TDK T-120 all in SP
Tape 4 - A first! A great find! ABC Weekend Special two-parter of Pippi Longstocking taped off KOMO/ABC 11/2 and 11/9/1985 with commercials; ABC Weekend Special of Bollo Caper taped off KOMO/ABC 11/16/1985 with commercials; Martin Luther King Jr: The Dream and the Drum taped off KYVE/PBS (K69BE translator) in January 1986 with a partial pledge break at the end. There's markings on the tape of 'Mt. Stuart Library', apparently this tape was originally in Mt. Stuart Elementary's library and I'm guessing someone living there was a teacher. I'm glad they taped it and never pulled out the classic commercials. Quasar T-120
Tape 5 - Nature episode (Last Stand of the Giants) taped off KYVE/PBS (K69BE) in late May 1993 with a few promos afterwards. SKC T-60 in SP
Tape 6 - Last 2/3rds of 'Come See the Paradise' (1990) and most of Everyday Elegance with Colin Cowie taped off We TV: Women's Entertainment in spring 2002 with an intershow of commercials and promos in between. Apparently they were doing a sneak preview. TDK T-120 in SP

...and the one find made in town:
Tape 7 - 'Zorro: The Legend Begins' (1990), Hardcastle and McCormick and about half an episode of Scarecrow & Mrs. King taped off The Family Channel on 2/17/1990 with commercials. Scotch EG+ T-120

I'll be moving up this way in a little less than a month, so expect most of my tape lot finds in the near future to come from Kittitas County. This is an interesting area because Seattle and Yakima stations are both on cable here. However, Seattle (KOMO/KING) are blacked out most of the day. Pre-Syndex, this wasn't the case, and I'm sure there were plenty of Kittitas County viewers who watched network programs on the better-quality Seattle stations. This isn't the only time I've found Seattle stuff up there. Last year I found two 1988 episodes of Wiseguy from the KIRO broadcast, and an episode of KING's Seattle Today from October 1988, along with a partial KING-taped daytime Win, Lose or Draw.
At one point most of Seattle TV was carried on a mix of cable and translators. 4, 5, 7 and 9 were on cable, with 11 and 13 on UHF translators. Both of those UHF translators are gone now. KSTW's went off long ago, KCPQ moved to digital channel 7 and about five years ago, Tribune ceased operation of the translator (maybe KCYU complained?) KIRO and KCTS haven't been on cable for several years. Besides KYVE is a 24/7 KCTS simulcast nowadays. Should be fun...the rival east vs. west markets clashing in local tape lots.
 
What a weekend! A few finds on Friday, and a bunch on Saturday. Some great, awesome stuff mixed in. Too bad it wasn't more awesome...i.e. the cartoons NOT being copied from a rental tape!

Friday estate sale - Ahtanum Rd area
Tape 1 - Episodes II, III, IV and V of The Civil War taped off KYVE/PBS 9/24/1990 and 9/25/1990 with promos. JVC T-120
Tape 2 - The Charlie McAllister Story (locally-produced program with the man who started the Yakima Airport) taped off YCTV in 1991; episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues taped off K60EB 5/28/1995 with commercials (our original WB station with very few viewers and very little advertising); episode of Nowhere Man taped off KCYU-LP 68 in February 1996 with commercials; most of an episode of The Paranormal Borderline taped off KCYU-LP 68 in February 1996 with commercials; ends with some nice Yakima Community Television content: a 1988 Fort Simcoe history video, and the 1991 Pioneer Power Show from Fulbright Park/Central Washington Agricultural Museum. Scotch EG+ T-120
Tape 3 - Episodes VI-IX of The Civil War taped off KYVE/PBS 9/26 and 9/27/1990 with promos. Laser T-120

Saturday - Rummage sale #1
Tape 1 - End of 'The 500 Pound Jerk' (1973) and 'The Man from Snowy River' (1982) taped off HBO 1/20/1989 with promos (aired opposite George H.W. Bush's inauguration); part 1 of Pandora's Clock and half of the George Michael Sports Machine taped off KNDO/NBC 11/10/1996 with commercials. Scotch T-120
Tape 2 - 'The Big Green' (1995) and most of I Love Lucy: The Very First Episode taped off The Disney Channel 1/25/1997 with promos afterwards; partial Shirley Temple movie taped-over; then an episode of New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and 'Short Circuit' (1986) taped off The Disney Channel 1/22/1997 with promos; partial broadcast of 'Kansas' (1995) and a few minutes of Martha Stewart Living taped off Lifetime on 12/19/1996 with commercials; ends with a couple minutes of a KIMA News at 11 broadcast circa December 1996. Scotch EXG T-120
Tape 3 - Pandora's Clock part 2 and about half of 23 NBC News Late Edition taped off KNDO/NBC on Veteran's Day 1996 with commercials; part of 'Rain Man' (1988) and part of the HBO Comedy Hour taped off HBO in the early morning hours of 11/2/1990 with promos; 'Major League' (1987) and first few minutes of 1st & Ten taped off HBO that evening with promos. Laser T-120
Tape 4 - 'Beaches' (1988) taped off KIMA/CBS 12/8/1991 with commercials; 'Vertigo' (1958) taped off USA Network 12/12/1991 with commercials; partial broadcast of 'Murder in Columbia County' (1991) taped off KIMA/CBS 12/10/1991 with commercials; some of part 2 of Pearl taped off KNDO/NBC 12/4/1991 with commercials; partial broadcast of Lonesome Dove Part II taped off KIMA/CBS 1/22/1991 with commercials

Rummage sale #2 - this one was huge. Proceeds going to the Randall Park dog park.
Tape 5 - 34th Annual Grammy Awards taped off KIMA/CBS 2/25/1992 with commercials; Days of Our Lives episode taped off KNDO/NBC 2/27/1992 with commercials. Unknown T-120, no name.
Tape 6 - In the Heat of the Night episode and first hour of Grass Roots part 2 taped off KNDO/NBC 2/25/1992 with commercials. Maxell XL-HIFI T-120

Estate sale, just blocks from home in West Valley.
Tape 7 - Tom & Jerry Cartoon Festival copied from MGM/CBS retail tape; after it ends, there's a partial episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Nightline and about half The Best of Superfest taped off the Far East Network Okinawa, Japan/AFRTS on 8/4/1986 with military announcements/PSAs (first time I've found footage from the Japanese AFN network!!!) So glad to find this! Too bad the Tom & Jerry just had to be copied from a retail VHS tape. Ugh... Victor T-120
Tape 8 - Starts with an hour of programming from the Daystar network (Christian network), specifically John Hagee and Hal Lindsey, taped around 2007; then cuts to Wednesday Night Fights taped off ESPN2 5/16/2007 with commercials (Glen Johnson vs. Montell Griffin). Blank after about 1:45. RCA T-120

One of the duds had a label that said 'Woody Woodpecker & Friends.' What was on it? Woody Woodpecker. Public domain VHS copies. Ugh. They just couldn't have been taped from TNT or a local station...am I right? :(
Non-VHS finds include a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lunch box I got for 50c from the Randall Park sale. A great find indeed! Inside was the former owner's pictures of favorite football players and a love note 'I love you John!' from his elementary girlfriend. Might be worth something.
 
Went to the annual Hinckley community garage sales yesterday and came home with a few finds from one of the sales. Also found a couple of tapes at an estate sale just across the county line in North Royalton.


Hinckley garage sale (five tapes total, three keepers):
TAPE 1: A Christmas Adventure (syndicated holiday special) taped from WKYC in December 1992 with commercials; The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972 CBS holiday special) and The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971 CBS made-for-TV movie) taped from WJW on 12/25/1992 with commercials; clip from a broadcast of 20/20 taped from WEWS on 12/25/1992; Scrooge (1951) taped from WEWS (Movie 5) in the early hours of 12/26/1992 minus commercials (I already have this same airing of this same movie with commercials on another tape); part of the 104th Tournament of Roses Parade taped from WEWS on 1/1/1993 minus most commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 2: The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) taped from TBS on 3/31/1991, three commercial breaks are intact, but most are cut out; Johnny Bull (ABC made-for-TV movie) taped from WEWS on 5/19/1986 minus commercials; episode of The Frugal Gourmet taped from WNEO/WEAO circa 1991; partial broadcast of Hour of Power taped from WUAB circa 1991; clip from an episode of The Home Show taped from WEWS circa 1991. Laser T-120.

TAPE 3: In the Nick of Time (NBC made-for-TV movie) taped from WKYC on 12/16/1991 minus commercials, but does have part of the Disney Night at the Movies opening at the beginning; Frosty the Snowman and A Wish for Wings That Work taped from WJW on 12/18/1991 minus commercials; Bob Hope's Cross-Country Christmas Show and Christmas in Washington taped from WKYC on 12/18/1991 minus commercials. Certron T-120.


North Royalton estate sale:
TAPE 4: 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and partial broadcast of 19 Action News at 11 taped from WOIO on 12/6/2005 with commercials. TDK T-120.

TAPE 5: Stagecoach (1939) and first few minutes of U.S. Olympic Gold taped from TBS in December 1989 with commercials. BASF T-120.

Side note: I may want to invest in purchasing a VHS rewinder from Amazon, eBay or elsewhere online. In fact, I did spot one at another one of the garage sales in Hinckley yesterday, but I didn't think to buy it at the time. The reason I want one is because I've noticed lately that when I rewind some of my tapes from the end to the beginning, my VCR makes a strange, loud humming sound that it didn't make before. It doesn't happen with all the tapes I play back, but it seems like it's been happening quite a few times lately. I'm wondering why that could be the case and am hoping this VCR isn't on its last legs.
 
Scott2013 said:
Went to the annual Hinckley community garage sales yesterday and came home with a few finds from one of the sales. Also found a couple of tapes at an estate sale just across the county line in North Royalton.


Hinckley garage sale (five tapes total, three keepers):
TAPE 1: A Christmas Adventure (syndicated holiday special) taped from WKYC in December 1992 with commercials; The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972 CBS holiday special) and The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971 CBS made-for-TV movie) taped from WJW on 12/25/1992 with commercials; clip from a broadcast of 20/20 taped from WEWS on 12/25/1992; Scrooge (1951) taped from WEWS (Movie 5) in the early hours of 12/26/1992 minus commercials (I already have this same airing of this same movie with commercials on another tape); part of the 104th Tournament of Roses Parade taped from WEWS on 1/1/1993 minus most commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 2: The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) taped from TBS on 3/31/1991, three commercial breaks are intact, but most are cut out; Johnny Bull (ABC made-for-TV movie) taped from WEWS on 5/19/1986 minus commercials; episode of The Frugal Gourmet taped from WNEO/WEAO circa 1991; partial broadcast of Hour of Power taped from WUAB circa 1991; clip from an episode of The Home Show taped from WEWS circa 1991. Laser T-120.

TAPE 3: In the Nick of Time (NBC made-for-TV movie) taped from WKYC on 12/16/1991 minus commercials, but does have part of the Disney Night at the Movies opening at the beginning; Frosty the Snowman and A Wish for Wings That Work taped from WJW on 12/18/1991 minus commercials; Bob Hope's Cross-Country Christmas Show and Christmas in Washington taped from WKYC on 12/18/1991 minus commercials. Certron T-120.


North Royalton estate sale:
TAPE 4: 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and partial broadcast of 19 Action News at 11 taped from WOIO on 12/6/2005 with commercials. TDK T-120.

TAPE 5: Stagecoach (1939) and first few minutes of U.S. Olympic Gold taped from TBS in December 1989 with commercials. BASF T-120.

Side note: I may want to invest in purchasing a VHS rewinder from Amazon, eBay or elsewhere online. In fact, I did spot one at another one of the garage sales in Hinckley yesterday, but I didn't think to buy it at the time. The reason I want one is because I've noticed lately that when I rewind some of my tapes from the end to the beginning, my VCR makes a strange, loud humming sound that it didn't make before. It doesn't happen with all the tapes I play back, but it seems like it's been happening quite a few times lately. I'm wondering why that could be the case and am hoping this VCR isn't on its last legs.
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What model vcr do you have because mine does a similar routine when i rewind tapes occasionally.? Thanks.
 
Three more tapes found at an estate sale in Medina on Thursday. Basement had a bunch of them on shelves, but I only picked up three because many of them looked like they were in rough shape. Had to clean the three I got before I played any of them back. Neither of them had cases--usually not a big deal to me, but had to make sure they were in good enough exterior shape to play in my VCR.

TAPE 1: Most of ABC Sunday Night Movie presentation of Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) taped from WEWS in Cleveland on 9/24/1995 with commercials; most of an episode of Grace Under Fire and partial episode of The Naked Truth taped from WAKC in Akron on 12/13/1995 with commercials; partially taped-over broadcast of News Channel 5 at 11:00 weekend edition with Michael Settonni and Katherine Boyd (now a DJ for SiriusXM Classic Vinyl), Sports Sunday with Newy Scruggs and partial Movie 5 presentation of American Graffiti (1973) taped from WEWS on September 24-25, 1995 with commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 2: Weekend Movie presentation of Short Circuit 2 (1988) taped from WUAB in Cleveland in February 1992 with commercials; partially taped-over Eight O'clock Movie presentation of True Believer (1989), The Ten O'clock News weekend edition with Bob Hetherington and Barbara Soranno, episodes of Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation and partial Worldvision World Premiere presentation of Munchies (1987) taped from WUAB on November 9-10, 1991 with commercials. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 3: Episodes of The Man Show (special hour-long "best of" episode in Mexico) and South Park taped from Comedy Central in June 2001 with commercials (late night recording, so not surprisingly, a Girls Gone Wild VHS/DVD commercial was included, so I had to do some editing before putting these on YouTube); partially taped-over 8 O'clock Movie presentation of Total Recall (1990), The Ten O'clock News with Jack Marschall and Cynthia Tinsley, McDonald's Sports Extra with Jeff Phelps, episode of Martin and most of an episode of Married with Children taped from WUAB on 11/6/1997 with commercials. RCA T-120.
 
Six tapes with five of them keepers - estate sale near 40th and Lincoln in Yakima. This will probably be my last weekend of sales living in Yakima. Next week I am busy moving up to Ellensburg with CWU classes commencing on Sept 25th. Following that, most of my yard sale visits will come from Kittitas County (Ellensburg, Cle Elum, etc.) with maybe an occasional trip back to Yakima if I see something good. Tape 4 was the best...just AWESOME stuff! A time capsule of summer 2000 pop culture.

Tape 1 - 'Doc Hollywood' (1991) and first 15 minutes of 'Memoirs of an Invisible Man' (1992) taped off Cinemax sometime in 1998 with a few promos in between; partial broadcast of Market Wrap taped off CNBC 3/17/1997 with commercials; partial broadcast of the Houston Oilers-Seattle Seahawks NFL game and a partial making-wealth infomercial taped off KNDO/NBC 11/3/1996 with commercials; partial broadcast of Market Wrap taped off CNBC in October 1996 with commercials. Sony T-120
Tape 2 - 'The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax' (1999), KREM 2 News at 11 and most of the Late Show with David Letterman taped off KREM/CBS 5/20-21/1999 with commercials (have this already from KRTV 3 in Great Falls, but some of the commercials are different); partial episode of Judge Judy taped off KREM-2 in March 1999 with commercials; ends with a partial home movie of a ballet. Scotch T-120
Tape 3 - 'Victor Victoria' (1982) taped off Showtime in the early morning hours of 11/24/1986 with promos; partial broadcast of This Week in Sports and ESPN SportsCenter Game Day taped off ESPN 11/2/1986 with commercials. Scotch T-120
Tape 4 - This tape looks like it was partially recorded by a pre-teen or teenager: Episode of ER taped off KNDO/NBC 5/20/1999 with commercials; 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!' (2000) taped off unknown channel; How the Grinch Stole Christmas TV special taped off Cartoon Network in December 2001 with commercials; partial episode of Brotherly Love and Flash Forward taped off Disney Channel 7/9/2000 with promos; broadcast of MuchLive taped off Much Music (USA) in July 2000 with commercials (guest Britney Spears), partial because it flips over to a loop of time-shared channel bumpers on DIRECTV (MuchMusic was only carried from 2AM-5PM ET. This is my first find from MuchMusic.); episode of the MXG Beach Countdown and an episode of S Club 7 in L.A. taped off Fox Family in July 2000 with commercials; episode of Rugrats taped off Nickelodeon in July 2000 with commercials (the Reptar on Ice episode, from 1992...my FIRST Rugrats find in the wild!). Sony T-160
Tape 5 - 'Sun Valley Serenade' (1941) and 'Orchestra Wives' (1942) taped off unknown channels; 'Down Argentine Way' (1940) taped off AMC on 11/6/1986 with promos and Bob Dorian segment; partial broadcast of the 1987 U.S. Figure Skating Championships taped off KAPP/ABC 2/7/1987 with commercials in SP mode. Scotch T-120
A sixth tape was a rental dud.
 
Correction to a sale a week ago: The Kung Fu episode was from KCYU and taped in June 1996! How I didn't catch that, I have no idea. I thought I saw a '95' on a commercial's fine-print disclaimers...nope. So I only have one tape from K60EB, not two.
 
I just recently found a used Toshiba DVD recorder that was manufactured in 2014. But are any actually being manufactured now? It looks like to me that it's becoming like VCRs with used being the only option now.
 


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