One of my friends from college is now a news anchor for the Butler Radio Network stations in that town. Do you have a YouTube channel by chance?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have
- Thread starter Stanislav
- Start date
One of my friends from college is now a news anchor for the Butler Radio Network stations in that town. Do you have a YouTube channel by chance?
Dvds usually arent just going to break in half unless it is below zero.
Yes, I do, but I haven't uploaded much for the last few months. I plan on starting up again, soon.
What is your YouTube channel?
Kyle J. McElravy
hey I remember you, do you have an updated list at all?
Went to an estate sale in Yakima today. Came back with a nice picture for my apartment, but no tapes. There were VHS tapes with TV shows. They were Columbia House/Re-TV direct-by-mail tapes...Miami Vice, Perry Mason, etc.
Oh well. They were very happy to tell me that their next sale in 3 weeks has...get ready for it...MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED VHS TAPES!!! Time to sell a lot and save some $$$ and boxes...here we go!
Oh well. They were very happy to tell me that their next sale in 3 weeks has...get ready for it...MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED VHS TAPES!!! Time to sell a lot and save some $$$ and boxes...here we go!
I've updated some. I'll email you my lists later on.
I've updated some. I'll email you my lists later on.
I know you said you don't necessarily do trades, but we should consider trying something, down the road.
Ok, Thanks. I'll check it out.
One tape at an estate sale in West Valley (Yakima). But it was a good one!
Tape 1 - Most of a Seinfeld rerun, The Simpsons rerun, Cosby, Everybody Loves Raymond, the 1-hour series finale of Murphy Brown, A Really Big Show: Ed Sullivan's 50th Anniversary, KIMA News at 11 and part of the Late Show with David Letterman taped off KIMA/CBS on 5/18/1998 with commercials. TDK T-120
Two weeks to go before a potentially unprecedented estate sale for me with 500+ tapes up for grabs west of Yakima. Time to buy a box and make room.
Tape 1 - Most of a Seinfeld rerun, The Simpsons rerun, Cosby, Everybody Loves Raymond, the 1-hour series finale of Murphy Brown, A Really Big Show: Ed Sullivan's 50th Anniversary, KIMA News at 11 and part of the Late Show with David Letterman taped off KIMA/CBS on 5/18/1998 with commercials. TDK T-120
Two weeks to go before a potentially unprecedented estate sale for me with 500+ tapes up for grabs west of Yakima. Time to buy a box and make room.
Just listed a bunch of old VHS/Beta tapes on the 'bay, consisting of some of my finds that I've discovered. Going to pick up a bunch of VHS tapes for $15 tomorrow evening (about 50), and the seller mentioned that quite a few contain commercials. Its actually been a while since I've gotten stuff from the Baltimore market since I've been relying elsewhere, but this should be a nice local adventure.
Since then, I've searched two lots and wasn't that pleased with the results for the most part compared to other finds. The first was a lot of 11 VHS tapes for $21 including shipping, and the best I could do was on two tapes, with one labeled "Soaps Miscellaneous 11/87". As it turns out, it was mostly an odd assortment of clips of various soaps from that year. I did dub a few from that time including partial episodes of Loving and Guiding Light, and there were a few commercial breaks from the Raleigh, NC market. The other tape started with a home movie of a local little league game (likely from around Salt Lake City), followed by full newscasts of ABC World News Tonight and the KTVX 5:30 news from 8/9/1985 with commercials. What was most disappointing was that the recorder pressed the stop button about ten seconds into that night's Wheel of Fortune despite a good amount of tape left. The other nine tapes were mostly mid-2000s stuff that I don't care about, though I've listed some of those in my '00s lot on eBay if you're interested. But it could have easily been worse.
The second lot was even more disappointing with 57 VHS tapes for $45. I purchased this since the seller lived in a small market in Northern Michigan (near Traverse City), and a message stated that "some contain commercials and some wouldn't". Unfortunately, the total was below the Mendoza Line with about ten tapes containing commercials of some kind, and almost all were just taken from movies. The oldest find came off of a Traverse City station from the ABC Sunday Movie on 2/3/1985, with my only other '80s find being a bunch of commercials from an old western off WKBD on 3/27/1987. A newscast off Detroit's CBS affiliate (the one that's not WDIV or WXYZ) from 8/24/1992 following a rerun of a Gunsmoke Movie was the best I could muster IMO, with the vast majority being rental copy drivel.
With that said, I'm shocked with how expensive blank Beta tapes have been selling for on eBay, even random lots where the labels only show movies! For example, recently one lot of 39 Beta tapes for $76 & shipping with no returns is literally playing against the house and certainly a test in terms of how far buyers are looking before they potentially end up disappointed with nothing but rental copies, scoped airings, with a few cable promos the best they could do. Even that one tape that says "Walt Disney Pound Puppies" could just have been Macrovision copies from retail. The seller abc_moneyloan made a ton of dough in January from lots of about ten betas consisting mostly of mid-80s primetime drama content, the 1984 summer Olympics, and more off NYC stations along with a few PBS shows, including Miami Vice and "V" recorded on my birthday. Some lots sold for over $200 each!
Since then, I've searched two lots and wasn't that pleased with the results for the most part compared to other finds. The first was a lot of 11 VHS tapes for $21 including shipping, and the best I could do was on two tapes, with one labeled "Soaps Miscellaneous 11/87". As it turns out, it was mostly an odd assortment of clips of various soaps from that year. I did dub a few from that time including partial episodes of Loving and Guiding Light, and there were a few commercial breaks from the Raleigh, NC market. The other tape started with a home movie of a local little league game (likely from around Salt Lake City), followed by full newscasts of ABC World News Tonight and the KTVX 5:30 news from 8/9/1985 with commercials. What was most disappointing was that the recorder pressed the stop button about ten seconds into that night's Wheel of Fortune despite a good amount of tape left. The other nine tapes were mostly mid-2000s stuff that I don't care about, though I've listed some of those in my '00s lot on eBay if you're interested. But it could have easily been worse.
The second lot was even more disappointing with 57 VHS tapes for $45. I purchased this since the seller lived in a small market in Northern Michigan (near Traverse City), and a message stated that "some contain commercials and some wouldn't". Unfortunately, the total was below the Mendoza Line with about ten tapes containing commercials of some kind, and almost all were just taken from movies. The oldest find came off of a Traverse City station from the ABC Sunday Movie on 2/3/1985, with my only other '80s find being a bunch of commercials from an old western off WKBD on 3/27/1987. A newscast off Detroit's CBS affiliate (the one that's not WDIV or WXYZ) from 8/24/1992 following a rerun of a Gunsmoke Movie was the best I could muster IMO, with the vast majority being rental copy drivel.
With that said, I'm shocked with how expensive blank Beta tapes have been selling for on eBay, even random lots where the labels only show movies! For example, recently one lot of 39 Beta tapes for $76 & shipping with no returns is literally playing against the house and certainly a test in terms of how far buyers are looking before they potentially end up disappointed with nothing but rental copies, scoped airings, with a few cable promos the best they could do. Even that one tape that says "Walt Disney Pound Puppies" could just have been Macrovision copies from retail. The seller abc_moneyloan made a ton of dough in January from lots of about ten betas consisting mostly of mid-80s primetime drama content, the 1984 summer Olympics, and more off NYC stations along with a few PBS shows, including Miami Vice and "V" recorded on my birthday. Some lots sold for over $200 each!
I would not be surprised if the people buying the Beta lots aren't just buying it for the content, but actually for tapes to use again and record.
Believe it or not there are more than a few people (well maybe half a dozen) who STILL have Beta players that they record new content on. I'd guess there are maybe 20 people out there that still record stuff in 2020 on VHS, but you can still get new or New Old Stock VHS blanks at local stores, Beta not so much.
Believe it or not there are more than a few people (well maybe half a dozen) who STILL have Beta players that they record new content on. I'd guess there are maybe 20 people out there that still record stuff in 2020 on VHS, but you can still get new or New Old Stock VHS blanks at local stores, Beta not so much.
I have not bought any tapes off eBay since I moved to Ellensburg. The last time I bought any tapes from eBay was 1/3/2019 when I got that lot from Colorado Springs with plenty of '00s soap operas, a 1987 General Hospital, and an entire KXRM newscast from 2001 among other things. That's the longest I can remember that I've been without eBay tapes. The rest of 2019 has all been through estate sales, yard sales, and the Ellensburg Goodwill. Too many of the lots I see are junk for too much or a few diamonds in the rough in a mix of tapes labeled with one to three movies. (Which often means a rental dub to 2nd generation VCR, or off HBO with no promos) If I wanted a tape marked with 'Jurassic Park,' 'Mrs Doubtfire' and 'Ace Venture' I'd rather find it at a yard sale or estate sale for 25 cents and get a dud.
And then there's those who sell cartoons and MTV in separate lots for ridiculous prices. I've done it before, because 90s nostalgia is crazy right now. But I HATE it when I know damn well that 1986 tape of Smurfs and Bugs Bunny is on a 2000s VHS shell copied from another VHS or even a torrent. You want to talk about a ripoff. There's also eBay sellers that I've seen selling some of my old tapes for high prices too. One of my old Cartoon Network tapes was up a couple months ago, going through the trading circuit in another state.
I want to get rid of some more tapes before I go back to eBay. Heck, I still have 30+ tapes from Oakdale CA that I haven't even touched, out of a 69-tape lot bought in September 2018! 2018!!
And then there's those who sell cartoons and MTV in separate lots for ridiculous prices. I've done it before, because 90s nostalgia is crazy right now. But I HATE it when I know damn well that 1986 tape of Smurfs and Bugs Bunny is on a 2000s VHS shell copied from another VHS or even a torrent. You want to talk about a ripoff. There's also eBay sellers that I've seen selling some of my old tapes for high prices too. One of my old Cartoon Network tapes was up a couple months ago, going through the trading circuit in another state.
I want to get rid of some more tapes before I go back to eBay. Heck, I still have 30+ tapes from Oakdale CA that I haven't even touched, out of a 69-tape lot bought in September 2018! 2018!!
Is anyone still selling blank Beta tapes anywhere? Radio Shack still had them for a long time. I'm guessing that what's available will be used or possibly new old stock on Ebay. New VHS tapes are still available some places if you know where to look.
About 5 months ago, I was able to get 5 new-old stock Sony ES L-750 Beta tapes for $7.99 + shipping off of EBay.
20 keepers from that sale in Eldersburg, MD about a half hour from me for $15. Decent mix of '80s and '90s, with some '00s and rental clunkers of course. Wish there was some daytime, comedy, music (outside a small amount of TNN), or sports/game shows, but a decent mix.
Tape 1: HBO and/or rental copies of El Diablo, Dakota, and Weekend In Bernie's, followed by about the last ten of minutes of Nightline, Entertainment Tonight, and the first five minutes of Into The Night with Rick Dees taped off WJZ on 8/6/1990 w/commercials
Tape 2: Never Say Never Again and The Right Stuff taped off HBO in 1984, with about 15 minutes of promos after the second movie
Tape 3: Magic Moments at Memorial Stadium taped off WMAR on 10/2/1991 with a few commercials, followed by most of Gone But Not Forgotten taped WMPT sometime in 1991 (lots of old Baltimore scenes discussed in this doc), then a WJZ tribute special on the late newscaster Jerry Turner on 1/4/88 (a rebroadcast of an earlier airing), followed by most of Happy Birthday Bo: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC off WMAR on 5/16/88 with some commercials. I've already got this special taped off another station.
Tape 4: The Wizard of Oz, taped off WBAL/CBS on 3/30/1984 with commercials. The tape was snapped at the beginning, so I won't be able to sell this unfortunately.
Tape 5: The Magic of David Copperfield specials X through XV, taped off WBAL each spring between 1988 to 1993. The 1988 and 1989 have all or most commercials zapped out, the 1990 special has some commercials, while the 1991 through 1993 specials are uncut, and at the end of the tape, it cuts over for a full WBAL newscast on 4/9/1991 (the same night as the 1991 special, with the 1992 and 1993 specials taped over that 1991 TV movie).
Tape 6: Numerous The Three Stooges shorts taped off WTTG in 1984 with lots of commercials, mostly taped in the spring of that year, but a few taped during the Christmas holidays with many toys/kids commercials prevalent there.
Tape 7: Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), taped off CBS/WBAL in December 1993 with commercials, followed by a jumble of a few 2000s shows afterwards
Tape 8: More Three Stooges episodes taped off WTTG in June/July 1984 with some commercials
Tape 9: Return To Lonesome Dove, pt. 3 taped off WBAL/CBS on 11/18/1993 with commercials (no intro), followed by a two-hour episode of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman taped two nights later with commercials (ends before the closing). This makes my collection of RTLD mostly complete now.
Tape 10: One more batch of Three Stooges, taped off WTTG around September/October 1984 with some commercials
Tape 11: The Man Shot miniseries taped of TBS in July 1994 with commercials, followed by a partial presentation of the WGBH documentary on Apollo 13 from the same year.
Tape 12: The Magic of David Copperfield VI, taped off WBAL/CBS on 4/6/1984 with commercials, followed by two episodes of the Amazon River docuseries from the same year off WTBS with some commercials
Tape 13: Geronimo, Tombstone, and Grumpy Old Men taped off Viewer's Choice on 8/11/1994 with promos after each movie, especially the last film
Tape 14: The Magic of David Copperfield taped off WBAL/CBS in 1985 with no commercials, followed by scoped HBO airings of The Jazz Singer and Rascals & Robbers with no promos, then the PBS special UFO's: What's Going On from around the same year, followed by about a 15 minute block of TNN Block in March 1985 with a couple commercial breaks. It was quite prevalent that the country genre had really lagged the rock/pop genres in terms of video exposure at this time.
Tape 15: Five episodes of John Patrick's "How To Win At" series on various casino games, including craps, slots, blackjack, and roulette, taped off Action Pay-Per-View in April 1995 with promos after each episode.
Tape 16: Scarface and Sudden Impact taped off HBO on early 1985 with a few promos, followed by most of Knight Rider taped off WMAR/NBC on 1/24/86 with commercials, and then it cuts back to about five minutes of promos and part of Not Necessarily The News off HBO in early 1985.
Tape 17: Broken Arrow, Dead Man Walking, and Eye For An Eye taped of Request PPV in August 1996 with promos after each movie, especially the last one with about a 15 minute break
Tape 18: On Golden Pond copied from a rental, followed by The Magic of Copperfield VIII taped off WBAL/CBS in March 1986 with some commercials, followed by the Disney Sunday Movie (a shortened version due to a special report that included classic Winnie the Pooh and Chip 'n Dale) taped off WJZ/ABC on 3/16/1986 with commercials, then it cuts to the last 20 minutes of Hotel taped off WJZ/ABC on 4/2/86 with a couple commercial breaks.
Tape 19: Talk about a waste of practicality: Over three hours of nothing but promo crawls off Comcast Home Theater PPV on 11/8/1996. The same loop over and over again about 25 times! Interestingly, some of my '00s finds that I passed on included over two hours of TV Guide crawls from October 2006. Sorry, but that font just doesn't feel "retro" yet on those listings (the same one that a lot of news stations use today)
Tape 20: Western Union and How the West Was Won taped off rentals (what's with all these western movies that I've been finding lately?), followed by Miami Vice taped off WMAR/NBC on 3/17/1989 with commercials, then it cuts to most of the WBAL 11 PM News on 3/6/1989. Its interesting that of all of the Baltimore newscasts that I've found over the years, the six that are at least half complete have all come from Channel 11, and it seems that the set/theme changes happened more frequently than the other stations.
Tape 1: HBO and/or rental copies of El Diablo, Dakota, and Weekend In Bernie's, followed by about the last ten of minutes of Nightline, Entertainment Tonight, and the first five minutes of Into The Night with Rick Dees taped off WJZ on 8/6/1990 w/commercials
Tape 2: Never Say Never Again and The Right Stuff taped off HBO in 1984, with about 15 minutes of promos after the second movie
Tape 3: Magic Moments at Memorial Stadium taped off WMAR on 10/2/1991 with a few commercials, followed by most of Gone But Not Forgotten taped WMPT sometime in 1991 (lots of old Baltimore scenes discussed in this doc), then a WJZ tribute special on the late newscaster Jerry Turner on 1/4/88 (a rebroadcast of an earlier airing), followed by most of Happy Birthday Bo: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC off WMAR on 5/16/88 with some commercials. I've already got this special taped off another station.
Tape 4: The Wizard of Oz, taped off WBAL/CBS on 3/30/1984 with commercials. The tape was snapped at the beginning, so I won't be able to sell this unfortunately.
Tape 5: The Magic of David Copperfield specials X through XV, taped off WBAL each spring between 1988 to 1993. The 1988 and 1989 have all or most commercials zapped out, the 1990 special has some commercials, while the 1991 through 1993 specials are uncut, and at the end of the tape, it cuts over for a full WBAL newscast on 4/9/1991 (the same night as the 1991 special, with the 1992 and 1993 specials taped over that 1991 TV movie).
Tape 6: Numerous The Three Stooges shorts taped off WTTG in 1984 with lots of commercials, mostly taped in the spring of that year, but a few taped during the Christmas holidays with many toys/kids commercials prevalent there.
Tape 7: Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), taped off CBS/WBAL in December 1993 with commercials, followed by a jumble of a few 2000s shows afterwards
Tape 8: More Three Stooges episodes taped off WTTG in June/July 1984 with some commercials
Tape 9: Return To Lonesome Dove, pt. 3 taped off WBAL/CBS on 11/18/1993 with commercials (no intro), followed by a two-hour episode of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman taped two nights later with commercials (ends before the closing). This makes my collection of RTLD mostly complete now.
Tape 10: One more batch of Three Stooges, taped off WTTG around September/October 1984 with some commercials
Tape 11: The Man Shot miniseries taped of TBS in July 1994 with commercials, followed by a partial presentation of the WGBH documentary on Apollo 13 from the same year.
Tape 12: The Magic of David Copperfield VI, taped off WBAL/CBS on 4/6/1984 with commercials, followed by two episodes of the Amazon River docuseries from the same year off WTBS with some commercials
Tape 13: Geronimo, Tombstone, and Grumpy Old Men taped off Viewer's Choice on 8/11/1994 with promos after each movie, especially the last film
Tape 14: The Magic of David Copperfield taped off WBAL/CBS in 1985 with no commercials, followed by scoped HBO airings of The Jazz Singer and Rascals & Robbers with no promos, then the PBS special UFO's: What's Going On from around the same year, followed by about a 15 minute block of TNN Block in March 1985 with a couple commercial breaks. It was quite prevalent that the country genre had really lagged the rock/pop genres in terms of video exposure at this time.
Tape 15: Five episodes of John Patrick's "How To Win At" series on various casino games, including craps, slots, blackjack, and roulette, taped off Action Pay-Per-View in April 1995 with promos after each episode.
Tape 16: Scarface and Sudden Impact taped off HBO on early 1985 with a few promos, followed by most of Knight Rider taped off WMAR/NBC on 1/24/86 with commercials, and then it cuts back to about five minutes of promos and part of Not Necessarily The News off HBO in early 1985.
Tape 17: Broken Arrow, Dead Man Walking, and Eye For An Eye taped of Request PPV in August 1996 with promos after each movie, especially the last one with about a 15 minute break
Tape 18: On Golden Pond copied from a rental, followed by The Magic of Copperfield VIII taped off WBAL/CBS in March 1986 with some commercials, followed by the Disney Sunday Movie (a shortened version due to a special report that included classic Winnie the Pooh and Chip 'n Dale) taped off WJZ/ABC on 3/16/1986 with commercials, then it cuts to the last 20 minutes of Hotel taped off WJZ/ABC on 4/2/86 with a couple commercial breaks.
Tape 19: Talk about a waste of practicality: Over three hours of nothing but promo crawls off Comcast Home Theater PPV on 11/8/1996. The same loop over and over again about 25 times! Interestingly, some of my '00s finds that I passed on included over two hours of TV Guide crawls from October 2006. Sorry, but that font just doesn't feel "retro" yet on those listings (the same one that a lot of news stations use today)
Tape 20: Western Union and How the West Was Won taped off rentals (what's with all these western movies that I've been finding lately?), followed by Miami Vice taped off WMAR/NBC on 3/17/1989 with commercials, then it cuts to most of the WBAL 11 PM News on 3/6/1989. Its interesting that of all of the Baltimore newscasts that I've found over the years, the six that are at least half complete have all come from Channel 11, and it seems that the set/theme changes happened more frequently than the other stations.
Last edited:
I've got the Happy Birthday Bob special from KNBC, along with several other Bob Hope specials. I wish the Into the Night with Rick Dees would have been more complete, but I would take the first 5 minutes of an episode - those are so rare to find because it was short-lived.
The '93 airing of Rudolph aired on December 2nd. If you saw promos for Second Chances premiering 'tonight', that's when it was taped...and I have that broadcast in fuzzy color quality from KBCI Boise (now KBOI).
Action Pay Per View ran how-to programs on casino games? I thought they were mostly movies and softcore.
I think I have that 3/17/89 Miami Vice, from KNBC as well.
And finally, 'what's up with all these western movies lately?' Lol. That's what I find in about every 2 to 3 lots here in central Washington. I just found Alleghany Uprising and another John Wayne movie taped from TBS a couple months ago. I think I know why - not only we are rural but both Yakima and Kittitas County currently lean conservative politically.
The '93 airing of Rudolph aired on December 2nd. If you saw promos for Second Chances premiering 'tonight', that's when it was taped...and I have that broadcast in fuzzy color quality from KBCI Boise (now KBOI).
Action Pay Per View ran how-to programs on casino games? I thought they were mostly movies and softcore.
I think I have that 3/17/89 Miami Vice, from KNBC as well.
And finally, 'what's up with all these western movies lately?' Lol. That's what I find in about every 2 to 3 lots here in central Washington. I just found Alleghany Uprising and another John Wayne movie taped from TBS a couple months ago. I think I know why - not only we are rural but both Yakima and Kittitas County currently lean conservative politically.
Cool beans on the Stooges material. I'm always looking for 16mm prints taped off TV with commercials intact.