That's the same VCR/DVD recorder combo I have. When I go through the stuff I want to put on my YouTube channel, I dub what I want to upload from the tapes onto DVD, finalize the DVD and use the AOA DVD Ripper software to put it on my computer to upload. The oldest tape I have right now contains recordings of the movies Wings and the Woman and The Benny Goodman Story and an episode of The Jack Benny Program, and it plays back very well, which I was kind of surprised at.
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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have
- Thread starter Stanislav
- Start date
That's the same VCR/DVD recorder combo I have. When I go through the stuff I want to put on my YouTube channel, I dub what I want to upload from the tapes onto DVD, finalize the DVD and use the AOA DVD Ripper software to put it on my computer to upload. The oldest tape I have right now contains recordings of the movies Wings and the Woman and The Benny Goodman Story and an episode of The Jack Benny Program, and it plays back very well, which I was kind of surprised at.
My last garage sale finds from yesterday were a bit of a disappointment in comparison to what I've found before.
TAPE 1: The In Crowd (2000) taped from HBO on 9/1/2001 with promos shown afterward, about 15 minutes worth actually--at one point during the end credits, part of the credits were taped over by about a second of footage from a golf tournament, frankly I would have been more interested in that than the movie
TAPE 2: Where the Heart Is (2000) taped from unknown pay TV channel circa 2001 or so
TAPE 1: The In Crowd (2000) taped from HBO on 9/1/2001 with promos shown afterward, about 15 minutes worth actually--at one point during the end credits, part of the credits were taped over by about a second of footage from a golf tournament, frankly I would have been more interested in that than the movie
TAPE 2: Where the Heart Is (2000) taped from unknown pay TV channel circa 2001 or so
More yard sales today. Four tapes found, three at one sale and one at another sale.
Tape 1 - "State of Emergency" (1994) taped off HBO, no promo breaks noted, and "Malcolm X" (1992) taped off unknown pay-TV channel. A dud, as far as I can tell.
Tape 2 - Last five minutes of Local News at 6:30 (with Kevin Uretsky, who is still at KAPP), and full episodes of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, and about 90 minutes of the Dancing with the Stars finale, taped off KAPP-35 Yakima on May 20th, 2008 with commercials; tape starts with a jumble of previous recordings including a rerun of The Simpsons and PGA tour coverage; episode of Nightline taped from KAPP-35 in October 2007 with ads; tape goes blank after just over 4 hours (Labels said "The Naked Gun 33 1/3," "Double Blast" and "48 Hrs.") - Tape 2 was interesting - it was still in a top-loader VCR (a GE from the 1980s) that was for sale for $15. After bribing the seller to take out the tape, we got it out and this ended up being a free find. Too bad the movies weren't on there, but they may have not had commercials if so.
Tape 3 - Motown Returns to the Apollo taped off KING-5 Seattle/NBC on August 3rd, 1986 with commercials (a rerun of the May 1985 NBC special). Full 3 hr presentation in EP mode.
Tape 4 - Final broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, taped March 9th, 2005 off KIMA-29 Yakima with commercials; Dan Rather: A Reporter Remembers, taped at 8PM the same night off KIMA with ads - This was a PITA to play in my Mitsubishi HS-U36 VCR. But the secondary late 1990s JVC VCR I have in my bedroom played it just fine. BTW it's a TDK T-120. ???
-crainbebo
Tape 1 - "State of Emergency" (1994) taped off HBO, no promo breaks noted, and "Malcolm X" (1992) taped off unknown pay-TV channel. A dud, as far as I can tell.
Tape 2 - Last five minutes of Local News at 6:30 (with Kevin Uretsky, who is still at KAPP), and full episodes of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, and about 90 minutes of the Dancing with the Stars finale, taped off KAPP-35 Yakima on May 20th, 2008 with commercials; tape starts with a jumble of previous recordings including a rerun of The Simpsons and PGA tour coverage; episode of Nightline taped from KAPP-35 in October 2007 with ads; tape goes blank after just over 4 hours (Labels said "The Naked Gun 33 1/3," "Double Blast" and "48 Hrs.") - Tape 2 was interesting - it was still in a top-loader VCR (a GE from the 1980s) that was for sale for $15. After bribing the seller to take out the tape, we got it out and this ended up being a free find. Too bad the movies weren't on there, but they may have not had commercials if so.
Tape 3 - Motown Returns to the Apollo taped off KING-5 Seattle/NBC on August 3rd, 1986 with commercials (a rerun of the May 1985 NBC special). Full 3 hr presentation in EP mode.
Tape 4 - Final broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, taped March 9th, 2005 off KIMA-29 Yakima with commercials; Dan Rather: A Reporter Remembers, taped at 8PM the same night off KIMA with ads - This was a PITA to play in my Mitsubishi HS-U36 VCR. But the secondary late 1990s JVC VCR I have in my bedroom played it just fine. BTW it's a TDK T-120. ???
-crainbebo
One estate sale, one VHS tape. This was the only home-recorded tape at the sale.
Tape 1 - Starts with a slideshow of somebody's wedding with Garth Brooks "If Tomorrow Never Comes" in the background (Probably the former owners or owner's son/grandson's! Odd); then cuts to "Cheech & Chong: Up in Smoke" (1978) copied from retail/rental Paramount HV tape; after the tape ends, there's the last 15 minutes of "Sudie & Simpson" (1990) and the first few minutes of an episode of The Tracey Ullman Show, taped from Lifetime Television on 2/4/1991 with two commercial breaks.
Have other yard sales to visit tomorrow and hopefully I will find more home recorded tapes.
-crainbebo
Tape 1 - Starts with a slideshow of somebody's wedding with Garth Brooks "If Tomorrow Never Comes" in the background (Probably the former owners or owner's son/grandson's! Odd); then cuts to "Cheech & Chong: Up in Smoke" (1978) copied from retail/rental Paramount HV tape; after the tape ends, there's the last 15 minutes of "Sudie & Simpson" (1990) and the first few minutes of an episode of The Tracey Ullman Show, taped from Lifetime Television on 2/4/1991 with two commercial breaks.
Have other yard sales to visit tomorrow and hopefully I will find more home recorded tapes.
-crainbebo
Went to the Orrville, Ohio community yard sales today and found six home-recorded tapes, four at a church rummage sale and two at a yard sale.
TAPE 1: Starts with a few minutes of an episode of Wheel of Fortune circa 1994 (contestant interviews and part of the first puzzle) taped from WSEE in Erie, includes an on-screen display of the night's Pennsylvania Lottery numbers, then cuts to a special two-hour episode of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman taped from WSEE on 11/5/1994 with commercials--I only looked at part of the tape, as the picture is shoddy quality overall, even for SLP speed, and the VCR sometimes makes little scraping sounds when I fast-forward or rewind the tape, so I likely won't keep it--I only put one of the commercial breaks from it on my computer
TAPE 2: Five episodes of M*A*S*H taped from FX in January 1999, first four episodes include commercials, fifth episode does not
TAPE 3: Four more M*A*S*H episodes taped from FX in January 1999 with commercials
TAPE 4: M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (rerun of the final episode) taped from WUAB in Cleveland (Eight O'clock Movie presentation) in February 1993 with commercials and start of that night's Ten O'clock News with Jack Marschall and Romona Robinson
TAPE 5: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) taped from Disney Channel circa 1997, starts with a promo block before the movie
TAPE 6: Ratatouille (2007) taped from Disney Channel in August 2009 with promo blocks throughout the movie--obviously a huge contrast from the last tape
TAPE 1: Starts with a few minutes of an episode of Wheel of Fortune circa 1994 (contestant interviews and part of the first puzzle) taped from WSEE in Erie, includes an on-screen display of the night's Pennsylvania Lottery numbers, then cuts to a special two-hour episode of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman taped from WSEE on 11/5/1994 with commercials--I only looked at part of the tape, as the picture is shoddy quality overall, even for SLP speed, and the VCR sometimes makes little scraping sounds when I fast-forward or rewind the tape, so I likely won't keep it--I only put one of the commercial breaks from it on my computer
TAPE 2: Five episodes of M*A*S*H taped from FX in January 1999, first four episodes include commercials, fifth episode does not
TAPE 3: Four more M*A*S*H episodes taped from FX in January 1999 with commercials
TAPE 4: M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (rerun of the final episode) taped from WUAB in Cleveland (Eight O'clock Movie presentation) in February 1993 with commercials and start of that night's Ten O'clock News with Jack Marschall and Romona Robinson
TAPE 5: Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) taped from Disney Channel circa 1997, starts with a promo block before the movie
TAPE 6: Ratatouille (2007) taped from Disney Channel in August 2009 with promo blocks throughout the movie--obviously a huge contrast from the last tape
Did you catch which brand name tape the 1994 VHS was? It must have been RCA, or a generic tape. I've had horrible success with RCA T-120s, most of them are shoddy, but I keep them because they have rare material (Strange Luck episodes from WFXR/FOX on two tapes, one tape with The Savage Dragon episodes from USA Network).
I had a tape with several Roswell (WB series) episodes on it, minus ads. It was one of the tapes I received from the Dallas lot almost a year ago. That tape clunked like crazy every time I fast forwarded or rewound it. I still have it, but need to throw it out.
-crainbebo
I had a tape with several Roswell (WB series) episodes on it, minus ads. It was one of the tapes I received from the Dallas lot almost a year ago. That tape clunked like crazy every time I fast forwarded or rewound it. I still have it, but need to throw it out.
-crainbebo
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Sadly, tomorrow came.
The case said Universal T-60, but there were no markings on the tape itself to indicate what brand it in itself was. Oftentimes when I find these tapes, the brand of the tape doesn't always match the brand of the case it's in.
I've never had any problems with RCA brand tapes. In fact, the two tapes of M*A*S*H reruns on FX and Ratatouille on the Disney Channel were RCA brands, and they played back just fine.
Maybe it's just when my RCA tapes were made. The two RCA's I have with "Strange Luck" episodes (first-run from Fox) were from 1995-1996. The other RCA with The Savage Dragon reruns (from Cartoon Express/USA) was also a 1995 cassette. The tapes have a lot of lines and interference especially at the bottom of the frames.
The tape with the rental-copied Up in Smoke and the 20 minutes or so of Lifetime Television from Feb 1991 was a BASF T-120 in an early 2000s TDK Revue T-120 case.
The tape with the rental-copied Up in Smoke and the 20 minutes or so of Lifetime Television from Feb 1991 was a BASF T-120 in an early 2000s TDK Revue T-120 case.
Went to four garage sales, but only found one tape, with no label, that ended up being a dud. Tape was in the bottom of a box, and was a Maxell T-120 without a box, with the tab still in, and was not rewound. The only material I found on that tape was an early-mid 00s episode of The Sopranos off HBO, in SP mode. The rest of the tape was recorded static/blank screen, even though the time counter kept moving in EP mode. Too bad the original material (whatever was in EP mode before being erased) was not on there, the cassette shell dated back to the 1990s.
I'm still waiting for my second 10-tape lot from Portland. Remember when I received a lot of local Portland and TBS/TNT material from the 1980s and 1990s? That was the first lot from eBay. Media Mail sucks.
-crainbebo
I'm still waiting for my second 10-tape lot from Portland. Remember when I received a lot of local Portland and TBS/TNT material from the 1980s and 1990s? That was the first lot from eBay. Media Mail sucks.
-crainbebo
Got my 10 tapes from Portland, and found some great content on some of the tapes. A few duds however.
Tape 1 - "Belly" (1998) copied from Artisan Entertainment rental tape - starts in the middle of the previews (SP mode)
Tape 2 - Echoes of the Big Bands with Merv Griffin and Surviving the Big One: An Earthquake Survival Guide taped off KCET-28 (PBS) in August 1990 with pledge breaks; next are two CNN clips from 1990 with a Saddam Hussein Iraqi TV interview, and a report from Amman, Jordan about Gulf War developments; episode of Collector's Journal with Ralph & Terry Kovel taped from Discovery Channel in August 1990 with a couple of commercial breaks; two John McEnroe tennis matches taped from Prime Network in August 1990 with some ads. This was shortly after his disqualification and meltdown at the Australian Open. (All in EP mode)
Tape 3 - "Desert Legion" (1953) with Alan Ladd found uncut without commercials. Probably a rental tape. There's about 5 seconds of a tennis match before the movie starts; frankly I would be more interested in that. Haven't checked what's after the movie (SP mode)
Tape 4 - "There Was a Crooked Man" (1970) taped from TBS in March 1993 with ads (need to check specific date); tape also includes "The Master Gunfighter" (1975) and "Billy Jack" (1971) probably taped from TBS, haven't checked yet. I have Billy Jack on a Warner Home Video VHS. (EP mode)
Tape 5 - About 45 minutes of KGW-8 coverage from the February 1996 Willamette River Floods; includes commercials and interviews with people who suffered through the flooding (SP mode); Mt St. Helens - 20 Years After (local KGW-8 special) taped in May 2000 (haven't checked for ads); a Mt. Rainier special and Mt. St. Helens: Out of the Ash, both taped from KOPB-10 (PBS) in 2000 (these 3 in EP mode); tape ends with part of a 1990 episode of PrimeTime Live off KATU with ads in LP mode.
Tape 6 - This was an unlabeled tape. Starts with two episodes of Diagnosis: Murder, taped off KOIN-6 (CBS) on June 15th, 2000 with ads; then cuts to various late night programming from KPTV-12 in the summer of 2000 - an episode of Change of Heart; Divorce Court; Star Trek: DS9 rerun; Sister, Sister; Grace Under Fire; The Nanny and NewsRadio, all included commercials. Great finds!
Tape 7 - "From Here to Eternity" (1953) taped off KPTV-12 in February 1988 with commercials; also includes "Crimes of the Heart" (1986) and "Marie" (1985), but haven't checked those yet. Tape is a little damaged, and rewinding is a PITA, making clunking noises. Fast forwarding the cassette is fine. ???
Tape 8 - A disappointing tape: Two episodes of Bonanza and an episode of Andy Griffith taped off TV Land 5/16/2010 minus ads. The tape originally had Terminator and Terminator 2 on it.
Tape 9 - "The Fisher King" taped from Showtime 2 (not Showtime) in either 1992 or 1993, includes a couple minutes of a promo break at the end before the tape goes blank for good
Tape 10 - Full broadcast of the 1994 Academy Awards, taped off KABC-7 (ABC) Los Angeles on 3/21/1994 with commercials
-crainbebo
Tape 1 - "Belly" (1998) copied from Artisan Entertainment rental tape - starts in the middle of the previews (SP mode)
Tape 2 - Echoes of the Big Bands with Merv Griffin and Surviving the Big One: An Earthquake Survival Guide taped off KCET-28 (PBS) in August 1990 with pledge breaks; next are two CNN clips from 1990 with a Saddam Hussein Iraqi TV interview, and a report from Amman, Jordan about Gulf War developments; episode of Collector's Journal with Ralph & Terry Kovel taped from Discovery Channel in August 1990 with a couple of commercial breaks; two John McEnroe tennis matches taped from Prime Network in August 1990 with some ads. This was shortly after his disqualification and meltdown at the Australian Open. (All in EP mode)
Tape 3 - "Desert Legion" (1953) with Alan Ladd found uncut without commercials. Probably a rental tape. There's about 5 seconds of a tennis match before the movie starts; frankly I would be more interested in that. Haven't checked what's after the movie (SP mode)
Tape 4 - "There Was a Crooked Man" (1970) taped from TBS in March 1993 with ads (need to check specific date); tape also includes "The Master Gunfighter" (1975) and "Billy Jack" (1971) probably taped from TBS, haven't checked yet. I have Billy Jack on a Warner Home Video VHS. (EP mode)
Tape 5 - About 45 minutes of KGW-8 coverage from the February 1996 Willamette River Floods; includes commercials and interviews with people who suffered through the flooding (SP mode); Mt St. Helens - 20 Years After (local KGW-8 special) taped in May 2000 (haven't checked for ads); a Mt. Rainier special and Mt. St. Helens: Out of the Ash, both taped from KOPB-10 (PBS) in 2000 (these 3 in EP mode); tape ends with part of a 1990 episode of PrimeTime Live off KATU with ads in LP mode.
Tape 6 - This was an unlabeled tape. Starts with two episodes of Diagnosis: Murder, taped off KOIN-6 (CBS) on June 15th, 2000 with ads; then cuts to various late night programming from KPTV-12 in the summer of 2000 - an episode of Change of Heart; Divorce Court; Star Trek: DS9 rerun; Sister, Sister; Grace Under Fire; The Nanny and NewsRadio, all included commercials. Great finds!
Tape 7 - "From Here to Eternity" (1953) taped off KPTV-12 in February 1988 with commercials; also includes "Crimes of the Heart" (1986) and "Marie" (1985), but haven't checked those yet. Tape is a little damaged, and rewinding is a PITA, making clunking noises. Fast forwarding the cassette is fine. ???
Tape 8 - A disappointing tape: Two episodes of Bonanza and an episode of Andy Griffith taped off TV Land 5/16/2010 minus ads. The tape originally had Terminator and Terminator 2 on it.
Tape 9 - "The Fisher King" taped from Showtime 2 (not Showtime) in either 1992 or 1993, includes a couple minutes of a promo break at the end before the tape goes blank for good
Tape 10 - Full broadcast of the 1994 Academy Awards, taped off KABC-7 (ABC) Los Angeles on 3/21/1994 with commercials
-crainbebo
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More tapes found--this time from Stormin' Norman's Flea Market on the outskirts of Toledo while on a family weekend trip in nearby Port Clinton last weekend (while also paying a visit to my old stomping grounds at Bowling Green State University). You can see the vendor's booth where I bought most of these from here.
http://toledo.craigslist.org/emd/5237078748.html
TAPE 1: The CBS All American Thanksgiving Parade and partial broadcast of The NFL Today with Greg Gumbel and Terry Bradshaw taped from WTOL on 11/28/1991 with commercials
TAPE 2: Partial weekend broadcast of CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer and first few minutes of an episode of Wheel of Fortune (weekend rerun from the previous season) taped from WTOL on 10/16/1993 with commercials--no other contents on this tape, was hoping it would have continued recording into the rest of the Wheel episode, Cash Explosion Double Play (Ohio Lottery game show) and Game 1 of the 1993 World Series
TAPE 3: The Secret Garden (1949), Children of the Damned (1964) and The Carpetbaggers (1964) taped from TCM in July 2005 with lengthy promo breaks after the first two movies, includes opening and closing segments for the movies from Ben Mankiewicz
TAPE 4: How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Frosty the Snowman taped from WTOL in December 1988 with commercials--tape label read "Christmas shows," so I didn't specifically know I was going to buy something I already have (Frosty the Snowman), probably should have passed on this one
TAPE 5: Adventures in Time: The National Geographic Millennium Special (NBC special) taped from WNWO on 12/23/1999 minus commercials--part of it is missing because part of it got taped over with some footage from around 2008, basically just a couple minutes of channel flipping on a Comcast Digital Cable box between SportsCenter on ESPN and JAG on USA
TAPE 6: Throw Momma from the Train (1987) taped from the Movie Channel circa 1989; Full Metal Jacket (1987) taped from HBO circa 1989, includes a "Next" bumper promoting the next movie on the schedule
TAPE 7: Men of Honor (2000) taped from unknown pay TV channel; U-571 (2000) taped from Encore circa 2002; The Cable Guy (1996) taped from HBO in June 2002 with promos afterward leading up to the first few minutes of an episode of The Wire before the recording stops
I did find an eighth tape that was supposed to contain the made-for-TV movie Little Richard, which aired on NBC on 2/20/2000, but the tape was defective and wouldn't go all the way into my VCR when I tried to put it in.
"Honorable mentions" (tapes spotted at the flea market but I didn't purchase, not limited to the following):
-The Last Don (already have part of part two of the CBS miniseries)
-New York Undercover episodes (cassette was missing its tape guard)
-Cops: Too Hot for TV (obviously copied from a rental tape, which I already have a legit copy of)
-Forrest Gump (already have a recording of it)
-Phenomenon (already have a recording of it)
-Two Dr. Wayne Dyer specials on PBS
-Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes cartoons
-Two Peter, Paul and Mary concerts on PBS
-Some that appeared to have been family home movies
-Several unlabeled tapes
http://toledo.craigslist.org/emd/5237078748.html
TAPE 1: The CBS All American Thanksgiving Parade and partial broadcast of The NFL Today with Greg Gumbel and Terry Bradshaw taped from WTOL on 11/28/1991 with commercials
TAPE 2: Partial weekend broadcast of CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer and first few minutes of an episode of Wheel of Fortune (weekend rerun from the previous season) taped from WTOL on 10/16/1993 with commercials--no other contents on this tape, was hoping it would have continued recording into the rest of the Wheel episode, Cash Explosion Double Play (Ohio Lottery game show) and Game 1 of the 1993 World Series
TAPE 3: The Secret Garden (1949), Children of the Damned (1964) and The Carpetbaggers (1964) taped from TCM in July 2005 with lengthy promo breaks after the first two movies, includes opening and closing segments for the movies from Ben Mankiewicz
TAPE 4: How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Frosty the Snowman taped from WTOL in December 1988 with commercials--tape label read "Christmas shows," so I didn't specifically know I was going to buy something I already have (Frosty the Snowman), probably should have passed on this one
TAPE 5: Adventures in Time: The National Geographic Millennium Special (NBC special) taped from WNWO on 12/23/1999 minus commercials--part of it is missing because part of it got taped over with some footage from around 2008, basically just a couple minutes of channel flipping on a Comcast Digital Cable box between SportsCenter on ESPN and JAG on USA
TAPE 6: Throw Momma from the Train (1987) taped from the Movie Channel circa 1989; Full Metal Jacket (1987) taped from HBO circa 1989, includes a "Next" bumper promoting the next movie on the schedule
TAPE 7: Men of Honor (2000) taped from unknown pay TV channel; U-571 (2000) taped from Encore circa 2002; The Cable Guy (1996) taped from HBO in June 2002 with promos afterward leading up to the first few minutes of an episode of The Wire before the recording stops
I did find an eighth tape that was supposed to contain the made-for-TV movie Little Richard, which aired on NBC on 2/20/2000, but the tape was defective and wouldn't go all the way into my VCR when I tried to put it in.
"Honorable mentions" (tapes spotted at the flea market but I didn't purchase, not limited to the following):
-The Last Don (already have part of part two of the CBS miniseries)
-New York Undercover episodes (cassette was missing its tape guard)
-Cops: Too Hot for TV (obviously copied from a rental tape, which I already have a legit copy of)
-Forrest Gump (already have a recording of it)
-Phenomenon (already have a recording of it)
-Two Dr. Wayne Dyer specials on PBS
-Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes cartoons
-Two Peter, Paul and Mary concerts on PBS
-Some that appeared to have been family home movies
-Several unlabeled tapes
Too bad the New York Undercover tape was broke. I wouldn't have taken if it there was no tape guard, either.
I'm a little wary on unlabeled tapes, due to the fact that it could contain anything from a time-shifted prime time show to a secret homemade porno. But the last unlabeled tape (listed above with Diagnosis Murder, Change of Heart, Divorce Court etc from 2000) was an excellent find. My compilation of 1992 Portland newscasts that are on YouTube were also off an unlabeled tape. If it has been played, I do pick up one or two and see what's on them, always keeping my fingers crossed.
I don't get why people give away their family memories. I will NOT pick up a tape that says "Christmas Morning 19XX" or "XX's and XX's Wedding" on it!! They should have that tape as long as possible in case the DVD doesn't work anymore.
Oddly enough, I had a tape that would not play in one VCR and played in another. It contained Dan Rather's final CBS Evening News, plus the primetime special that aired the same night (3/9/05). They were off KIMA.
-crainbebo
I'm a little wary on unlabeled tapes, due to the fact that it could contain anything from a time-shifted prime time show to a secret homemade porno. But the last unlabeled tape (listed above with Diagnosis Murder, Change of Heart, Divorce Court etc from 2000) was an excellent find. My compilation of 1992 Portland newscasts that are on YouTube were also off an unlabeled tape. If it has been played, I do pick up one or two and see what's on them, always keeping my fingers crossed.
I don't get why people give away their family memories. I will NOT pick up a tape that says "Christmas Morning 19XX" or "XX's and XX's Wedding" on it!! They should have that tape as long as possible in case the DVD doesn't work anymore.
Oddly enough, I had a tape that would not play in one VCR and played in another. It contained Dan Rather's final CBS Evening News, plus the primetime special that aired the same night (3/9/05). They were off KIMA.
-crainbebo
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Although I transferred thousands of VHS tapes to DVD and tossed the tapes after doing so I still have the very first VHS tape (a Fuji brand one) with the very first programs I recorded on my first VCR, from March 7, 1985. WNEW-TV New York (now WNYW) aired a five hour documentary on the life of Douglas MacArthur "An American Caesar" hosted by John Huston which aired in two parts. The final item on the tape is a PBS documentary from a few days later, "Air Force One: The Planes And The Presidents" narrated by Jimmy Stewart.
Ever since I've been seeing all these TV ads for this new website Letgo, I'm wondering if anyone has ever sold any of their used recorded VHS tapes on that site at all like they've done on eBay and Craigslist. I did, however, see one listing on that site just yesterday for a large collection of DVDs and VHS tapes, both home-recorded and pre-recorded in both media, out of Prairie City, Iowa. I'm not sure if many people are going to use that site to junk those off at all or not mainly since the site's so new, but that's just something that came to my mind.
I saw a VHS lot on eBay (well, actually 2). They are tapes from 1979 (!!) to the mid 1980s, unfortunately every single one is minus ads. Vega$, BJ and the Bear, Miami Vice, A-Team, Doctor Who, various others. You wouldn't believe how many are VK-250 RCAs. I would definitely go for it if the tapes had commercials.
I just looked and found two VHS lots - one from WI and one from PA on Letgo. Tapes on the first lot are all T-120 recorded. The second is a mix of retail and T-120 recorded, with a very old mid 1980s Maxell on top.
I just looked and found two VHS lots - one from WI and one from PA on Letgo. Tapes on the first lot are all T-120 recorded. The second is a mix of retail and T-120 recorded, with a very old mid 1980s Maxell on top.
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Had probably my worst luck ever with tapes. NONE are worth keeping at all.
Tape 1 - "The African Queen" (1951) copied from rental tape; "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) copied from rental tape; "Rear Window" (1954) most likely copied from rental, not sure - obviously no ads
Tape 2 - "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) and "A Passage to India" (1984) copied from rentals as well
Tape 3 - Lonesome Dove taped from CBS in 1989, minus ads (presumed KIMA-TV)
Tape 4 - "Top Gun" (1986), "True Grit" and "The Man From Snowy River" presumed off rentals, no ads seen
Tape 5 - A&E Ancient Mysteries with Leonard Nimoy episode ("Secrets of Sex: The Kama Sutra") taped from A&E 4/18/1996 minus ads; Moll Flanders/Masterpiece Theater taped off KYVE-47 on 10/13/1996, part 2 of Moll Flanders aired 10/14/1996 on KYVE; "The Zoe: Marrying Tribe of the Amazon" taped off Discovery Channel in the late 1990s minus ads. UNLABELED TAPE - I am not 100% surprised. I don't think this guy's wife would like to see a tape marked "SECRETS OF SEX" on the bookshelf. :O
These were found at an estate sale in Yakima. It's too bad that none of the tapes had commercials at all.
-crainbebo
Tape 1 - "The African Queen" (1951) copied from rental tape; "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) copied from rental tape; "Rear Window" (1954) most likely copied from rental, not sure - obviously no ads
Tape 2 - "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965) and "A Passage to India" (1984) copied from rentals as well
Tape 3 - Lonesome Dove taped from CBS in 1989, minus ads (presumed KIMA-TV)
Tape 4 - "Top Gun" (1986), "True Grit" and "The Man From Snowy River" presumed off rentals, no ads seen
Tape 5 - A&E Ancient Mysteries with Leonard Nimoy episode ("Secrets of Sex: The Kama Sutra") taped from A&E 4/18/1996 minus ads; Moll Flanders/Masterpiece Theater taped off KYVE-47 on 10/13/1996, part 2 of Moll Flanders aired 10/14/1996 on KYVE; "The Zoe: Marrying Tribe of the Amazon" taped off Discovery Channel in the late 1990s minus ads. UNLABELED TAPE - I am not 100% surprised. I don't think this guy's wife would like to see a tape marked "SECRETS OF SEX" on the bookshelf. :O
These were found at an estate sale in Yakima. It's too bad that none of the tapes had commercials at all.
-crainbebo
Yeah, I've had my fair share of such disappointments when hunting for these tapes at garage sales. Not unusual for me to find recordings of movies copied from retail VHS tapes or recorded from premium movie channels without any promos before or after.
Back in August, I went to a garage sale in Brunswick, Ohio, where I picked up three tapes, two of which contained a bit of local content from the New York Tri-State area. One tape had, among other things, an episode of Jenny Jones on WWOR and an episode of the telenovela Luz Clarita on WXTV, both from 1997 with commercials. Another had a smattering of network sitcoms from the 1992-1993 season like In Living Color, The Simpsons, Seinfeld and Cheers on WNBC and WNYW, respectively. The guy who sold them had three tall and thin boxes of VHS tapes, both home-recorded and pre-recorded. Most of the home-recorded tapes I remember seeing had movie titles on the labels, so the first thing that popped in my mind was that they were all likely taped from a premium channel like HBO without any commercials. Since the guy seemed kind of eager to get rid of all of them at once when I was there, I'm wondering if I should have taken the chance and bought all of them on the chance I could find similar content to what was on the tapes I did buy. :\
I did, however, just purchase a lot of 50 tapes from a seller on eBay in Brownwood, Texas (likely the Abilene market or perhaps Dallas/Fort Worth). The few tape labels I could read in the photos had "Divine Design" (HGTV program) and "Touched by an Angel" written on a couple of them, but other labels were harder to read in the photos. Estimated time period of the recordings based on the tape brands and cases kind of runs the gamut.
Back in August, I went to a garage sale in Brunswick, Ohio, where I picked up three tapes, two of which contained a bit of local content from the New York Tri-State area. One tape had, among other things, an episode of Jenny Jones on WWOR and an episode of the telenovela Luz Clarita on WXTV, both from 1997 with commercials. Another had a smattering of network sitcoms from the 1992-1993 season like In Living Color, The Simpsons, Seinfeld and Cheers on WNBC and WNYW, respectively. The guy who sold them had three tall and thin boxes of VHS tapes, both home-recorded and pre-recorded. Most of the home-recorded tapes I remember seeing had movie titles on the labels, so the first thing that popped in my mind was that they were all likely taped from a premium channel like HBO without any commercials. Since the guy seemed kind of eager to get rid of all of them at once when I was there, I'm wondering if I should have taken the chance and bought all of them on the chance I could find similar content to what was on the tapes I did buy. :\
I did, however, just purchase a lot of 50 tapes from a seller on eBay in Brownwood, Texas (likely the Abilene market or perhaps Dallas/Fort Worth). The few tape labels I could read in the photos had "Divine Design" (HGTV program) and "Touched by an Angel" written on a couple of them, but other labels were harder to read in the photos. Estimated time period of the recordings based on the tape brands and cases kind of runs the gamut.
I taped a lot of stuff off TV from 1983 through 2008 or so, then lost all the tapes in an apartment fire in 2010. You guys would have really enjoyed them, too: sports events (network and local), local newscasts, lots of country concerts from TNN and Austin City Limits, episodes of "Barney Miller," "Remember WENN," "Mystery Science Theater 3000," horse racing replay shows from SportsChannel ... alas, they're all gone.