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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have

That new Brownwood lot was on my watch list! That's OK, there's always other tapes to be found, and I've got too many to go through (and too little time anyways). Lately I've had problems uploading certain videos due to encoding problems. "This video has failed to process. Please make sure you are using a supported file and try again." I had to download a transcoder called Handbrake in order to continue uploading commercial breaks and other content. Yesterday it worked just fine, "barefoot." No encoder, no problem...just with the Honestech 5.0 VHS-DVD Converter, my VCR and MPEG files.

I bought seven tapes at a yard sale in Yakima on Saturday. Two were duds. Here's what I found on the others.
Tape 1 - "Driven" (2001), "Cherry 2000" (1987), "Bedazzled" (2000) and partial broadcast of Six Feet Under taped off HBO 12/1/2002 with promos - Free Preview Weekend
Tape 2 - Dragon Ball Z: History of Trunks taped off Cartoon Network in September 2003 with commercials. Haven't looked at the rest of it, but the tape is marked "Dragon Ball Z", so probably more episodes afterwards
Tape 3 - "Underworld: Evolution" (2006) and "Firewall" (2006) taped off unknown channels; end of the 2003 Winston All-Star Race, NASCAR Fan Shop and partial broadcast of Speed 2: Cruise Control taped off FX 5/17/2003 with commercials
Tape 4 - Partial broadcast of NASCAR Past Champions taped off Speed Channel 2/13/2002 with commercials (and a little bit of Dish Network channel surfing); Gatorade Twin 125's taped off TNT 2/14/2002 with commercials
Tape 5 - "Shallow Hal" (2001) taped off DirecTV PPV 10/7/2002 (according to the listing); Northwest Racing Enterprises 150, episode of NASCAR Past Champions and UDTRA Pro DirtCar race taped off Speed Channel in October 2002 with commercials

I am way behind with new tapes. Haven't even got to them because I've been so busy and all of these video problems too!
An update to 8/19's estate sale finds: On tape 1, I was able to find an episode of Two Girls, a Guy and a Pizza Place after Dharma & Greg, also w/ commercials, taped 12-2-1998. The tape goes blank a few minutes into The Drew Carey Show.
 
Since it was announced that Funai Electric, the world's last manufacturer of VHS machines, had ceased production,
I figured I had better hurry-up and go buy a new one while they could still be had.

Arrived via UPS yesterday, and seems to work very well.
Will spend some time over the winter months going through 20+ year old tapes to
refresh my memory on what I actually put on there in the first place.
 
Just one tape from a yard sale today. Three found, the other two were duds (copied off rentals).
Tape 1 - "Pitch Black" (2000) taped off Dish on Demand circa late 2000; "Turner & Hooch" (1989) taped off WWOR-9 New York 12/3/2000 with commercials; ends with about 40 min of an unknown romantic movie from the 1990s, in SP mode and no ads
 
I've been going through a huge Yakima lot from an estate sale, last Saturday. This lot was the best I've ever had from the Yakima TV market, with tapes as early as 1985 (oldest content uncovered so far from this market), and tons of rarities.

Tape 1 - The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (animated Easter cartoon) taped off KIMA-29/CBS 3/27/1997 with commercials; part 2 of Million Dollar Babies taped off KEPR-19 Pasco/CBS 11/22/1994 with commercials; partial episode and full episode of Saved by the Bell: The College Years taped off TBS in November 1994 with commercials; ends with a few minutes of a Bissell Plus infomercial taped in 1993 or 1994

Tape 2 - "Betrayed" (1988) taped off HBO 9/17/1989 with promos after the movie; episode of Days of Our Lives and partial episode of DuckTales taped off KNDO-23/NBC January 1990 with commercials; partial taped over episode of Guiding Light taped off KIMA-29/CBS 9/1989 with commercials; another episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO-23/NBC September 1989 with commercials; partial airing of KIMA NewsBeat and first minute of the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather taped off KIMA-29 in September 1989 with commercials; pilot of Chicken Soup taped off KAPP-35/ABC 9/12/1989 with commercials; short clip of The People's Court taped in March 1989 with a commercial break (no local information, but KAPP aired it at 5PM weekdays, so I will count as such); partial broadcast of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO-23/NBC 12/30/1988 with commercials

Tape 3 - "A View to A Kill" (1985) taped off unknown channel, no ads; ABC News Closeup: Alcohol & Cocaine - The Secret of Addiction taped off KAPP-35/ABC 5/29/1987 with commercials; episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO-23/NBC in May 1987 with commercials; partial broadcast of "Roses are for the Rich" and KIMA-29 NewsBeat taped off KIMA-29/CBS 5/19/1987 with commercials; partial broadcast of West 57th taped off KIMA-29/CBS in May 1987 with commercials

Tape 4 - "Mrs. Miniver" (1942) taped off KYVE-47/PBS Yakima 12/13/1996, includes 12:30AM sign-off and a few minutes of static afterwards; episodes of The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and As the World Turns taped off KIMA-29 CBS in December 1996 w/ commercials; episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO-23/NBC in December 1996 with commercials

Tape 5 - Several 20 Minute Workout episodes taped off KCWT-27 Wenatchee, WA (IND) in January-February 1985 with commercials...my first ever footage from this DEFUNCT indie/Fox station! After about six episodes, with a couple in LP mode, the tape switches to a partially-taped over recording of the WA State HS Girls Gymnastics Championships and a partial episode of Entertainment This Week (a special Liza Minnelli episode) taped off KREM-2 Spokane in February 1985 with commercials

Tape 6 - Partial episode of The Young & The Restless, and full episodes of Inside Edition, Bold & The Beautiful and As the World Turns taped off KIMA-29/CBS in August 2006 with commercials; episodes of Days of Our Lives and Passions taped off KNDO-23/NBC in August 2006 w/ commercials; partial episode of The Andy Griffith Show taped off KIMA-29 in May 2006 with commercials (they used to air Andy Griffith on Saturday afternoons); episode of The Bold and the Beautiful and partial As the World Turns taped off KIMA/CBS in May 2006 with commercials

Tape 7 - MY OLDEST TAPE FROM YAKIMA!! "Dumbo" (1941) taped off KNDO/23 NBC 11/18/1985 with commercials, in Hi-Fi! Also includes: the I Love Lucy Christmas Special taped off KIMA-29/CBS 12/18/1989 with commercials; partial broadcast of Circle of Violence: A Family Drama taped off KIMA/CBS 10/12/1986 with commercials; block of MTV music videos taped 1/13/1988 with commercials (VJ "Downtown" Julie Brown); partial episode of Guiding Light taped off KIMA/CBS 5/23/1986 with commercials; partial broadcasts of KNDO NewsCenter 23 and KIMA NewsBeat taped 5/22/1986 with commercials (this is now the oldest news footage ever found from Yakima-Tri Cities in my collection)

Tape 8 - "Gramps" (1995) and TV's Censored Bloopers taped off KNDO/NBC 5/20/1995 with commercials; "Secrets" (1995) taped off KAPP/ABC 5/25/1995 with commercials; partial episode of Guiding Light taped off KIMA/CBS 5/23/1995 with commercials; episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO/NBC 5/24/1995 with commercials

Tape 9 - Episode of Saturday Night Live taped off KNDO/NBC 9/30-10/1/1989 with commercials and a partial sign off (host Bruce Willis, musical guest Neil Young); partial airing of "Sweet Bird of Youth" taped off KNDO/NBC 10/1/1989 with commercials; Crack USA: County Under Siege taped off HBO in November 1989 with a long intershow afterwards; partial episode of Guiding Light taped off KIMA/CBS in September 1989 with commercials; episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO/NBC in September 1989 with commercials; another partial Guiding Light taped off KIMA/CBS in May 1989 with commercials

Tape 10 - 60 Minutes, "Jake's Women" (1996) and a full broadcast of the CBS Sunday Night News taped off KIMA/CBS 3/3/1996 with commercials (Cybill and Almost Perfect were not recorded, oddly enough); partial episode of Guiding Light taped off KIMA/CBS in March 1996 with commercials; two Days of Our Lives episodes tawped off KNDO/NBC in March 1996 with commercials

Tape 11 - Sammy Davis Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration taped off KAPP/ABC 2/4/1990 with commercials; partial episode of Guiding Light taped off KIMA/CBS 8/3/1989 with commercials; full episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO/NBC 8/3/89 with ads

Tape 12 - Episode of L.A. Law taped off KNDO/NBC 1/31/1991 with commercials; L.A. Law 100th Episode Special (with Jane Pauley) taped off KNDO/NBC 2/6/1991 with commercials; three more episodes of L.A. Law taped off KNDO/NBC 2/7, 2/14 and 2/21/1991 with commercials

Tape 13 - Miss Ruby's Southern Holiday Dinner taped off KYVE/PBS sometime in December 1988; CBS News Special: A Tribute to Lucille Ball taped off KIMA/CBS 4/26/1989 with commercials; first couple minutes of Group One Medical taped off KIMA/CBS in December 1988 with a partial break before the program; full episode of As the World Turns taped off KIMA/CBS 12/14/1988 with commercials; episode of Days of Our Lives and partial episode of The Real Ghostbusters taped off KNDO/NBC 12/14/1988 with commercials; three partial episodes of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO/NBC in December 1988 with commercials

Still a couple more tapes to look through, one had a Price is Right from 2003 on it. But this lot is one for the record books!
 
The Sammy Davis Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration aired opposite Spies Like Us on NBC (I have a partial recording of that movie from KRBC in Abilene with commercials).

Wasn't 1985 around the time the first Hi-Fi VCRs were made available? I thought I read that on Wikipedia somewhere, but I obviously can't guarantee how accurate that is.

My Brownwood tapes should hopefully be delivered within the next couple of days or so. The little town of Hinckley, Ohio is holding its annual community-wide yard sale tomorrow, but right now the weather forecast doesn't look all that great for it.
 
I got my second Brownwood collection on Monday. This one, however, was a big difference compared to what I got from there last November. To begin with, the photo in the eBay listing was clearly not representative of the tapes I received, i.e. some of the brands present in the photos were not found in the box and the tapes of Dr. Phil and the Rolling Stones on MTV I said were in the photos were nowhere to be found. Most of the tapes in this collection consisted of movies recorded from premium cable channels like Starz, Encore, Cinemax, Showtime, the Movie Channel, etc. Good news is most of those recordings had promos between the movies. Better news is I did find a few recordings from commercial TV within the lot, just not nearly as much as the last one from Brownwood. Here's just a little bit of what I found...

TAPE 1: Six episodes of An Evening at the Improv taped from A&E in August 1990, only one commercial break was found throughout the whole tape

TAPE 2: Aimee & Jaguar (1999) taped from True Stories in September 2002 with promos before and after the movie

TAPE 3: Last Man Standing (1996), The Glimmer Man (1996) and High School High (1996) taped from DirecTV Direct Ticket circa 1997, the recordings of these movies started with countdown graphics with music in the background leading up to the Feature Presentation intro; partially taped-over episode of M*A*S*H and episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation taped from KTXA in Dallas in April 1997 with commercials

TAPE 4: Monsters, Inc. (2001) taped from Starz sometime in 2003 during a Free Preview Weekend with promos before and after the movie

TAPE 5: Colors (1988) taped from Starz in March 1997 with promos afterward leading up to the start of The Assassination File (1996)

TAPE 6: Episodes of It's Showtime at the Apollo and Flava TV (local urban music video show, this episode featured interviews with Mary J. Blige) taped from KDFI in Dallas in October 2001 with commercials; partial episode of Young Americans taped from KDAF in Dallas on 8/9/2000 with commercials

TAPE 7: The Miracle Worker (1962) taped from TCM in January 2000 with promos before the movie; Curly Sue (1991) taped from Encore on 1/18/2000 with promos before the movie; Untamed Heart (1993) taped from Romance Classics on 1/20/2000 with promos and a Buick Park Avenue commercial before the movie

TAPE 8: I Am Sam (2001) taped from Starz in February 2003 with promos before and after the movie

TAPE 9: Mulholland Drive (2001) taped from Starz in October 2002 with promos before and after the movie

TAPE 10: Divas and Kings: 2000 and Beyond: The Soul Train 30th Anniversary taped from KDAF in June 2001 with commercials, recording starts about nine minutes into the program and ends with the first few seconds of a Simpsons rerun that followed; partially taped-over episode of Moesha taped from KTXA on 10/30/1997 with a few commercials

TAPE 11: What Women Want (2000) taped from Showtime in January 2002 during a Free Preview Weekend with promos before and after the movie, a partial episode of Soul Food follows; partially taped-over episode of ER taped from KXAS in Dallas on 12/13/2001 with a few commercials and start of NBC 5 News at 10:00; partial recording of The Christmas Secret (CBS made-for-TV movie) taped from KTVT in Dallas on 12/14/2001 with commercials, tape goes blank during the second commercial break

TAPE 12: The Mummy Returns (2001) taped from Starz Theater in May 2002 with promos before and after the movie, first 30 minutes or so of A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) follows; partially taped-over episode of ER taped from KXAS on 1/31/2002 with a few commercials and start of NBC 5 News at 10:00 with Mike Snyder and Jane McGarry

I also found a few tapes that I ended up not playing all the way through due either to heavy tape damage or my VCR squealing while rewinding or fast-forwarding. For example, one tape I found had a mixture of religious programs and family-oriented dramas (John Hagee Today and Life in the Word with Joyce Meyer on TBN, Promised Land on PAX TV/KIDZ in Abilene, 7th Heaven on WGN Superstation, all recorded in November 2001 with commercials and promos intact), but about halfway through the tape, it became too damaged for me to want to continue playing back. Another tape in a similar condition had a recording of the 2001 BET Awards with commercials.

Yesterday, I bought five tapes at a local yard sale, but most of them turned out to be duds. Two tapes had Nova's "Odyssey of Life" miniseries taped from WNEO/WEAO in Akron in 1996, each in SP mode. Two others had movies copied from rentals. The fifth had a 1996 History Channel miniseries called Four Years of Thunder with the commercials intact, but after I had stopped the tape for a few minutes and then hit play, the audio was gone and the video unexpectedly started speeding up, even though my VCR display said it was still playing back in SLP mode! Overall operation of the VCR with other tapes is fine, but it's a shame I'll have to end up tossing that tape out before even having a chance to digitize the commercials.
 
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I've been noticing that. Tapes everywhere seem to be disintegrating significantly. Some of the old cheap tapes are getting to the end of their lives. This is where we really start converting everything to DVD! I just played a full Huskies vs. Arizona State game from 9-5-1992 yesterday, and as I got to the end of the game, the picture completely went away on my Funai unit. I've still got the chamois swabs and alcohol, as I know it's bad heads. As for that tape, it came from another great yard sale last Saturday. Tape listings are below.
Sad that you had to toss the History Channel 1996 tape. That is very early footage from the network, and it's a shame that the tape wasn't working.

Tape 1 - 1992 Rose Bowl Postgame Show taped off KOMO-4 Seattle 1/1/1992 with commercials (hosted by former KOMO sports director Bruce King); Seattle Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals MLB game, an episode of Taxi and most of The Ten O'Clock News taped off KSTW-11 4/11/1992 with commercials

Tape 2 - Seahawks AFC Divisional Playoff vs. Miami Dolphins, taped off NBC (presumed KING-5, or even KNDO-23) 12/31/1983! Unfortunately, no ads. This tape is a (censored) to play as it also screwed up my heads the first time.

Tape 3 - "The Natural" (1984) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; "All the Right Moves" (1983) taped off Cinemax circa August 1985; Pete Rose: Countdown to History taped off unknown channel in August 1985 minus most ads (a syndicated special); Seattle Seahawks 1984 Season Highlights taped off unknown channel in 1985 minus ads; Gettin' Ready with Lou Gellos, a local KING-5 preview special for the Seahawks' 1985 season, taped off KING in August 1985 minus ads. The Lou Gellos special I will copy to YT soon, the tape will be sold in a random eBay lot as minus commercials.

Tape 4 - "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (1988) taped off KIMA-29/CBS 11/12/1991 with commercials (a Wonderful World of Disney airing); "Back to the Future III" (1990) taped off KNDO-23/NBC 11/17/1991 with commercials; episodes of Captain N & The New Super Mario World, ProStars, Wish Kid, and the first couple minutes of K-TV (syndicated kids show) taped off KNDO/NBC Saturday Morning 11/30/1991 with commercials

Tape 5 - MTV Top 100 Videos of 1985 countdown (top 40 only) taped in January 1986 with commercials; Johnny Carson's final Tonight Show taped off KNDO/NBC 5/22-23/1992 with commercials; partial episode of Woody Woodpecker and most of an episode of Family Feud (Ray Combs, syndicated version) taped off KNDO-23 Yakima in January 1991 w/ commercials (a South Carolina state senator plays in one of the families!); partial episode of Sale of the Century, full episode of $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime and first five minutes of KOMO 4 News/5PM taped off KOMO-4 Seattle 1/17/1986 with commercials. The "$1 Million Chance" is not on the trading circuit yet. The late Jim Lange hosted it, long after The Dating Game ended.

Tape 6 - Founding Fathers and an episode of Modern Marvels taped off History Channel in November 2000 with commercials; episodes of Veronica's Closet, ER, Channel 4 News at 11, The Tonight Show/Jay Leno and Late Night/Conan O'Brien taped off KNBC-4/NBC LA 11/19-20/1998 with commercials

Tape 7 - 1984 Winter Olympics footage taped off KAPP-35 Yakima 2/19/1984, some ads cut out, others left in. Last week I had KNDO content from November 1985, this beats the Yakima TV record by over a year and a half! Also included: the 1-hour Happy Days finale taped from KAPP/ABC 5/8/1984 minus ads; special broadcast of Nightline taped off KAPP/ABC 6/6/1984 minus ads, a re-creation of D-Day coverage to celebrate the 40th anniversary; 1-hour Summer Olympics special taped off KAPP/ABC 8/13/1984 minus ads; episode of Nightline taped the same night with some commercials included - still haven't finished this one, but it seems to be OK.

Tape 8 - Almost full broadcast of Super Bowl XX taped off KING-5/NBC Seattle 1/26/1986 with commercials and halftime show with Up with People entitled "Beat of the Future." It also lists the Challenger explosion funeral service and an MTV New Year's Eve celebration, but I haven't checked there yet.

Tape 9 - JFK: In His Own Words taped off HBO in November 1988; Four Days in November taped off KIMA/CBS 11/17/1988 with commercials (I already have this from WJBK Detroit, on a converted DVD - I sold the original tape); Monday Night Football 20th Anniversary Special taped off KAPP/ABC 9/11/1989 with commercials; ANOTHER copy of the final Johnny Carson Tonight Show, taped off KNDO/NBC 5/24/1992 with commercials...maybe it was recorded on two VCRs at the same time? Also, brief NBC Nightly News clip and KNDO NewsCenter 23 clip taped sometime in September 1988; ends with about 20 minutes of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO/NBC in July 1988 with commercials

Tape 10 - Styx: Mr. Roboto concert taped off MTV in December 1984 with one partial break before the show (the concert is commercial-free); briefly taped over twice, by an unknown soap opera clip and a Chicago Cubs game; partial broadcast of 1984 Husky Football Highlights taped off KOMO-4 in December 1984; 1985 Orange Bowl taped off KING-5/NBC 1/1/1985, most ads included; ends with a local postgame show with Tony Ventrella taped after the game w/ commercials

Tape 11 - Huskies vs. Arizona State football game taped off Prime Sports NW 9/5/1992 with commercials (this one did screw up my Funai heads); also contains a show called Husky Profile afterwards, but by then my picture was full of static.
 
Since I got the Brownwood lot, the only other tape I've found was a couple of weeks ago when I was in Toledo for a weekend to see a concert. I found the tape at the Maumee Antique Mall (Maumee is one of the closest suburbs to the Glass City). It had a CBS Saturday Movie presentation of Caddyshack (1980) taped from WTOL in March 1986 with commercials, an uncut(!) Cinema 36 Prime Time showing of Animal House (1978) taped from WUPW in May 1986 with commercials, and an episode of You Again? taped from WTVG in May 1986 with commercials.

Two community yard sales are going on this weekend in the Northeast Ohio area, one in Peninsula (Summit County) and one in Orrville (Wayne County). Not sure which one I should go to. I went to the one in Orrville last year and came home with a few finds. That town also has a small indoor flea market that I've had a good amount of luck at before.
http://fox8.com/community-calendar/...ation=44103-cleveland&sections=all&date=today
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/orrville-community-yard-sales-2016-tickets-27254752699
 
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Find the one community with the most older homes, and senior citizens. The more sales with 55+/senior families, the more chance on VHS tapes, in my opinion.
Two weeks ago I was at yet another estate sale, this off of 53rd and Nob Hill in Yakima. Four tapes found with some interesting content on each.

Tape 1 - (8-HOUR TAPE) 76th Academy Awards ceremony; Barbara Walters Special, An Evening at the Academy Awards (syndicated special), CNN Headline News and Ebert & Roeper taped off KAPP-35/ABC 2/29/2004 with commercials; partial episode of The Young & The Restless (a rerun of the 2002 Victor/Nikki wedding) taped off KIMA-29/CBS 11/29/2002 with commercials; partial episode of All My Children taped off KAPP/ABC 5/13/2002 with commercials; another partial episode of All My Children taped off KAPP/ABC in April 2002 with commercials
Tape 2 - Partial broadcast of "Joe Versus the Volcano" taped off unknown pay-TV channel; partial third round of the LPGA Nabisco Dinah Shore Classic, Making a Difference Today (local special), ABC World News Saturday, 9 News and partial broadcast of Entertainment Tonight Weekend taped off KUSA-9 Denver/ABC 3/30/1991 with commercials. Probably off the C-Band satellite feed, I doubt they lived in Denver.
Tape 3 - Season finale of ER, full broadcast of KNDO 23 11 at 11, episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (from Las Vegas), Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC All Night reruns of Leno and Conan and partial episode of Pyramid (Donny Osmond) taped off KNDO/NBC 5/13-14/2004 with commercials. I've got a lot of these examples, people leaving the tape running all night and they forgot to stop it. Original labels said "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," and "Christmas Shows" with an old Maxell label from the '80s.
Tape 4 - Partial airing of "Ali" (2001) and HBO's Boxing After Dark (Austin vs. Marquez from Caesar's Palace) taped off HBO 2/15/2003 with promos in between the two shows; partial episode of Nash Bridges, Martin, Living Single and part of "The Girl Next Door" (1998) taped off USA Network in February 2003 with commercials
 
Find the one community with the most older homes, and senior citizens. The more sales with 55+/senior families, the more chance on VHS tapes, in my opinion.
Two weeks ago I was at yet another estate sale, this off of 53rd and Nob Hill in Yakima. Four tapes found with some interesting content on each.

Tape 1 - (8-HOUR TAPE) 76th Academy Awards ceremony; Barbara Walters Special, An Evening at the Academy Awards (syndicated special), CNN Headline News and Ebert & Roeper taped off KAPP-35/ABC 2/29/2004 with commercials; partial episode of The Young & The Restless (a rerun of the 2002 Victor/Nikki wedding) taped off KIMA-29/CBS 11/29/2002 with commercials; partial episode of All My Children taped off KAPP/ABC 5/13/2002 with commercials; another partial episode of All My Children taped off KAPP/ABC in April 2002 with commercials
Tape 2 - Partial broadcast of "Joe Versus the Volcano" taped off unknown pay-TV channel; partial third round of the LPGA Nabisco Dinah Shore Classic, Making a Difference Today (local special), ABC World News Saturday, 9 News and partial broadcast of Entertainment Tonight Weekend taped off KUSA-9 Denver/ABC 3/30/1991 with commercials. Probably off the C-Band satellite feed, I doubt they lived in Denver.
Tape 3 - Season finale of ER, full broadcast of KNDO 23 11 at 11, episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (from Las Vegas), Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC All Night reruns of Leno and Conan and partial episode of Pyramid (Donny Osmond) taped off KNDO/NBC 5/13-14/2004 with commercials. I've got a lot of these examples, people leaving the tape running all night and they forgot to stop it. Original labels said "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," and "Christmas Shows" with an old Maxell label from the '80s.
Tape 4 - Partial airing of "Ali" (2001) and HBO's Boxing After Dark (Austin vs. Marquez from Caesar's Palace) taped off HBO 2/15/2003 with promos in between the two shows; partial episode of Nash Bridges, Martin, Living Single and part of "The Girl Next Door" (1998) taped off USA Network in February 2003 with commercials

It seems like you've found quite a bit of footage from the C-band feeds of the Denver 5. The only example of such footage I've found was a recording of The Comancheros on KUSA in 1986. Ads are cut out on that recording though.
 
I've been noticing that. Tapes everywhere seem to be disintegrating significantly. Some of the old cheap tapes are getting to the end of their lives. This is where we really start converting everything to DVD! I just played a full Huskies vs. Arizona State game from 9-5-1992 yesterday, and as I got to the end of the game, the picture completely went away on my Funai unit. I've still got the chamois swabs and alcohol, as I know it's bad heads. As for that tape, it came from another great yard sale last Saturday. Tape listings are below.
Sad that you had to toss the History Channel 1996 tape. That is very early footage from the network, and it's a shame that the tape wasn't working.

Tape 1 - 1992 Rose Bowl Postgame Show taped off KOMO-4 Seattle 1/1/1992 with commercials (hosted by former KOMO sports director Bruce King); Seattle Mariners vs. Kansas City Royals MLB game, an episode of Taxi and most of The Ten O'Clock News taped off KSTW-11 4/11/1992 with commercials

Tape 2 - Seahawks AFC Divisional Playoff vs. Miami Dolphins, taped off NBC (presumed KING-5, or even KNDO-23) 12/31/1983! Unfortunately, no ads. This tape is a (censored) to play as it also screwed up my heads the first time.

Tape 3 - "The Natural" (1984) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; "All the Right Moves" (1983) taped off Cinemax circa August 1985; Pete Rose: Countdown to History taped off unknown channel in August 1985 minus most ads (a syndicated special); Seattle Seahawks 1984 Season Highlights taped off unknown channel in 1985 minus ads; Gettin' Ready with Lou Gellos, a local KING-5 preview special for the Seahawks' 1985 season, taped off KING in August 1985 minus ads. The Lou Gellos special I will copy to YT soon, the tape will be sold in a random eBay lot as minus commercials.

Tape 4 - "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (1988) taped off KIMA-29/CBS 11/12/1991 with commercials (a Wonderful World of Disney airing); "Back to the Future III" (1990) taped off KNDO-23/NBC 11/17/1991 with commercials; episodes of Captain N & The New Super Mario World, ProStars, Wish Kid, and the first couple minutes of K-TV (syndicated kids show) taped off KNDO/NBC Saturday Morning 11/30/1991 with commercials

Tape 5 - MTV Top 100 Videos of 1985 countdown (top 40 only) taped in January 1986 with commercials; Johnny Carson's final Tonight Show taped off KNDO/NBC 5/22-23/1992 with commercials; partial episode of Woody Woodpecker and most of an episode of Family Feud (Ray Combs, syndicated version) taped off KNDO-23 Yakima in January 1991 w/ commercials (a South Carolina state senator plays in one of the families!); partial episode of Sale of the Century, full episode of $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime and first five minutes of KOMO 4 News/5PM taped off KOMO-4 Seattle 1/17/1986 with commercials. The "$1 Million Chance" is not on the trading circuit yet. The late Jim Lange hosted it, long after The Dating Game ended.

Tape 6 - Founding Fathers and an episode of Modern Marvels taped off History Channel in November 2000 with commercials; episodes of Veronica's Closet, ER, Channel 4 News at 11, The Tonight Show/Jay Leno and Late Night/Conan O'Brien taped off KNBC-4/NBC LA 11/19-20/1998 with commercials

Tape 7 - 1984 Winter Olympics footage taped off KAPP-35 Yakima 2/19/1984, some ads cut out, others left in. Last week I had KNDO content from November 1985, this beats the Yakima TV record by over a year and a half! Also included: the 1-hour Happy Days finale taped from KAPP/ABC 5/8/1984 minus ads; special broadcast of Nightline taped off KAPP/ABC 6/6/1984 minus ads, a re-creation of D-Day coverage to celebrate the 40th anniversary; 1-hour Summer Olympics special taped off KAPP/ABC 8/13/1984 minus ads; episode of Nightline taped the same night with some commercials included - still haven't finished this one, but it seems to be OK.

Tape 8 - Almost full broadcast of Super Bowl XX taped off KING-5/NBC Seattle 1/26/1986 with commercials and halftime show with Up with People entitled "Beat of the Future." It also lists the Challenger explosion funeral service and an MTV New Year's Eve celebration, but I haven't checked there yet.

Tape 9 - JFK: In His Own Words taped off HBO in November 1988; Four Days in November taped off KIMA/CBS 11/17/1988 with commercials (I already have this from WJBK Detroit, on a converted DVD - I sold the original tape); Monday Night Football 20th Anniversary Special taped off KAPP/ABC 9/11/1989 with commercials; ANOTHER copy of the final Johnny Carson Tonight Show, taped off KNDO/NBC 5/24/1992 with commercials...maybe it was recorded on two VCRs at the same time? Also, brief NBC Nightly News clip and KNDO NewsCenter 23 clip taped sometime in September 1988; ends with about 20 minutes of Days of Our Lives taped off KNDO/NBC in July 1988 with commercials

Tape 10 - Styx: Mr. Roboto concert taped off MTV in December 1984 with one partial break before the show (the concert is commercial-free); briefly taped over twice, by an unknown soap opera clip and a Chicago Cubs game; partial broadcast of 1984 Husky Football Highlights taped off KOMO-4 in December 1984; 1985 Orange Bowl taped off KING-5/NBC 1/1/1985, most ads included; ends with a local postgame show with Tony Ventrella taped after the game w/ commercials

Tape 11 - Huskies vs. Arizona State football game taped off Prime Sports NW 9/5/1992 with commercials (this one did screw up my Funai heads); also contains a show called Husky Profile afterwards, but by then my picture was full of static.


I would love it if you posted the mariners royals 4/11/92 basebal game onto youtube please?
 
That would likely happen. Commercials will be posted however. I can send you a DVD copy soon if you want me to.
 
That would likely happen. Commercials will be posted however. I can send you a DVD copy soon if you want me to.

Unfortunately even commercials can be taken down due to copyright violations. A few years ago I had uploaded an old 7-Up commercial featuring baseball great Pete Rose. The ad was from 7-UP's "never had it..never will" days. Rose was slamming the other sodas such as Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, Coke and Pepsi for having caffeine while 7-Up didn't. Anyway Dr. Pepper had You Tube take down the ad. The more I think of it maybe it was more due to the current owners of 7-UP that being Dr. Pepper since they probably don't want people to see an ad even if the ad was from 1984 slamming their product especially by another soda within the Dr. Pepper family.

Sometime ago I read somewhere that Phillip Morris USA was cracking down on the many of old cigarette ads on You Tube and elsewhere and getting them removed such as those famous Virginia Slims and Marlboro country ads. One would think that they wouldn't care but apparently they do.
 
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Funny what copyright holders decide to go after and not to go after. Several people have been putting full MLB games (mostly nondescript regular season games, including Game of the Week telecasts from the '70s and '80s) on YouTube for a couple of years now and haven't had them taken down. There's another person who has a wonderful collection of This Week In Pro Football hours from the '60s and '70s and they've all been on YT for months -- complete with the FBI warning at the beginning! I wonder if the leagues look at what's being posted, decide if they could make any more money off that material if it weren't available for nothing online, then either demand its removal or look the other way.
 
Funny what copyright holders decide to go after and not to go after. Several people have been putting full MLB games (mostly nondescript regular season games, including Game of the Week telecasts from the '70s and '80s) on YouTube for a couple of years now and haven't had them taken down. There's another person who has a wonderful collection of This Week In Pro Football hours from the '60s and '70s and they've all been on YT for months -- complete with the FBI warning at the beginning! I wonder if the leagues look at what's being posted, decide if they could make any more money off that material if it weren't available for nothing online, then either demand its removal or look the other way.

I have thought about this. Recently a family member of mine had uploaded an old radio aircheck of myself on You Tube only to have it removed by the request of Iheart Media. Then you have people such as Ellis Feaster who have many of airchecks on that website including those from now Iheart radio stations that are still there. Maybe it's a case of if someone is still in the business or not. I have no idea.
 
The biggest copyright holder I know is Sony Pictures. Like I said earlier in the thread, they have taken down hundreds of classic Wheel/Jeopardy episodes, as well as Days of Our Lives, Bold & The Beautiful and Young & The Restless from YT. I post those shows onto Dailymotion now. What's funny is how they are so protective of those programs, yet you can't find them on DVD or Netflix! The only way to find vintage soaps and game shows is through these recorded VHS/Beta tapes.
Surprised that even commercials are being cracked down as copyright strikes. The worst I've had was a few videos that were blocked worldwide due to copyright. The videos were immediately re-edited and the commercial in particular taken out.
Found eight more tapes at a moving sale yesterday. Still going through them but most of them have figure skating on them. One has eight hours of The Amazing Race 3 on it from October-November 2002, taped off KIMA. Also found a couple of mid-90s TV movies w/ commercials, an ABC World News Sunday broadcast from 11/9/97 KAPP with commercials, and an ER from 5/13/1999 off KNDO with ads. There was at least 50 blank tapes there. Others I didn't pick up had The Bachelor, Survivor and Adam-12 on them. And obviously tons more that were unlabeled but used. Probably more figure skating or ER stuff.

On the 1984 KAPP tape I found a few weeks ago, I also found a full episode of Eye on Hollywood from 8/14/1984, with commercials. This was a short-lived late night ABC newsmagazine. Also found a partial Dynasty at the end taped off KAPP 1/4/1984 with commercials! The Seahawks-Miami game is a mess to play, but it has some commercials from 12/31/1983. I found out from the local break that this was taped off KNDO-23 Yakima!
 
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Surprised that even commercials are being cracked down as copyright strikes. The worst I've had was a few videos that were blocked worldwide due to copyright. The videos were immediately re-edited and the commercial in particular taken out.

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.
 
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