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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have

Hamster - KDVR was on satellite in the late 1980s, then vanished and came back in the mid 1990s. It was on C1, tp 5.
KUSA was C1-2, KRMA was C1-3, KMGH was C1-6, KCNC was C1-14, KWGN was C1-23.

During the late '80s, the Denver Six were on Satcom F1R. F1-2 was KUSA, F1-4 was KCNC, F1-6 was KMGH, F1-12 was KRMA, F1-14 was KWGN, F1-20 was KDVR. Something called "KTV" would be on F1-24 which was a Denver cable-only station. I don't know what that was. KUBD-59 was even on satellite for a brief period, but not sure if it was during the 1987-89 indie/FNN days, or the Telemundo days.

Landtuna - I have one of those RCA/Columbia Home Video copies of The Three Stooges, may have been volume 2? It was released in the mid 1980s and the tape is a little over 60 minutes.
 
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I bought a few tapes at a moving sale in North Royalton yesterday.

TAPE 1: Predator (1987) taped from WUAB circa 1992 minus commercials; Road House (1989) taped from WUAB (Eight O'clock Movie) circa 1992 minus commercials

TAPE 2: Kindergarten Cop (1990) taped from WKYC (NBC Sunday Night Movie) on 2/9/1992 minus commercials--someone else uploaded the commercials from their VHS recording of this movie onto YouTube a while ago, also recorded from WKYC; partially taped over 8 O'clock Movie presentation of Blood Money (1988) taped from WUAB on 4/26/1991 with commercials; Look Who's Talking (1989) taped from WEWS (ABC Sunday Night Movie) on 5/17/1992 with commercials

TAPE 3: First three minutes of a Movie 5 presentation of Robin Hood: Quest for the Crown (1958) taped from WEWS in April 1992 in SLP speed, recording starts with promos for Wheel of Fortune and Deadly Hero (1975) before the movie starts, then gets taped over with 23 minutes of a Channel 3 News at Noon (WKYC) broadcast from 9/29/1995 with Cory Thompson and Jodine Costanzo with commercials in SP speed, then returns to the last 30 minutes or so of Robin Hood with commercials

TAPE 4: The Ten Commandments (1956) taped from WEWS (ABC Sunday Night Movie) on 3/31/1991, only one commercial break intact

TAPE 5: A Fistful of Dollars (1964) taped from WUAB (Channel 43 Weekend Movie) in April 1992 minus most commercials

The homeowner had several other recorded tapes that I left behind. Most of them didn't have labels, but the labels I did see had such titles as The Gambler (1974), Pink Cadillac (1989) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (already have a recording of it on CBS from 2006).

I also bought a retail tape--The World's Most Amazing Videos 2, a compilation of select clips from the NBC series. I still have yet to find the first tape in that series.
 
Hamster - KDVR was on satellite in the late 1980s, then vanished and came back in the mid 1990s. It was on C1, tp 5.
KUSA was C1-2, KRMA was C1-3, KMGH was C1-6, KCNC was C1-14, KWGN was C1-23.

During the late '80s, the Denver Six were on Satcom F1R. F1-2 was KUSA, F1-4 was KCNC, F1-6 was KMGH, F1-12 was KRMA, F1-14 was KWGN, F1-20 was KDVR. Something called "KTV" would be on F1-24 which was a Denver cable-only station. I don't know what that was. KUBD-59 was even on satellite for a brief period, but not sure if it was during the 1987-89 indie/FNN days, or the Telemundo days.

Landtuna - I have one of those RCA/Columbia Home Video copies of The Three Stooges, may have been volume 2? It was released in the mid 1980s and the tape is a little over 60 minutes.

The "KTV" Denver cable only channel...I have to wonder if that was the channel that came out of the old Mile High Cable system that was owned by the Art Institute of Colorado that was on Mile High Cable channel 10 in those days ?? They were on cable in the late 80s until the Art Institutes decided to discontinue their music/video courses in the early to mid 1990s. Some big names were behind that channel including Bob Yablans ( his dad Frank was behind the movie...can we say NO WIRE HANGERS !!.."Mommie Dearest" ) and Jody Hamilton whose mother was/is Carol Burnett. With names like that I would not be surprised at all if they had the clout at the time to had beamed their stuff nationwide.

Denver's KOA & KHOW radio both were also at one time available on satellite. Back in the early 90s I had friends who had lived in South Carolina who were able to pick up both on their dish.
 
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Hamster - What was on KTV? Just telecourses from the Art Institute? Or was this like an indie in some means...movies, public domain TV stuff, etc?

Scott - Both of us have bad luck with "Ten Commandments" tapes. I bought a Ten Commandments tape that was minus ads from circa 1989. Yours is from 1991...
I'm starting to get "easier" with unlabeled tapes. If they are recorded with the case, I will pick it up, press play and see what is on it. Unlabeled tapes have gotten me treasures in the past (i.e. 1994 Miss America from KSHB Kansas City, a Price is Right episode from KCTV, various news clips from KATU/KOIN/KPTV circa 1992, etc). But unlabeled tapes have proven to be duds in the past. Some I have received were used for someone's security camera system...others were erased or blank entirely. I'd give unlabeled ones a try, but remember, some of the "Unlabeled" tapes that people own were used for inappropriate/adult content.
 
Hamster - What was on KTV? Just telecourses from the Art Institute? Or was this like an indie in some means...movies, public domain TV stuff, etc?

Scott - Both of us have bad luck with "Ten Commandments" tapes. I bought a Ten Commandments tape that was minus ads from circa 1989. Yours is from 1991...
I'm starting to get "easier" with unlabeled tapes. If they are recorded with the case, I will pick it up, press play and see what is on it. Unlabeled tapes have gotten me treasures in the past (i.e. 1994 Miss America from KSHB Kansas City, a Price is Right episode from KCTV, various news clips from KATU/KOIN/KPTV circa 1992, etc). But unlabeled tapes have proven to be duds in the past. Some I have received were used for someone's security camera system...others were erased or blank entirely. I'd give unlabeled ones a try, but remember, some of the "Unlabeled" tapes that people own were used for inappropriate/adult content.

Several of the tapes in my eBay lot from Texas (i.e. The X-Files final episode from KDFW, Saturday Night Live from KXAS and KCEN, The Simpsons from KWKT, etc.) and my Craigslist lot from Strongsville (i.e. Fox News Channel footage from 1999, WCW Monday Nitro, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc.) didn't have labels, but that didn't keep me from taking a look at them, so maybe I shouldn't be so worried about those. Most of the time, from my experience, they're just time-shifted TV shows, but like you said, you never know.
 
Hamster - What was on KTV? Just telecourses from the Art Institute? Or was this like an indie in some means...movies, public domain TV stuff, etc?

I believe the channel was pretty much a tool for the students to get hands on training in TV. Don't remember any classes being televised but then again its been 25 years. I do however remember them showing the old Jean Harlow flick "Dinner at Eight" one night and some show hosted by a "Dr. Perry Pepper"( how can anyone forget a name like that !! ) did some science show. His show was more/less what Bill Nye would later do. A name like Perry Pepper is hardly a name one would forget. I think there was a show that was hosted by a woman who was also at the time was a jock at Denver's 106.7 KAZY ( now KBPI ) but the name has long since vanished from my memory.
 
I just spotted a lot of 45 VHS tapes on eBay. Most are T-120s, a few are T-160s, and believe it or not, one is a T-200 (10 hours in SLP speed!) My question, though, is, don't most VCRs only have five digits in their memory counters? Would a T-200 recorded in SLP not play back well because of that? Or would it play back about the same as a T-120 or T-160?
 
It would play back the same. However, the tape was slightly thinner with the longer lengths, making them a bit more susceptible to snapping.
 
Scott, that 45 lot from IL is a good one to go for. Ask the seller about content...and if they would have commercials, because there might be some gems in that lot. One tape says "20-20" (but not sure when it was taped) and another has a VK-250 RCA label on it, which is the ancient late '70s/early '80s name for T-120. But I do see a boatload of mid 2000s cassette boxes in that lot as well.
 
Picked one tape (the only one I found) at an estate sale today. The house also had a C-Band dish and loads of outdated Videocipher II/satellite equipment.

Tape 1 - Episode of WCW Main Event taped off TBS on 1/14/1996 with commercials; part of a Monday Night Raw (WWF) taped off USA Network in August 1995 with commercials; part of WCW Clash of the Champions taped off TBS on 8/5/1995 with commercials; a few hours of The Trials of Life nature documentary series w/ David Attenborough, taped off TBS on 10/16/1994 with commercials
 
Looks like April Fool's Day is turning out to be "April Luck Day" for me. Went to an estate sale and bought eight blank tapes...there were 9 or 10 total. Really packed sale...lots of everything and a HUGE house!

Tape 1 - Part of an episode of The Education of Max Bickford, "The Seventh Stream" (2001), KIMA 29 News Weekend Edition, two Seinfeld reruns, Spin City rerun, Caroline in the City rerun, Grace Under Fire rerun, Mad About You rerun, and a little bit of Up to the Minute, taped off KIMA-29 (CBS) Yakima on December 9th into December 10th, 2001, all with commercials
Tape 2 - Last half-hour of "A Thousand Men and a Baby" (1997), CNN Headline News (KIMA had no weekend news in the 1990s), episode of Team Knight Rider, episode of FX: The Series, and 1:35AM sign-off taped off KIMA 12/7/1997 with commercials (I have A Thousand Men and a Baby from the same night on tape, from KCTV Kansas City). The sign-off includes lots of local scenes set to a upbeat jazz track...a very nice sign off for a town of less than 100,000!
Tape 3 - "Lorenzo's Oil" (1992) taped off i: Independent Television on 8/20/2005 with commercials (This was just after PAX flipped to I...both logo bugs were on the screen, I on the right, PAX on the left). No local affiliate here, came from Dish Network ch 181. Also includes part of an episode of It's a Miracle; part of an episode of Trace Evidence; Hollywood Heat taped off Court TV in 2005 with commercials; Alexis Vogel System, Video Professor, Kevin Trudeau infomercials and part of an Oreck XL infomercial also taped off Court TV in 2005
Tape 4 - Most of an episode of Becker, Everybody Loves Raymond, "Brush With Fate" (2003), KIMA 29 News Weekend Edition, Hot Ticket, Seinfeld rerun, and sign-off, taped off KIMA-29 Yakima 2/2/2003 with commercials
Tape 5 - Some of the 3rd and the whole 4th quarter of a Texas vs. Texas Tech football game taped off Fox Sports Net NW on 11/13/1999 with commercials (C-Band feed on Satcom C1, transponder 22 - you can see "FOX SPORTS NW C1-22" in the vertical blanking interval), part of the Oregon State/Arizona football game taped off FSN Northwest the same night w/ commercials
Tape 6 - Episodes of Quincy, I Dream of Jeannie, Dennis the Menace (Animated), two Flintstones episodes, Samurai Syber Squad, and Saved by the Bell taped off WGN Chicago in December 1994 w/ commercials (pre-WB); part of another Flintstones episode, a full Flintstones episode, Samurai Syber Squad, and Saved by the Bell taped off WGN Chicago in November or early December 1994 with commercials
Tape 7 - Part of The Best of Guy Penrod (Gaither special), "Ghost Dad" (1990), also episodes of World Cup Comedy, Xtreme Fakeovers and infomercials for the AeroBed, Bowflex, Secrets to Playing Great Guitar Now, Bose Wave and Aero Topper taped off i: Independent Television in late 2005 or early 2006 with commercials
Tape 8 - Part of "Made in Heaven" taped off unknown pay-TV channel; then followed with home video of a girl's 2nd birthday, wonder if it was at the same house I bought it from; also home video of an elementary school musical, with date stamp reading Mar 5th, 1993; taped-over footage of figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics and Eyewitness News taped off KABC-7 Los Angeles in February 1988 with commercials

Great finds! Looking forward to posting all of the old commercials and newscasts.
 
Looks like April Fool's Day is turning out to be "April Luck Day" for me. Went to an estate sale and bought eight blank tapes...there were 9 or 10 total. Really packed sale...lots of everything and a HUGE house!

Tape 1 - Part of an episode of The Education of Max Bickford, "The Seventh Stream" (2001), KIMA 29 News Weekend Edition, two Seinfeld reruns, Spin City rerun, Caroline in the City rerun, Grace Under Fire rerun, Mad About You rerun, and a little bit of Up to the Minute, taped off KIMA-29 (CBS) Yakima on December 9th into December 10th, 2001, all with commercials
Tape 2 - Last half-hour of "A Thousand Men and a Baby" (1997), CNN Headline News (KIMA had no weekend news in the 1990s), episode of Team Knight Rider, episode of FX: The Series, and 1:35AM sign-off taped off KIMA 12/7/1997 with commercials (I have A Thousand Men and a Baby from the same night on tape, from KCTV Kansas City). The sign-off includes lots of local scenes set to a upbeat jazz track...a very nice sign off for a town of less than 100,000!
Tape 3 - "Lorenzo's Oil" (1992) taped off i: Independent Television on 8/20/2005 with commercials (This was just after PAX flipped to I...both logo bugs were on the screen, I on the right, PAX on the left). No local affiliate here, came from Dish Network ch 181. Also includes part of an episode of It's a Miracle; part of an episode of Trace Evidence; Hollywood Heat taped off Court TV in 2005 with commercials; Alexis Vogel System, Video Professor, Kevin Trudeau infomercials and part of an Oreck XL infomercial also taped off Court TV in 2005
Tape 4 - Most of an episode of Becker, Everybody Loves Raymond, "Brush With Fate" (2003), KIMA 29 News Weekend Edition, Hot Ticket, Seinfeld rerun, and sign-off, taped off KIMA-29 Yakima 2/2/2003 with commercials
Tape 5 - Some of the 3rd and the whole 4th quarter of a Texas vs. Texas Tech football game taped off Fox Sports Net NW on 11/13/1999 with commercials (C-Band feed on Satcom C1, transponder 22 - you can see "FOX SPORTS NW C1-22" in the vertical blanking interval), part of the Oregon State/Arizona football game taped off FSN Northwest the same night w/ commercials
Tape 6 - Episodes of Quincy, I Dream of Jeannie, Dennis the Menace (Animated), two Flintstones episodes, Samurai Syber Squad, and Saved by the Bell taped off WGN Chicago in December 1994 w/ commercials (pre-WB); part of another Flintstones episode, a full Flintstones episode, Samurai Syber Squad, and Saved by the Bell taped off WGN Chicago in November or early December 1994 with commercials
Tape 7 - Part of The Best of Guy Penrod (Gaither special), "Ghost Dad" (1990), also episodes of World Cup Comedy, Xtreme Fakeovers and infomercials for the AeroBed, Bowflex, Secrets to Playing Great Guitar Now, Bose Wave and Aero Topper taped off i: Independent Television in late 2005 or early 2006 with commercials
Tape 8 - Part of "Made in Heaven" taped off unknown pay-TV channel; then followed with home video of a girl's 2nd birthday, wonder if it was at the same house I bought it from; also home video of an elementary school musical, with date stamp reading Mar 5th, 1993; taped-over footage of figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics and Eyewitness News taped off KABC-7 Los Angeles in February 1988 with commercials

Great finds! Looking forward to posting all of the old commercials and newscasts.

Did the national feed of WGN still air the local ads from Chicago at that time, or did they just run national commercials for the superstation?
 
Seemed to be a mixture of national and local. I would see ads mentioning Chicagoland one break, and 800 number ads the next. WGN Superstation would later air WB programming until 1999 in primetime, for those without a local WB.

Today I grabbed another seven tapes at another yard sale. Went to various sales, but this was the only one with blank tapes.
Tape 1 - "Three Fugitives" (1989) taped off Showtime circa 1990; "Always" (1989) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; "Pink Cadillac" (1989) taped off Cinemax circa 1990; tape ends with a little bit of the MTV Greatest Hits Countdown from early 1991 with a few ads, music videos included "Miss You Much" Janet Jackson, "Livin' on a Prayer" Bon Jovi and "Like a Virgin" Madonna (live from the '84 MTV VMAs)
Tape 2 - "Overboard" (1987) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; "Support Your Local Gunfighter" (1971) taped off Cinemax circa 1991, "Support Your Local Sheriff!" (1969) taped off Cinemax in 1991 or 1992, part of "Dirty Dingus Magee" (1970) and an episode of Gilligan's Island taped off TNT in April 1992 with commercials
Tape 3 - "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and "The Burbs" (1989) taped off Showtime in 1994 (Free Preview Weekend), "Mischief" (1985) taped off HBO in 1994, about an hour of VideoMorning taped off TNN in September 1994 with commercials
Tape 4 - "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1992) taped off Cinemax around 1993, "Death Becomes Her" (1992) taped off unknown pay-TV channel, "Housesitter" taped off Showtime in 1993 with a couple of promos; Walt Disney Presents taped off Disney Channel, most of an episode of Merrie Melodies taped off Nickelodeon on 11/10/1993 (No ads), several minutes of the TCI Cablevision/Yakima program guide from 11/10/1993 (only 36 channels back then, EPG was on ch 7, audio from KMWX-1460 Yakima is included, used to be an oldies station)
Tape 5 - "Police Academy 2" (1985) taped off unknown pay-TV channel, "Pretty Woman" (1990) taped off Showtime circa 1991, "Victor Victoria" (1982) taped off unknown pay TV channel, Yakima/TCI Cablevision program guide from 5/13/1991 to end of tape
Tape 6 - "Summer Rental" (1985), "Armed and Dangerous" (1986), and "Hot to Trot" (1988) taped off unknown pay-TV channels, "Uncle Buck" (1989) copied from rental tape, tape ends with about 15 minutes of a Columbia River history documentary from PBS (probably KYVE)
Tape 7 - "The Rounders" (1965) and "Quigley Down Under" (1990) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; "Born Yesterday" (1993) taped off Showtime sometime in 1994
 
More tapes found Friday! For the small Yakima TV market, I am on a roll... These came from another garage sale.

Tape 1 - "All She Ever Wanted" (ABC TV-movie) taped off KAPP Yakima on 4/14/1996 with commercials; "Harvest of Fire" (CBS TV-movie) taped off KIMA Yakima on 4/21/1996 with ads; "She Woke Up Pregnant" (ABC TV-movie) taped off KAPP 4/28/1996 with commercials
Tape 2 - "The Path to 9/11" (ABC miniseries) taped off KAPP on 9/10 and 9/11/2006, no ads because ABC showed it commercial free - also includes a special Sunday edition of Nightline on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden (I BELIEVE it is minus ads, but I haven't checked all the way) and also includes the first few minutes of Local News at 11 on the 9/10 broadcast
Tape 3 - Alias series finale taped off KAPP on 5/22/2006 with ads; 41st CMA Awards taped off KIMA on 5/23/2006 with commercials; after the awards is an episode of Heist (short-lived 2006 NBC crime drama w/ Billy Gardell of "Mike and Molly") taped off KNDO Yakima in March 2006 with ads
Tape 4 - Prison Break and Vanished episodes taped off KCYU-LP (Fox 41 Yakima) on 9/25/2006 with commercials; episodes of The Amazing Race 9, Criminal Minds and CSI: NY taped off KIMA on 5/3/2006 with commercials
Tape 5 - All of the NBC miniseries "A Woman of Independent Means" from 2/19, 2/20 and 2/22/1995, taped off KNDO with commercials. The miniseries starred Sally Field.
Tape 6 - The two-part NBC miniseries "Remember" taped off KNDO on 10/24 and 10/25/1993 with commercials (I have a little bit of the first part taped off WDAF Kansas City, now I have 1 and 2); "Desperate Journey: The Allison Wilcox Story" (1993 ABC TV-movie) taped off KAPP on 12/5/1993 with commercials
Tape 7 - "In the Line of Duty: Smoke Jumpers" (NBC TV-movie) taped off KNDO on 2/11/1996 with commercials; "Terminal" (another NBC TV-movie) taped off KNDO 2/12/1996 with ads; "A Brother's Promise: The Dan Jansen Story" (CBS TV-movie) taped off KIMA on 2/14/1996 with ads
Tape 8 - "The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits" (CBS TV-movie) taped off KIMA on 1/14/1996 with ads; "The Boys Next Door" (Hallmark Hall of Fame) taped off KIMA 2/4/1996 with the usual Hallmark commercials and local ads; "Project: ALF" (ABC TV-movie) taped off KAPP on 2/17/1996 with ads

-crainbebo
 
A couple days ago, I bought several tapes from a family-run thrift store in Akron. They had a lot more there, so I definitely plan on stopping by again sometime. Here's what I found:

TAPE 1: Critic's Choice (1963) taped from TCM in September 2002; Fighting Back: The Story of Rocky Bleier (1980) taped from ESPN Classic (Reel Classics) in September 2002 with commercials, includes some cast member interviews incorporated into the program; Desk Set (1957) taped from AMC in September 2002 with a few commercials halfway through the movie; episode of I Love Lucy taped from TV Land in September 2002 with commercials

TAPE 2: NFL on CBS coverage of New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers taped from WOIO on 1/15/2005 with commercials

TAPE 3: The Best of Jackie Gleason 3 (syndicated special) taped from WUAB on 3/4/1989 with commercials; The Honeymooners Anniversary Special (CBS special) taped from WJW on 11/10/1990 with commercials

TAPE 4: Rare video, even thought it's somewhat recent by comparison--a hodgepodge of Romanian TV programming and commercials from 2/11/2010, mostly from Pro TV International--Povesti Adevarate (newsmagazine), Aniela (soap opera), Povestiri de Noapte (entertainment newsmagazine), Happy Hour (talk show) and Stiri de Pro TV (news); also some content from Antena and Romanian Satellite Network

TAPE 5: Night Stage to Galveston (1952) taped from Westerns in October 2000; The Old West (1952) taped from Westerns in October 2000; Colorado Territory (1949) taped from TCM in October 2000; episode of The Gene Autry Show taped from Westerns in October 2000 with promos afterward leading up to the start of Gunsmoke before the tape goes blank

TAPE 6: Various coverage of the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show taped from USA in February 2008, some commercial breaks are included, but most are cut out; final round of 2008 American Kennel Club National Agility Championship taped from Animal Planet in February 2008 minus commercials

TAPE 7: Two Oprah episodes from the show's last season, one with the cast of The Sound of Music taped from WEWS on 10/28/2010 with commercials, including many local political ads, and an episode with Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford taped from WEWS in November 2010 with commercials

TAPE 8: Blind Date (1987) taped from HBO circa 1999; Honky Tonk (1941) taped from TCM circa 1999; Teacher's Pet (1958) taped from AMC circa 1999; episode of Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour taped from Nick at Nite circa 1999 minus commercials

TAPE 9: A Shock to the System (1990) taped from unknown pay TV channel circa 1991; The Last of the Finest (1990) taped from Viewer's Choice Pay-Per-View circa 1991; Nothing Underneath (1985) taped from unknown pay TV channel circa 1991; partially taped over presentation of Web of Deceit (made-for-TV movie) taped from USA on 10/17/1990 with commercials
 
Aw Scott, you were not far from Minerva - http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/emd/5521696716.html - great lot for $10 it seems.

Anyways, went to an estate sale and a bunch of yard sales. Four tapes found, all from the same estate sale.
Tape 1 - "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" (1964) and "Father of the Bride" (1950) taped off unknown channels minus ads.
Tape 2 - Hodgepodge of Miss Marple films - "Murder She Said," "Murder at the Gallop" and part of "Murder Ahoy" taped off TNT on 6/21/1991 with commercials; partial episode of Wolf taped off KIMA-29/CBS in November or December 1989 with commercials (Wolf starred Jack Scalia as a San Francisco cop, only lasted 12 episodes in 1989-90).
Tape 3 - "Danielle Steel's Secrets" (1992) taped off KNDO/NBC on 4/6/1992 with commercials, also includes about six minutes of KNDO 23 News; most of "Miss Rose White," a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation taped off KNDO/NBC on 4/26/1992 with the usual mix of Hallmark ads and local ads
Tape 4 - "Danielle Steel's Vanished" (1995) taped off NBC (presumed KNDO) on 4/3/1995 minus ads - blank afterwards (ugh...they WASTED 6 1/2 hrs of an eight hour tape!)

-crainbebo
 
I found another tape at an estate sale in Medina today. Starts with an episode of Days of Our Lives taped from WKYC in June 1997 with commercials and the first couple minutes of Channel 3 News at Noon afterward. Then it cuts to a partially taped over recording of Last Stand at Saber River (made-for-TV movie) taped from TNT on 1/19/1997, also with commercials. At the end is part of a DOOL episode taped from WKYC sometime in 1995 with a few commercials. The tape runs out about ten minutes into that show (latter recording is in SLP mode, while everything else is in SP mode).

Unfortunately, it might be a little while before I have the chance to put any of the good stuff from these last several tapes onto YouTube. My laptop's been running hotter than usual and some of my DVD+R discs with all the YouTube-worthy stuff from these tapes won't play back in my DVD drive. No diagnosis has been made yet, but the Geek Squad says the fan might have to be replaced and either the DVD drive or the optic drive or both might have to be replaced as well. Borrowing my mom's laptop for the time being, which doesn't have the software I use for the YouTube videos. Already have the ads and news footage from said tapes dubbed onto DVD, just waiting on the repairs to my computer.

And in response to crainbebo, Minerva's a bit farther away from my area than Akron is. Akron's only about a half-hour drive from me, while Minerva is about an hour, if not longer.
 
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Picked up some more tapes at a flea market this past weekend. The vendor I bought these from charged me only five bucks for a bag of 15 tapes. Unfortunately, several of them turned out to be duds, such as movies copied from rental tapes or family home movies, but here are some of the better ones from that stash.

TAPE 1: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), News Channel 5 at 11:00 with Michael Settonni and Jacqueline McLean (preempted due to the length of the movie) and first few minutes of Office Depot Sports Sunday with Matt Underwood taped from WEWS on 11/10/1996 with commercials; partially taped over episode of Rosie O'Donnell taped from WJW in November 1996 with commercials; two episodes of All My Children taped from WEWS on November 7 and 8, 1996 with commercials; few minutes of a taped-over episode of Rescue 911, unknown if this was an original broadcast on CBS (WOIO) or a rerun from the Family Channel, no logo bug on screen; last few minutes of a taped-over AMC episode taped from WEWS in December 1995 with a few commercials; short clip from QVC in December 1995; first few minutes of an episode of Sisters taped from WKYC in December 1995 with a few commercials before the tape runs out

TAPE 2: Part one of Titanic (CBS miniseries) taped from WOIO on 11/17/1996, some commercial breaks are included, others are cut out, also has the first few minutes of CBS 19 News at 11 with Scott Newell and Amy Castelli; partially taped-over showing of part one of Separate But Equal (ABC miniseries) taped from WEWS on 4/7/1991 with commercials, mostly GM ads, as they were the sole national sponsor for the miniseries

TAPE 3: William and Kate: A Royal Love Story (TLC documentary) and partial episode of What Not to Wear taped in January 2011 with commercials; episode of CSI and partial episode of The Mentalist taped from WOIO in January 2011 with commercials; partially taped over broadcast of News Channel 5 at 6:00 with Leon Bibb and Danita Harris and partial broadcast of ABC World News with Diane Sawyer taped from WEWS on 2/5/2010 with commercials; two reruns of Seinfeld (one partial, one full), Malcolm in the Middle and King of the Hill syndicated reruns, 1AM rebroadcast of Fox 8 News at Ten with Stacey Bell and Bill Sheil (filling in for Bill Martin) and first few minutes of a Guthy-Renker infomercial for Sheer Cover taped from WJW on December 3-4, 2009 with commercials. The latter recording on this tape was a bit of a pain, as the picture was clear at times, but very fuzzy at other times. The owner's VCR heads must have been a bit dirty when it was recording.

TAPE 4: Neil Diamond: Under a Tennessee Moon (ABC special concert) taped from WEWS on 2/24/1996 with commercials; broadcast of 20/20, News Channel 5 at 11:00 with Roosevelt Leftwich and Barbara Meek, and partial broadcast of Nightline taped from WEWS on 3/1/1996 with commercials; partially taped over broadcast of Nightline, Movie 5 presentation of The Last Fling (1987) and partial episode of Rolonda taped from WEWS on February 23-24, 1996 with commercials

TAPE 5: HBO Comedy Half-Hour with D.L. Hughley taped in July 1994 with promos before the show; HBO Comedy Half-Hour with Carlos Mencia and Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam taped in July 1994 with promos between shows

TAPE 6: Fox Sports Net coverage of Dale Earnhardt memorial service and Beyond the Glory episode on Dale Earnhardt taped from Fox Sports Ohio on 2/22/2001 with commercials on the latter program; partially taped over Fox broadcast of the 2001 Napa Auto Parts 300 and partial syndicated rerun of The X-Files taped from WJW on 2/17/2001 with commercials; start of an episode of One Life to Live taped from WEWS in January or February 2001 with a few commercials beforehand

On another nostalgic note, the vendor I bought these tapes from had a TV/VCR combo unit in his booth playing a movie when I was there. It was a Panasonic brand that also had a built-in FM radio. Neat to see one of those old things.
 
Bought 34 tapes off eBay from Sweet Home, OR. This has been one of the best VHS lots by far, in terms of rare content, local content and vintage content. I also broke a personal record with my oldest home-recorded VHS to date! Here's just a partial list of what I've found.

Tape 1 - Episodes of Dawson's Creek taped off KWBP-32/WB Portland on 4/21/1999 (rerun), 4/28/1999, 5/5/1999, 5/12/1999 with commercials, Rosie O'Donnell episode taped off KATU-2 Portland on 6/17/1999 w/ commercials
Tape 2 - One of the Lonesome Dove parts minus ads, off the original CBS broadcast in 1989; "Streets of Laredo" Part 1 taped off KOIN-6 Portland/CBS on 7/11/1999 with ads; part 2 of "Streets of Laredo" taped 7/14/1999 minus ads
Tape 3 - part of an episode of Survivor: Guatemala, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and part of KOIN News 6 at 11PM taped off KOIN/CBS on 9/15/2005 with commercials; most of an episode of Untold Stories of the ER; episodes of 101 Things Removed from the Human Body, In a Fix; and infomercials for Christian Children's Fund and Tempur-Pedic taped off TLC in August or September 2005 with commercials
Tape 4 - "She Done Him Wrong" (1933) and "I'm No Angel" taped off KTLA-5 Los Angeles (Movies 'Till Dawn) sometime in late 1988 with commercials...from a very old 1960s MCA-TV syndicated print; also includes a "sign-on" clip for KTLA w/ technical and studio info; part of an episode of Oprah Winfrey taped off KABC-7 Los Angeles in November 1988 with commercials; part of an KABC Eyewitness News broadcast taped in late 1988 with a few ads; ends with part of an episode of Geraldo minus ads (I presume off KCBS-2, but I'm not exactly sure)
Tape 5 - "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home", an episode of The Pretender, KNDU 25 Eleven at Eleven News, Saturday Night Live and part of a second rerun of SNL taped off KNDU-25/NBC Richland WA (a surprise) on 8/26-8/27/2000 with commercials
Tape 6 - "D.A.R.Y.L." taped off KPTV-12 Portland on Christmas Day 1991 with some commercials; part of a Maury Povich episode taped off KOIN-6 Portland in January 1992 with commercials, and another partial NewsRoom 6 broadcast from December 1991 with commercials at the end
Tape 7 - 40 minutes of an episode of Oprah taped off KGW-8 Portland in January 2008 with commercials in SP mode - that was the entire contents of the tape!
Tape 8 - part of "Steve Martini's The Judge" taped off KGW-8/NBC Portland on 5/6/2001 with commercials; part of an episode of America's Most Wanted and part of Fox 49 News taped off KPDX-49/Fox Portland on 6/2/2001 with commercials; part of an episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KGW in 2001 with commercials
Tape 9 - "Patton" (1970) taped off KTLA-5 Los Angeles in May 1987 with commercials
Tape 10 - Saturday Night Live episode taped off KGW-8/NBC Portland, OR on 11/02-11/03/1991 with commercials (Kiefer Sutherland, musical guest Skid Row), part of another SNL taped off KGW in November 1991 w/ commercials (a rerun from December 1990 with Tom Hanks) - both are in SP mode, so the second is incomplete
Tape 11 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Scooby Doo's Christmas taped off KWBP-32 Portland on 12/13/2002 with commercials; very end of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (just Santa picking up the Misfit Toys and the end credits), and both Robbie the Reindeer specials taped off KVAL-13 Eugene/CBS on 12/13/2002 with commercials; Davey & Goliath episode taped off TBN/KNMT-24 Portland (I presume) on 12/14/2002; "The Man Who Saved Christmas" (2002) taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 12/15/2002 w/ commercials, part of The Knock Knock Show (Christian kids show) and Christmas in Faithville taped off KNMT-24/TBN in Dec 2002
Tape 12 - "Snake Eyes" (1998) taped off TBS in September 2005 with commercials; David Blaine: Magicman taped off TLC in September 2005 with commercials; episodes of Wild West Tech and Shootout taped off History Channel in September 2005 with commercials
Tape 13 - Episodes of Lost and Life on Mars, KEZI 9 News at 11 and Nightline taped off KEZI-9 Eugene/ABC on 3/25/2009 with commercials
Tape 14 - "The Blues Brothers" (1980) taped off KATU-2 Portland/ABC on 10/17/1982 with ads!!! Oldest tape yet!!! Also includes "The Scarlett Pimpernal" taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 11/9/1982 with ads
Tape 15 - From a vintage 1982 tape, to this..."The Uninvited" taped off Syfy in March 2014 with ads...my newest material ever found on a VHS tape. Shows that people are still recording on VHS to this day.
Tape 16 - At Home for the Holidays and an episode of Home Front taped off HGTV in December 1996 with commercials
Tape 17 - WWF Smackdown taped off KTXA-21 Dallas/UPN in June 2003 with commercials; partial clips of WWF Raw taped off TNN in 2003; partial episode of WWF Raw taped off TNN in December 2002 with commercials
Tape 18 - "Walking Tall" (2004) and part of "Exit Wounds" (2001) taped off TBS in the late 2000s minus ads
Tape 19 - Partial episode of The World's Funniest taped off KPDX-49 Portland/FOX in 1999 with commercials; another World's Funniest (animal moments) with some ads, taped in November 1999
Tape 20 - Both parts of "A Season in Purgatory" (1996 CBS-TV movie) taped off KOIN-6 Portland/CBS on 5/5 and 5/7/1996 with commercials; brief KOIN NewsCenter 6 clips from 1996; part of "My Very Best Friend" (1996) taped off KOIN/CBS on 3/27/1996 with commercials
Tape 21 - Starts with an episode of The Young and the Restless taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 3/4/1994 with commercials; then cuts to part of an episode of Late Show with David Letterman and an episode of Rush Limbaugh taped off KOIN-6/CBS early on 3/5/1994 with commercials; episodes of As the World Turns and Guiding Light taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 3/7/1994 with commercials; another Y&R from 3/8/1994 off KOIN-6 w/ commercials; part of a Channel 2 News (KATU) broadcast from March 1994 with commercials; another Late Show broadcast from March 1994 with commercials off KOIN; partial Montel Williams clip afterwards; ends with a KOIN NewsCenter 6 clip from sometime in March 1994
Tape 22 - Two episodes of World's Best taped off Travel Channel in February 2004 with commercials; episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation taped off Spike TV in February 2004 with commercials; From Korea with Love taped off Discovery Channel in Feb 2004 with commercials; another World's Best episode and Bosley infomercial taped off Travel Channel in Feb 2004 with commercials; tape ends with about 15 minutes of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 10/22/1989 with commercials in SP mode
Tape 23 - The Golden Girls episode minus ads; "His Majesty O'Keefe" (1954), "Sincerely Yours" (1955), brief sign off and sign on period w/ color bars, and part of In Studio taped off KCOP-13 Los Angeles in November 1988 with commercials; partial episode of General Hospital and most of an Oprah Winfrey episode taped off KABC-7 Los Angeles in November 1988 with commercials
 
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Bought 34 tapes off eBay from Sweet Home, OR. This has been one of the best VHS lots by far, in terms of rare content, local content and vintage content. I also broke a personal record with my oldest home-recorded VHS to date! Here's just a partial list of what I've found.

Tape 1 - Episodes of Dawson's Creek taped off KWBP-32/WB Portland on 4/21/1999 (rerun), 4/28/1999, 5/5/1999, 5/12/1999 with commercials, Rosie O'Donnell episode taped off KATU-2 Portland on 6/17/1999 w/ commercials
Tape 2 - One of the Lonesome Dove parts minus ads, off the original CBS broadcast in 1989; "Streets of Laredo" Part 1 taped off KOIN-6 Portland/CBS on 7/11/1999 with ads; part 2 of "Streets of Laredo" taped 7/14/1999 minus ads
Tape 3 - part of an episode of Survivor: Guatemala, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and part of KOIN News 6 at 11PM taped off KOIN/CBS on 9/15/2005 with commercials; most of an episode of Untold Stories of the ER; episodes of 101 Things Removed from the Human Body, In a Fix; and infomercials for Christian Children's Fund and Tempur-Pedic taped off TLC in August or September 2005 with commercials
Tape 4 - "She Done Him Wrong" (1933) and "I'm No Angel" taped off KTLA-5 Los Angeles (Movies 'Till Dawn) sometime in late 1988 with commercials...from a very old 1960s MCA-TV syndicated print; also includes a "sign-on" clip for KTLA w/ technical and studio info; part of an episode of Oprah Winfrey taped off KABC-7 Los Angeles in November 1988 with commercials; part of an KABC Eyewitness News broadcast taped in late 1988 with a few ads; ends with part of an episode of Geraldo minus ads (I presume off KCBS-2, but I'm not exactly sure)
Tape 5 - "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home", an episode of The Pretender, KNDU 25 Eleven at Eleven News, Saturday Night Live and part of a second rerun of SNL taped off KNDU-25/NBC Richland WA (a surprise) on 8/26-8/27/2000 with commercials
Tape 6 - "D.A.R.Y.L." taped off KPTV-12 Portland on Christmas Day 1991 with some commercials; part of a Maury Povich episode taped off KOIN-6 Portland in January 1992 with commercials, and another partial NewsRoom 6 broadcast from December 1991 with commercials at the end
Tape 7 - 40 minutes of an episode of Oprah taped off KGW-8 Portland in January 2008 with commercials in SP mode - that was the entire contents of the tape!
Tape 8 - part of "Steve Martini's The Judge" taped off KGW-8/NBC Portland on 5/6/2001 with commercials; part of an episode of America's Most Wanted and part of Fox 49 News taped off KPDX-49/Fox Portland on 6/2/2001 with commercials; part of an episode of Days of Our Lives taped off KGW in 2001 with commercials
Tape 9 - "Patton" (1970) taped off KTLA-5 Los Angeles in May 1987 with commercials
Tape 10 - Saturday Night Live episode taped off KGW-8/NBC Portland, OR on 11/02-11/03/1991 with commercials (Kiefer Sutherland, musical guest Skid Row), part of another SNL taped off KGW in November 1991 w/ commercials (a rerun from December 1990 with Tom Hanks) - both are in SP mode, so the second is incomplete
Tape 11 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Scooby Doo's Christmas taped off KWBP-32 Portland on 12/13/2002 with commercials; very end of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (just Santa picking up the Misfit Toys and the end credits), and both Robbie the Reindeer specials taped off KVAL-13 Eugene/CBS on 12/13/2002 with commercials; Davey & Goliath episode taped off TBN/KNMT-24 Portland (I presume) on 12/14/2002; "The Man Who Saved Christmas" (2002) taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 12/15/2002 w/ commercials, part of The Knock Knock Show (Christian kids show) and Christmas in Faithville taped off KNMT-24/TBN in Dec 2002
Tape 12 - "Snake Eyes" (1998) taped off TBS in September 2005 with commercials; David Blaine: Magicman taped off TLC in September 2005 with commercials; episodes of Wild West Tech and Shootout taped off History Channel in September 2005 with commercials
Tape 13 - Episodes of Lost and Life on Mars, KEZI 9 News at 11 and Nightline taped off KEZI-9 Eugene/ABC on 3/25/2009 with commercials
Tape 14 - "The Blues Brothers" (1980) taped off KATU-2 Portland/ABC on 10/17/1982 with ads!!! Oldest tape yet!!! Also includes "The Scarlett Pimpernal" taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 11/9/1982 with ads
Tape 15 - From a vintage 1982 tape, to this..."The Uninvited" taped off Syfy in March 2014 with ads...my newest material ever found on a VHS tape. Shows that people are still recording on VHS to this day.
Tape 16 - At Home for the Holidays and an episode of Home Front taped off HGTV in December 1996 with commercials
Tape 17 - WWF Smackdown taped off KTXA-21 Dallas/UPN in June 2003 with commercials; partial clips of WWF Raw taped off TNN in 2003; partial episode of WWF Raw taped off TNN in December 2002 with commercials
Tape 18 - "Walking Tall" (2004) and part of "Exit Wounds" (2001) taped off TBS in the late 2000s minus ads
Tape 19 - Partial episode of The World's Funniest taped off KPDX-49 Portland/FOX in 1999 with commercials; another World's Funniest (animal moments) with some ads, taped in November 1999
Tape 20 - Both parts of "A Season in Purgatory" (1996 CBS-TV movie) taped off KOIN-6 Portland/CBS on 5/5 and 5/7/1996 with commercials; brief KOIN NewsCenter 6 clips from 1996; part of "My Very Best Friend" (1996) taped off KOIN/CBS on 3/27/1996 with commercials
Tape 21 - Starts with an episode of The Young and the Restless taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 3/4/1994 with commercials; then cuts to part of an episode of Late Show with David Letterman and an episode of Rush Limbaugh taped off KOIN-6/CBS early on 3/5/1994 with commercials; episodes of As the World Turns and Guiding Light taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 3/7/1994 with commercials; another Y&R from 3/8/1994 off KOIN-6 w/ commercials; part of a Channel 2 News (KATU) broadcast from March 1994 with commercials; another Late Show broadcast from March 1994 with commercials off KOIN; partial Montel Williams clip afterwards; ends with a KOIN NewsCenter 6 clip from sometime in March 1994
Tape 22 - Two episodes of World's Best taped off Travel Channel in February 2004 with commercials; episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation taped off Spike TV in February 2004 with commercials; From Korea with Love taped off Discovery Channel in Feb 2004 with commercials; another World's Best episode and Bosley infomercial taped off Travel Channel in Feb 2004 with commercials; tape ends with about 15 minutes of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" taped off KOIN-6/CBS on 10/22/1989 with commercials in SP mode
Tape 23 - The Golden Girls episode minus ads; "His Majesty O'Keefe" (1954), "Sincerely Yours" (1955), brief sign off and sign on period w/ color bars, and part of In Studio taped off KCOP-13 Los Angeles in November 1988 with commercials; partial episode of General Hospital and most of an Oprah Winfrey episode taped off KABC-7 Los Angeles in November 1988 with commercials

I have both parts of Steve Martini's The Judge taped from WKYC in Cleveland with ads. I also have The Blues Brothers on tape, but mine was recorded from TBS Superstation in February 1998 with ads.

I don't think I've recorded on VHS for about a year or so. I mostly record newer shows and movies on DVD, but I always want to make sure the VCR recording aspect of my VCR/DVD recorder combo still works just in case. Probably the newest "acquired" tape in my collection is an 8-hour tape I have of various prime time shows on ABC and Fox from January 2012, along with a couple episodes of All My Children from May 2011.

Nice mix overall. The little town of Smithville, Ohio is holding its annual village-wide yard sale this Saturday, so I'll see if I can catch that if the weather permits (it should, forecast only calls for a 10% chance of rain that day). Shame that about half of the tapes I got from that flea market vendor on Saturday were duds, but I still found some good stuff.
 


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