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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have
- Thread starter Stanislav
- Start date
By the way, this must have been after the big South Florida switch in which the Fox/Independent (WCIX) becomes CBS, NBC (WSVN) becomes FOX, and CBS (WTVJ) becomes NBC....
Just keep checking the thrift stores and estate sales for gently used VCRs. Even if the VCR is from the '90s, I would pick it up. Panasonic made great VCRs in the mid to late '90s, many in HiFi. I had a PV-9662 for a long time. Funais, Magnavox's, etc. were all made at the same factory, and they all have that warbly audio on EP in the first half-hour of the tape. The Sony does not do that, which is helpful.
The big Ellensburg collection I received in Jul. 2020 was numbered similarly to Pannoni's Miami lot, but with no letters. For example, #418 has Buffalo Girls (1995 miniseries) and a couple of other movies on it. She kept a binder organized by number and by alphabetical order. This was someone who really cared about their collection!
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I'm starting to notice that even VCRs are starting to become harder to find when I check thrift stores compared to a few years ago, no surprising given that it's been about 15 years since they were last widely available (mostly as VHS/DVD combos). My mid-90s JVC that I purchased about six years ago is still going strong, and even plays a lot of tapes in LP/SLP fine.
The switch occurred on January 2, 1989, so except for two of those tapes, all recordings were post-switch.
Wasn't it January 1, 1989 when the switch occurred per Miami Herald?
I used Broadcasting magazine as my source. It makes more sense to flip on a Monday than a Sunday anyways, and this is exactly what happened in Baltimore six years later.
Just finished checking out my lot from the Big Apple, with everything from the decade with Ed Koch at the helm..
TAPE 1: Begins with Funny Girl (1969) taped off WABC circa 1983 with no commercials, followed by about the last 15 minutes of the WNBC public affairs special "It's A Dead End" on 4/8/1983 with two commercial breaks. Despite airing on the Peacock's flagship affiliate, this pre-empted a new episode of The Powers Of Matthew Star. The tape ends after the first several seconds of Knight Rider.
TAPE 2: Begins with a clip of a few minutes on the Dacia, Romanian import that never made it like the mildly successful Yugo off the CBS Evening News in 1987, followed by 60 Minutes off WCBS on 6/21/1987 with commercials, then about the last half of the WCBS 11 O'Clock News on 6/18/87 with ads, then it jumps to a special in-season exhibition game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets off WOR on 5/7/1987 with commercials (starts in the top of the 6th and includes the first five minutes of a postgame show), followed by most of Miami Vice off WNBC on 5/8/87 with ads.
TAPE 3: Starts with another short clip on the Dacia off the CBS Evening News from 1987, followed by most of the CBS Late Movie presentation One Trick Pony (1980) off WCBS on 7/4/1986 with commercials, followed by approximately the last half hour of the MLB game between the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers off WNBC on 5/17/1986 with commercials, followed by an episode of Strictly Business with ads afterwards, then it continues with about the last 20 minutes of another Mets-Dodgers game off WOR from the previous night, then the tape wraps up about half of a CBS Late Night edition of a Magnum, P.I. episode from May 1986 with commercials.
TAPES 4 and 5: The complete documentary series of Heritage: Civilization and the Jews off WNET and WLIW in late 1984 with a few promos after the last of the nine parts. The closed-captioning still works on my 1996 RCA as well.
TAPE 6: My pick of the lot, this tape starts out with about 15 minutes of a rerun of the 12/8/1984 episode of Saturday Night Live off WNBC, before cutting ahead for the series premiere of Pee-Wee's Playhouse followed by an episode of The Puppy's Great Adventures (one of the more obscure '80s cartoons) off WCBS on 9/13/1986 with commercials, before returning to that SNL episode for the last 15 minutes or so with a couple commercials (off WNBC circa March 1985), then it jumps for a full episode of SNL off WNBC on 3/30/1985 with commercials, followed by about the last 35 minutes of a Late Night with David Letterman rerun from March 1985 with ads , then it finishes off with about the last two-thirds of SNL from 2/2/1985 off WNBC with commercials (the episode starts with Tina Turner's performance of "What's Love Got To Do With It")
TAPE 7: Starts with the rebroadcast of Motown 25 off WNBC on 10/30/1983 with commercials, followed by most of the 1984 Grammy Awards off WCBS on 2/24/1984 with no commercials, ending right as Michael Jackson accepts his Record of the Year Award.
TAPE 8: The Doobie Brothers Farewell concert (1982) and an episode of the 1986 Montreux concert as well as the first few minutes of Variety Tonight off A&E on 2/7/1988 with commercials, followed by the last 15 minutes of another episode of Variety Tonight circa early 1988 with commercials, then about half of an episode of 60 Minutes off WCBS on 2/28/1988 with some commercials.
TAPE 9: Probably my biggest disappointment in this lot in terms of zapped ads, but at least I end up with something. Starts off with The 24th annual Grammy Awards recorded presumably off WCBS 2/24/1982 with just one commercial (Lincoln) , followed by most of the WCBS Late Show presentation of Sunshine (1973) on 2/25/1982 with commercials, before rounding out with a couple clips from an episode of Where Were You (1969) off WABC with no ads.
The one dud consisted of a copy of Billy Joel's Leningrad concert off HBO in 1987 with no promos, followed by about 45 minutes of raw footage of hospital footage from 1984 of various patients embezzled with a monitor that includes body motion and various data that I can't quite decipher (think of a certain closing logo, and you'll know what I mean).
Just finished checking out my lot from the Big Apple, with everything from the decade with Ed Koch at the helm..
TAPE 1: Begins with Funny Girl (1969) taped off WABC circa 1983 with no commercials, followed by about the last 15 minutes of the WNBC public affairs special "It's A Dead End" on 4/8/1983 with two commercial breaks. Despite airing on the Peacock's flagship affiliate, this pre-empted a new episode of The Powers Of Matthew Star. The tape ends after the first several seconds of Knight Rider.
TAPE 2: Begins with a clip of a few minutes on the Dacia, Romanian import that never made it like the mildly successful Yugo off the CBS Evening News in 1987, followed by 60 Minutes off WCBS on 6/21/1987 with commercials, then about the last half of the WCBS 11 O'Clock News on 6/18/87 with ads, then it jumps to a special in-season exhibition game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets off WOR on 5/7/1987 with commercials (starts in the top of the 6th and includes the first five minutes of a postgame show), followed by most of Miami Vice off WNBC on 5/8/87 with ads.
TAPE 3: Starts with another short clip on the Dacia off the CBS Evening News from 1987, followed by most of the CBS Late Movie presentation One Trick Pony (1980) off WCBS on 7/4/1986 with commercials, followed by approximately the last half hour of the MLB game between the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers off WNBC on 5/17/1986 with commercials, followed by an episode of Strictly Business with ads afterwards, then it continues with about the last 20 minutes of another Mets-Dodgers game off WOR from the previous night, then the tape wraps up about half of a CBS Late Night edition of a Magnum, P.I. episode from May 1986 with commercials.
TAPES 4 and 5: The complete documentary series of Heritage: Civilization and the Jews off WNET and WLIW in late 1984 with a few promos after the last of the nine parts. The closed-captioning still works on my 1996 RCA as well.
TAPE 6: My pick of the lot, this tape starts out with about 15 minutes of a rerun of the 12/8/1984 episode of Saturday Night Live off WNBC, before cutting ahead for the series premiere of Pee-Wee's Playhouse followed by an episode of The Puppy's Great Adventures (one of the more obscure '80s cartoons) off WCBS on 9/13/1986 with commercials, before returning to that SNL episode for the last 15 minutes or so with a couple commercials (off WNBC circa March 1985), then it jumps for a full episode of SNL off WNBC on 3/30/1985 with commercials, followed by about the last 35 minutes of a Late Night with David Letterman rerun from March 1985 with ads , then it finishes off with about the last two-thirds of SNL from 2/2/1985 off WNBC with commercials (the episode starts with Tina Turner's performance of "What's Love Got To Do With It")
TAPE 7: Starts with the rebroadcast of Motown 25 off WNBC on 10/30/1983 with commercials, followed by most of the 1984 Grammy Awards off WCBS on 2/24/1984 with no commercials, ending right as Michael Jackson accepts his Record of the Year Award.
TAPE 8: The Doobie Brothers Farewell concert (1982) and an episode of the 1986 Montreux concert as well as the first few minutes of Variety Tonight off A&E on 2/7/1988 with commercials, followed by the last 15 minutes of another episode of Variety Tonight circa early 1988 with commercials, then about half of an episode of 60 Minutes off WCBS on 2/28/1988 with some commercials.
TAPE 9: Probably my biggest disappointment in this lot in terms of zapped ads, but at least I end up with something. Starts off with The 24th annual Grammy Awards recorded presumably off WCBS 2/24/1982 with just one commercial (Lincoln) , followed by most of the WCBS Late Show presentation of Sunshine (1973) on 2/25/1982 with commercials, before rounding out with a couple clips from an episode of Where Were You (1969) off WABC with no ads.
The one dud consisted of a copy of Billy Joel's Leningrad concert off HBO in 1987 with no promos, followed by about 45 minutes of raw footage of hospital footage from 1984 of various patients embezzled with a monitor that includes body motion and various data that I can't quite decipher (think of a certain closing logo, and you'll know what I mean).
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Great finds, especially the Saturday morning cartoons!
So switching gears a bit, but has anyone had this particular issue with their VHS VCRs?
I now have 2 JVC VCRs (both made in the latter 1990s from what I can tell) that refuse to track EP recorded tapes, yet play anything recorded in SP with no problem. I still get clear sound from the EP recordings, just no video. I've even popped the top on these VCRs and manually cleaned the video head, which seemed to help for 3 or 4 hours of normal playback with an EP tape, then it goes back to the same issues as before. I've determined its not the tape that is the issue, as I tried 3 or 4 different tapes with the same issue, many of which played fine just a few weeks ago. Any other solutions to this problem besides giving up that the video head is toast?
So switching gears a bit, but has anyone had this particular issue with their VHS VCRs?
I now have 2 JVC VCRs (both made in the latter 1990s from what I can tell) that refuse to track EP recorded tapes, yet play anything recorded in SP with no problem. I still get clear sound from the EP recordings, just no video. I've even popped the top on these VCRs and manually cleaned the video head, which seemed to help for 3 or 4 hours of normal playback with an EP tape, then it goes back to the same issues as before. I've determined its not the tape that is the issue, as I tried 3 or 4 different tapes with the same issue, many of which played fine just a few weeks ago. Any other solutions to this problem besides giving up that the video head is toast?
Another VHS lot came in, this time from Stockbridge, MI, about 90 minutes west of Detroit. The eBay description lacked the word "blank" or "prerecorded", so it was one of those finds that took a little searching. Out of 34 tapes, 27 were keepers, with three more being '00s-recorded, and another featured the 1992 rebroadcast of the Ice Capades special from 1988 that I've already got. There were three outright duds: one being a rental copy of 1998's Superbrawl VIII Wrestling special, another being a video of some demonstration inside an anonymous warehouse, showing the various usage of the cranes/belts carrying along packages, and the third being a three-minute clip of simply a horse moving around on a farm from a pre-Sound home video format. But now for the finds, starting with the oldest. All finds are with commercials unless specified:
Tape 1: Diary Of A Perfect Murder (the prelude to what became Matlock starting that fall) off WDIV/NBC on 3/3/1986, followed by Vanishing Act (1986) recorded of CKCO on 5/4/1986 (my first Canadian content find in five years), followed by part of the WXYZ Saturday Night Movie "Eat My Dust" (1976) from 5/3/1986.
Tape 2: The Carol Burnett 25th Reunion Special from 1992, presumably off WBNS without commercials, followed by the ABC Sunday Night Movie "Honky Tonk Man" (1982) of WXYZ on 4/27/1986, then it rounds out with most of the CBS Sunday Night Movie "Nobody's Child" off WJBK on 4/6/1986.
Tape 3: The NBC 60th Anniversary Special off WDIV on 5/12/1986 (I've already found a copy off WJAR Back in 2015), followed by segments of a local Detroit sports show Bernie's Bloopers circa 1986 with no commercials, then it wraps up with the Walt Disney World 15th Anniversary Special off WXYZ/ABC on 11/7/1986 with commercials.
Tape 4: Newhart, from WJBK/CBS on 1/5/1987, followed by Footloose (1984) from the same station later that evening, then it cups to the Disney Sunday Movie 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1959) and most of Part 1 of Amerika (ugghh...) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/15/1987.
Tape 5: Car Wash (1976) off WXYZ on 1/24/1987 with most commercials, followed by almost all of The Last Fling (1987) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/9/1987 with commercials, then it wraps up with The Disney Sunday Movie "The Parent Trap II" (1986) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/22/1987 with commercials. I recently converted a Beta copy of that same broadcast off KABC.
Tape 6: Flashdance (1983) off WDIV/ABC on 2/22/1987, followed by the 2-hour series premiere of Houston Knights off WJBK/CBS on 3/11/1987, then it rounds out with Murder By The Book (1987) off WJBK/CBS on 3/17/1987.
Tape 7: Due to poorer reception quality, apparently containing the Barbara Mandrell Christmas Special and Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), I was still able to come up with a summer rerun of Hotel off WXYZ/ABC on 8/19/1987.
Tape 8: Starts off with episodes of Animal Crack-Ups and The Ellen Burstyn Show off WXYZ/ABC on 8/22/1987, then late night presentations of The Star Chamber (1983) and The Wind and The Lion (1975) from the same night off WJBK, including the sign-off.
Tape 9: The Tonight Show 25th Anniversary Special off WDIV/NBC on 10/1/1987 without commercials, followed by the eighth season premiere of Magnum, P.I. off WJBK/CBS on 10/7/1987, then Right To Die (1987) off WDIV/NBC on 10/12/1987, then Kate & Allie and part of Newhart off WJBK/CBS on 10/19/1987, then it cuts over to Moonlighting off WXYZ/ABC on 11/3/1987, followed by about a seven minute clip from the WJBK 11 PM News (mostly on the stock market crash), then it cuts back to about 20 minutes of Cagney & Lacey from earlier that Black Monday.
Tape 10: Both parts of the Echoes of the Darkness miniseries off WJBK/CBS on 11/1-11/2/1987, followed by part of some late movie off WXYZ circa fall 1987 with some commercials.
Tape 11: Part four of the Noble House miniseries off WDIV/NBC on 2/24/1988, then Perfect People (1988) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/29/1988, followed by two syndie reruns of Cheers off WJBK in 1988, then about half of Santa Barbara off WDIV/NBC on 3/11/1988.
Tape 12: Begins with another syndie Cheers rerun off WJBK circa spring 1988, then continues with the WJBK Late Movie presentation (can't recall the movie now) followed by most of an episode of The Wall Street Journal Report from 4/30/1988 (interestingly, one of the stories in that edition of WSJR involves ad zappers using VCRs!), then it continues with Just The Ten Of Us off WXYZ/ABC on 5/3/1988 with commercials, followed by In The Heat Of The Night off WDIV/NBC from the same night, then after a short tapeover of a couple unknown movies, it picks up with Crime Story off WDIV/NBC from 5/3/1988 with some commercials (just under half of the episode).
Tape 13: Begins with 48 Hours "The Wild Wild West" off WJBK in 1988 without commercials, followed by a repeat of Desperado (1987), the WDIV 11 PM News, and the Tonight Show monologue segment off WDIV/NBC on 8/31/1988, then it cuts to the last 30 minutes of an unknown movie, followed by about 25 minutes of an episode of PWOW (Professional Women Of Wrestling) off WXYZ in August 1988, then it cuts to part of an episode of Santa Barbara off WDIV/NBC in August 1988.
Tape 14: Kicks off with a syndicated rerun of Magnum P.I. off WDIV in November 1987 (Carol Burnett guest stars), followed by the series finale of Magnum P.I. on 5/1/1988 off WJBK/CBS, then The People Across The Lake (1988), the NBC Monday Movie off WDIV on 10/3/1988 (I recently digitized a copy off another station), then wraps up with the eighth season premiere of Simon & Simon off WJBK/CBS on 10/8/1988.
Tape 15: The Outside Woman (1989) off WJBK/CBS on 2/12/1989, followed by an episode of Donahue (guest: Tom Selleck) from February 1989 with most commercials, then a syndie rerun of The Cosby Show off WDIV from February 1989, then the last ten minutes of Who's The Boss? and Roseanne (my oldest first-run find of Roseanne) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/14/1989, then most of the WXYZ Late Movie presentation of Ruthless People on 2/5/1989, then it finishes up with a ten minute clip of Gerlado circa early 1989.
Tape 16: Alien (1979) off WJBK/CBS on 3/14/1989, followed by Growing Pains and Head of the Class off WXYZ/ABC on 3/15/1989, then wraps up with a late movie off WKBD with snowy reception, which I probably won't farm out the commercials for conversion.
Tape 17: Romancing The Stone (1984) off WXYZ/ABC on 4/9/1989, followed by Jewel of the Nile (1985) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/12/1990, then it cuts back for most of an episode of Days of our Lives from August 1989 (the video quality is poor at times, which caused the EP mode to shift to LP in those occurrences), then wraps up with about 40 minutes of Beauty and the Beast off WJBK/CBS on 4/14/1989.
Tape 18: Starts with the 25th anniversary special of ABC's Wide World of Sports off WXYZ from 1986 without commercials, followed by the Dolphins, Whales and Us special off WJBK/CBS on 4/18/1990 (shabby quality though), then Reds (1981), the WSYX 11 PM News, an episode of The New WKRP in Cincinnati, and part of Rogan's Heroes off WSYX/ABC on 8/31/1992.
Tape 19: Parts three through five of the Fresno miniseries off WJBK/CBS in November 1989 with most commercials (only final part has the credits), followed by Live With Regis & Kathie Lee off WSYX in August 1992.
Tape 20: Candid Camera: The First 40 Years special off WJBK/CBS on 2/17/1987, followed by the Beach Boys: 25 Years Together concert from March 1987 off WXYZ/ABC without commercials (I recently added the WTAE broadcast with the ads recently however to my collection), followed by the Garth Brooks Concert from 1992 off presumably WCMH/NBC with no ads, then it rounds out with a nice sampling of daytime programming: Live With Regis & Kathie Lee off WSYX on 4/29/1992, followed by Sally Jessy Raphael, The Joan Rivers Show, and about 20 minutes of the WCMH midday news. Always nice to find those rare daytime local newscasts.
Tape 21: 50 Years of Television special off WJBK/CBS on 11/26/1989, followed by American Bandstand's 40th anniversary special off WSYX/ABC on 5/13/1992, then it rounds up with most of the 25 year special for the Country Music Hall of Fame off WBNS/CBS on 5/20/1992.
Tape 22: WWF Royal Rumble '93 off Pay-Per-View with four minutes of the pre-event countdown
Tape 23: Mr. Baseball (1992) off WTTE/FOX on 9/27/1994 with commercials, then 3 Men And A Little Lady (1990) off WSYX/ABC on 2/13/1994, followed by most of City Slickers (1991) off WSYX/ABC on 5/22/1994.
Tape 24: followed by Reba off WBNS/CBS on 11/25/1994, then most of Home Improvement from 11/24/1994 off WSYX/ABC, then the last 15 minutes of Another World off WCMH/NBC on 11/23/1994, then it wraps up with a rerun of the Cats and Dogs special on 3/29/1995 off TBS.
Tape 1: Diary Of A Perfect Murder (the prelude to what became Matlock starting that fall) off WDIV/NBC on 3/3/1986, followed by Vanishing Act (1986) recorded of CKCO on 5/4/1986 (my first Canadian content find in five years), followed by part of the WXYZ Saturday Night Movie "Eat My Dust" (1976) from 5/3/1986.
Tape 2: The Carol Burnett 25th Reunion Special from 1992, presumably off WBNS without commercials, followed by the ABC Sunday Night Movie "Honky Tonk Man" (1982) of WXYZ on 4/27/1986, then it rounds out with most of the CBS Sunday Night Movie "Nobody's Child" off WJBK on 4/6/1986.
Tape 3: The NBC 60th Anniversary Special off WDIV on 5/12/1986 (I've already found a copy off WJAR Back in 2015), followed by segments of a local Detroit sports show Bernie's Bloopers circa 1986 with no commercials, then it wraps up with the Walt Disney World 15th Anniversary Special off WXYZ/ABC on 11/7/1986 with commercials.
Tape 4: Newhart, from WJBK/CBS on 1/5/1987, followed by Footloose (1984) from the same station later that evening, then it cups to the Disney Sunday Movie 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1959) and most of Part 1 of Amerika (ugghh...) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/15/1987.
Tape 5: Car Wash (1976) off WXYZ on 1/24/1987 with most commercials, followed by almost all of The Last Fling (1987) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/9/1987 with commercials, then it wraps up with The Disney Sunday Movie "The Parent Trap II" (1986) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/22/1987 with commercials. I recently converted a Beta copy of that same broadcast off KABC.
Tape 6: Flashdance (1983) off WDIV/ABC on 2/22/1987, followed by the 2-hour series premiere of Houston Knights off WJBK/CBS on 3/11/1987, then it rounds out with Murder By The Book (1987) off WJBK/CBS on 3/17/1987.
Tape 7: Due to poorer reception quality, apparently containing the Barbara Mandrell Christmas Special and Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), I was still able to come up with a summer rerun of Hotel off WXYZ/ABC on 8/19/1987.
Tape 8: Starts off with episodes of Animal Crack-Ups and The Ellen Burstyn Show off WXYZ/ABC on 8/22/1987, then late night presentations of The Star Chamber (1983) and The Wind and The Lion (1975) from the same night off WJBK, including the sign-off.
Tape 9: The Tonight Show 25th Anniversary Special off WDIV/NBC on 10/1/1987 without commercials, followed by the eighth season premiere of Magnum, P.I. off WJBK/CBS on 10/7/1987, then Right To Die (1987) off WDIV/NBC on 10/12/1987, then Kate & Allie and part of Newhart off WJBK/CBS on 10/19/1987, then it cuts over to Moonlighting off WXYZ/ABC on 11/3/1987, followed by about a seven minute clip from the WJBK 11 PM News (mostly on the stock market crash), then it cuts back to about 20 minutes of Cagney & Lacey from earlier that Black Monday.
Tape 10: Both parts of the Echoes of the Darkness miniseries off WJBK/CBS on 11/1-11/2/1987, followed by part of some late movie off WXYZ circa fall 1987 with some commercials.
Tape 11: Part four of the Noble House miniseries off WDIV/NBC on 2/24/1988, then Perfect People (1988) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/29/1988, followed by two syndie reruns of Cheers off WJBK in 1988, then about half of Santa Barbara off WDIV/NBC on 3/11/1988.
Tape 12: Begins with another syndie Cheers rerun off WJBK circa spring 1988, then continues with the WJBK Late Movie presentation (can't recall the movie now) followed by most of an episode of The Wall Street Journal Report from 4/30/1988 (interestingly, one of the stories in that edition of WSJR involves ad zappers using VCRs!), then it continues with Just The Ten Of Us off WXYZ/ABC on 5/3/1988 with commercials, followed by In The Heat Of The Night off WDIV/NBC from the same night, then after a short tapeover of a couple unknown movies, it picks up with Crime Story off WDIV/NBC from 5/3/1988 with some commercials (just under half of the episode).
Tape 13: Begins with 48 Hours "The Wild Wild West" off WJBK in 1988 without commercials, followed by a repeat of Desperado (1987), the WDIV 11 PM News, and the Tonight Show monologue segment off WDIV/NBC on 8/31/1988, then it cuts to the last 30 minutes of an unknown movie, followed by about 25 minutes of an episode of PWOW (Professional Women Of Wrestling) off WXYZ in August 1988, then it cuts to part of an episode of Santa Barbara off WDIV/NBC in August 1988.
Tape 14: Kicks off with a syndicated rerun of Magnum P.I. off WDIV in November 1987 (Carol Burnett guest stars), followed by the series finale of Magnum P.I. on 5/1/1988 off WJBK/CBS, then The People Across The Lake (1988), the NBC Monday Movie off WDIV on 10/3/1988 (I recently digitized a copy off another station), then wraps up with the eighth season premiere of Simon & Simon off WJBK/CBS on 10/8/1988.
Tape 15: The Outside Woman (1989) off WJBK/CBS on 2/12/1989, followed by an episode of Donahue (guest: Tom Selleck) from February 1989 with most commercials, then a syndie rerun of The Cosby Show off WDIV from February 1989, then the last ten minutes of Who's The Boss? and Roseanne (my oldest first-run find of Roseanne) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/14/1989, then most of the WXYZ Late Movie presentation of Ruthless People on 2/5/1989, then it finishes up with a ten minute clip of Gerlado circa early 1989.
Tape 16: Alien (1979) off WJBK/CBS on 3/14/1989, followed by Growing Pains and Head of the Class off WXYZ/ABC on 3/15/1989, then wraps up with a late movie off WKBD with snowy reception, which I probably won't farm out the commercials for conversion.
Tape 17: Romancing The Stone (1984) off WXYZ/ABC on 4/9/1989, followed by Jewel of the Nile (1985) off WXYZ/ABC on 2/12/1990, then it cuts back for most of an episode of Days of our Lives from August 1989 (the video quality is poor at times, which caused the EP mode to shift to LP in those occurrences), then wraps up with about 40 minutes of Beauty and the Beast off WJBK/CBS on 4/14/1989.
Tape 18: Starts with the 25th anniversary special of ABC's Wide World of Sports off WXYZ from 1986 without commercials, followed by the Dolphins, Whales and Us special off WJBK/CBS on 4/18/1990 (shabby quality though), then Reds (1981), the WSYX 11 PM News, an episode of The New WKRP in Cincinnati, and part of Rogan's Heroes off WSYX/ABC on 8/31/1992.
Tape 19: Parts three through five of the Fresno miniseries off WJBK/CBS in November 1989 with most commercials (only final part has the credits), followed by Live With Regis & Kathie Lee off WSYX in August 1992.
Tape 20: Candid Camera: The First 40 Years special off WJBK/CBS on 2/17/1987, followed by the Beach Boys: 25 Years Together concert from March 1987 off WXYZ/ABC without commercials (I recently added the WTAE broadcast with the ads recently however to my collection), followed by the Garth Brooks Concert from 1992 off presumably WCMH/NBC with no ads, then it rounds out with a nice sampling of daytime programming: Live With Regis & Kathie Lee off WSYX on 4/29/1992, followed by Sally Jessy Raphael, The Joan Rivers Show, and about 20 minutes of the WCMH midday news. Always nice to find those rare daytime local newscasts.
Tape 21: 50 Years of Television special off WJBK/CBS on 11/26/1989, followed by American Bandstand's 40th anniversary special off WSYX/ABC on 5/13/1992, then it rounds up with most of the 25 year special for the Country Music Hall of Fame off WBNS/CBS on 5/20/1992.
Tape 22: WWF Royal Rumble '93 off Pay-Per-View with four minutes of the pre-event countdown
Tape 23: Mr. Baseball (1992) off WTTE/FOX on 9/27/1994 with commercials, then 3 Men And A Little Lady (1990) off WSYX/ABC on 2/13/1994, followed by most of City Slickers (1991) off WSYX/ABC on 5/22/1994.
Tape 24: followed by Reba off WBNS/CBS on 11/25/1994, then most of Home Improvement from 11/24/1994 off WSYX/ABC, then the last 15 minutes of Another World off WCMH/NBC on 11/23/1994, then it wraps up with a rerun of the Cats and Dogs special on 3/29/1995 off TBS.
Tape 25: Starts with an episode of a collectibles show off fX (before the "f" was capitalized) from February 1996, followed by Another World off WCMH/NBC on 2/19/1996 (just before the logo/theme changed), followed by the last hour of WCW Wrestling's Clash of the Champions and Vigilante Force (1976) off TBS on 1/31/1996.
Tape 26: Starts with another episode that same collectibles fX show, followed by Live with Regis & Kathie Lee (WXYZ), the first half of The Young & The Restless (WJBK), Days of our Lives (WDIV), and Another World (WDIV again) from 11/3/1997, followed by most of another episode of LWR&KL off WXYZ on 7/22/1997.
Tape 27: Starts off with Garth Brooks: Ireland and Back off WDIV/NBC on 3/4/1998 without commercials, then a partial episode of LWR&KL from December 1998 off WXYZ, followed by two Andy Griffith episodes and Matlock off TBS on 12/14/1998, then finally wrapping up with about the last 20 minutes of Another World off WDIV/NBC from around February 1998.
It looks like the VHS owner moved from Southeast Michigan to central Ohio sometime in the early '90s before returning back to Detroit in 1996 or 1997. Judging by the labels, there was certainly a lot of retaping, with a couple labels having two additional ones behind them.
More VHS and Beta tape lots are going live again tomorrow on eBay.
Tape 26: Starts with another episode that same collectibles fX show, followed by Live with Regis & Kathie Lee (WXYZ), the first half of The Young & The Restless (WJBK), Days of our Lives (WDIV), and Another World (WDIV again) from 11/3/1997, followed by most of another episode of LWR&KL off WXYZ on 7/22/1997.
Tape 27: Starts off with Garth Brooks: Ireland and Back off WDIV/NBC on 3/4/1998 without commercials, then a partial episode of LWR&KL from December 1998 off WXYZ, followed by two Andy Griffith episodes and Matlock off TBS on 12/14/1998, then finally wrapping up with about the last 20 minutes of Another World off WDIV/NBC from around February 1998.
It looks like the VHS owner moved from Southeast Michigan to central Ohio sometime in the early '90s before returning back to Detroit in 1996 or 1997. Judging by the labels, there was certainly a lot of retaping, with a couple labels having two additional ones behind them.
More VHS and Beta tape lots are going live again tomorrow on eBay.
"Ugggh" on Amerika? I've never even found ANYTHING from that miniseries. I find Lonesome Dove about once a year, on the other hand!
Personal FX: The Collectibles Show is the show that you are trying to ID. I have a few episodes from 1995 and 1997, some I haven't uploaded yet.
Pretty sure I have that Noble House Part IV (I know I have a 1991 rebroadcast from KNDO). No tapes found today at two estate sales in Yakima. I am keeping a low profile on estate and yard sale buying this spring as I am too busy with student teaching. However, sales that have a high chance at tapes (like the West Valley Church rummage sale held every spring) are still on my schedule, whenever they occur.
Personal FX: The Collectibles Show is the show that you are trying to ID. I have a few episodes from 1995 and 1997, some I haven't uploaded yet.
Pretty sure I have that Noble House Part IV (I know I have a 1991 rebroadcast from KNDO). No tapes found today at two estate sales in Yakima. I am keeping a low profile on estate and yard sale buying this spring as I am too busy with student teaching. However, sales that have a high chance at tapes (like the West Valley Church rummage sale held every spring) are still on my schedule, whenever they occur.
Now making my way through a lot of NASCAR race recordings from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first tape has the 2000 Pepsi 400 on KFVS (CBS) and a couple ESPN recordings from June 2000 containing the Belmont Stakes pre-race, an episode of "ESPN SpeedWorld: Thrills and Spills", and partial recordings of the Cadillac NFL Golf Classic and a MLS game between Dallas and Columbus.
The second tape, which I'm going through right now, begins with the 2003 EA Sports 500 broadcasted on WPSD (NBC).
The second tape, which I'm going through right now, begins with the 2003 EA Sports 500 broadcasted on WPSD (NBC).
Well, I did get a replacement for my Magnavox ZV427MG9. This one is an Insignia IS-DVD100121 VCR/DVD recorder combo that I ordered from eBay and was delivered just yesterday. From 2006 to 2012, I had the same make and model number and, in terms of playing back tapes, it was a much higher quality unit compared to the Magnavox, as is this one. The only flaw with the one I just got, however, is that when I dub content from a tape to a DVD, unlike the first Insignia I had, there seems to be a three to five second lag between when I actually start dubbing and what ends up showing up on the disc afterward, i.e. the first three to five seconds of what I wanted to dub don't show up on the title on the DVD. Compare that to the Insignia I had prior to 2012 when the dubbing would start immediately after I hit the dubbing button on the remote. I personally would hate to have to return this "new" unit just because of that since it operates very well otherwise.
Meanwhile, talk about bad timing. The day I got the Insignia delivered to my door was also the day I got a response to my post on Nextdoor asking if anyone has a VCR/DVD recorder combo they no longer want. The lady who responded to me on that post said she has a Toshiba DVR620 (I think), which has an HDMI port. Toshiba, Magnavox and Funai seem to be one in the same in terms of cheap workmanship, but perhaps this one would handle the dubbing of tapes to discs better than the Insignia I just got. Not really sure what to do here. Don't know if the seller has a remote for it or not either, which the Insignia seller did for that unit.
Meanwhile, talk about bad timing. The day I got the Insignia delivered to my door was also the day I got a response to my post on Nextdoor asking if anyone has a VCR/DVD recorder combo they no longer want. The lady who responded to me on that post said she has a Toshiba DVR620 (I think), which has an HDMI port. Toshiba, Magnavox and Funai seem to be one in the same in terms of cheap workmanship, but perhaps this one would handle the dubbing of tapes to discs better than the Insignia I just got. Not really sure what to do here. Don't know if the seller has a remote for it or not either, which the Insignia seller did for that unit.
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CBS was on WWJ-TV, WJBK was Fox....
I did not mark my latest finds from last Saturday yet...so here we go! One estate sale delivered, albeit it's been a little rough at times.
Tape 1 - 1960 version of Peter Pan taped off KNDO/NBC on 3/24/1989 with commercials (already have this off KING 5 Seattle). JVC T-120
Tape 2 - 'The Sound of Music' (1965) and open to INN News with Marvin Scott taped off KNDO/NBC on 12/28/1986 with commercials (I have at least 4 NBC broadcasts of this, the oldest being 12/23/84); part of the 1986 Sun Bowl (Alabama/Washington), One Day at a Time and part of Too Close for Comfort taped off KIMA/CBS on Christmas Day 1986 with commercials. Memorex T-120. These tapes are rough to play not because of storage but because tape residue keeps flying onto my heads, causing static. There are a few more that I will be rewinding-fast forwarding several times in my external rewinder before I use them. It's too bad. One of them is marked with the Statue of Liberty Birthday Celebration from Independence Day 1986, a recording I've been trying to find for YEARS!
Tape 3 - 'The Yearling' (1994) taped off KIMA/CBS on 6/23/1996 with commercials. TDK T-120
TAPES NOT FOUND AT WEST VALLEY CHURCH!! The first time I got skunked here. There were hardly any VHS tapes, only some VeggieTales tapes and a few other Disney ones. Without the sale being advertised on Craigslist or in the Yakima Herald-Republic, I am not surprised.
Tape 1 - 1960 version of Peter Pan taped off KNDO/NBC on 3/24/1989 with commercials (already have this off KING 5 Seattle). JVC T-120
Tape 2 - 'The Sound of Music' (1965) and open to INN News with Marvin Scott taped off KNDO/NBC on 12/28/1986 with commercials (I have at least 4 NBC broadcasts of this, the oldest being 12/23/84); part of the 1986 Sun Bowl (Alabama/Washington), One Day at a Time and part of Too Close for Comfort taped off KIMA/CBS on Christmas Day 1986 with commercials. Memorex T-120. These tapes are rough to play not because of storage but because tape residue keeps flying onto my heads, causing static. There are a few more that I will be rewinding-fast forwarding several times in my external rewinder before I use them. It's too bad. One of them is marked with the Statue of Liberty Birthday Celebration from Independence Day 1986, a recording I've been trying to find for YEARS!
Tape 3 - 'The Yearling' (1994) taped off KIMA/CBS on 6/23/1996 with commercials. TDK T-120
TAPES NOT FOUND AT WEST VALLEY CHURCH!! The first time I got skunked here. There were hardly any VHS tapes, only some VeggieTales tapes and a few other Disney ones. Without the sale being advertised on Craigslist or in the Yakima Herald-Republic, I am not surprised.
Modest finds made the past few days. Wenatchee trip on Friday, and some sales in Ellensburg/Yakima on Saturday.
FRIDAY - WENATCHEE
Estate Sale west of town
Tape 1 - Coverage of the third round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship taped off Golf Channel on 1/6/2007 with commercials. Kodak T-120
Veteran's Warehouse Thrift Store - yes, they trashed most of them during my November visit, but they brought a few stragglers in from winter donations...
Tape 2 - Last 7 minutes of Anyplace Wild and part 1 of Ken Burns' Lewis & Clark taped off KCTS/PBS on 11/4/1997 with promos; part 2 of Ken Burns' Lewis & Clark taped off KCTS/PBS on 11/5/1997; Frontline episode, a classic episode of World of National Geographic, and part of As Time Goes By taped off KCTS/PBS on Veterans Day 1997 with promos. Sony T-120
Tape 3 - 'Breathing Lessons' (1994), NewsChannel 7 at 11, CBS Sunday Night News, Face the Nation, Entertainment Tonight Weekend, infomercials for the Jet-Stream Oven and the FiberSpeed 2000 golf club, and 45 minutes of Up to the Minute taped off KIRO/CBS on 2/6-7/1994 with commercials (I have Breathing Lessons, the Sunday Night News and Face the Nation already from KIMA in Yakima.) Maxell T-120, totally unmarked and unlabeled, a great surprise!
Two others were rental duds.
A dud with AMC movies (no promos) came out of Garage Door Thrift Store, about 6 blocks S of downtown.
SATURDAY
Ellensburg - estate sale
Tape 1 - '101 Dalmatians' (1996, live action) taped off Disney Channel around July 1999 with promos. Fuji T-120
Tape 2 - 'Lady and the Tramp' (1955) and part of Britney Spears and Joey McIntyre in Concert taped off Disney Channel on 11/23/1999 with promos in between. Chrome Pro T-120
Selah - massive, huge, gigantic yard sale fundraiser, hundreds of boxes of stuff and many VHS tapes, 95% of them factory retail, but there were a few home-recorded ones mixed in.
Tape 3 - 'The Last of the Mohicans' (1992), 'Lonely Hearts' (1991) and first minutes of 'Band of the Hand' (1986) taped off HBO on 10/18/1993 with promos. Maxell T-120
Tape 4 - 'Batman' (1989) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; part of 'Clambake' (1967) and 'A Fish Called Wanda' (1988) taped off TNT on 2/9/1995 with commercials. Avanti T-120
Tape 5 - Maryland vs. Clemson football (last few minutes) taped off unknown ABC affiliate on 10/4/2003 with commercials; Hawaii vs. Tulsa football taped off ESPN GamePlan PPV on 10/4/2003 with many ESPN-centric promos during commercial breaks, this was the 'SportsWest' coverage that I believe originated from KFVE in Honolulu. Maxell Advanced Hi-Fi T-120 (and no, not in HIFI)
Tape 6 - Hawaii vs. UTEP football taped off ESPN GamePlan PPV on 10/23/2004 with commercials and ESPN-centric promos, this was the ESPN Plus broadcast (also from KFVE Honolulu). Maxell T-120
A seventh tape had a few Days of Our Lives episodes taped off KHQ/NBC sometime in the early '00s with commercials, but the OTA quality was horrendous, mostly just picking up the audio. Lots of B&W static. What a waste of tape!
Off to North Idaho and Spokane WA on a big road trip Thu-Sat. Two Goodwill Outlets to visit (Pasco / Spokane), another outlet store run by Idaho Youth Ranch in Post Falls, numerous sales and thrift stores, it will be a doozy, and hopefully some great finds to boot.
At IYR, books and movies are 25c each. At Goodwill Outlet, all bins are rotated out every 2 hours or so. VHS is 49 cents each, DVDs 99c. Pretty sure they take in home-recorded donations like other Outlet stores.
The Goodwill Outlet in Pasco serves all Tri-Cities and Walla Walla stores, Wenatchee, Sunnyside, and Hermiston OR.
The Goodwill Outlet in Spokane serves all Spokane/Coeur D'Alene stores, Colville, Moses Lake, Lewiston, Moscow, Pullman, and surprisingly, EAST Wenatchee. Yes. There are two different Goodwill stores in Wenatchee that are run by different organizations, depending on which side of the Columbia River you're on.
FRIDAY - WENATCHEE
Estate Sale west of town
Tape 1 - Coverage of the third round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship taped off Golf Channel on 1/6/2007 with commercials. Kodak T-120
Veteran's Warehouse Thrift Store - yes, they trashed most of them during my November visit, but they brought a few stragglers in from winter donations...
Tape 2 - Last 7 minutes of Anyplace Wild and part 1 of Ken Burns' Lewis & Clark taped off KCTS/PBS on 11/4/1997 with promos; part 2 of Ken Burns' Lewis & Clark taped off KCTS/PBS on 11/5/1997; Frontline episode, a classic episode of World of National Geographic, and part of As Time Goes By taped off KCTS/PBS on Veterans Day 1997 with promos. Sony T-120
Tape 3 - 'Breathing Lessons' (1994), NewsChannel 7 at 11, CBS Sunday Night News, Face the Nation, Entertainment Tonight Weekend, infomercials for the Jet-Stream Oven and the FiberSpeed 2000 golf club, and 45 minutes of Up to the Minute taped off KIRO/CBS on 2/6-7/1994 with commercials (I have Breathing Lessons, the Sunday Night News and Face the Nation already from KIMA in Yakima.) Maxell T-120, totally unmarked and unlabeled, a great surprise!
Two others were rental duds.
A dud with AMC movies (no promos) came out of Garage Door Thrift Store, about 6 blocks S of downtown.
SATURDAY
Ellensburg - estate sale
Tape 1 - '101 Dalmatians' (1996, live action) taped off Disney Channel around July 1999 with promos. Fuji T-120
Tape 2 - 'Lady and the Tramp' (1955) and part of Britney Spears and Joey McIntyre in Concert taped off Disney Channel on 11/23/1999 with promos in between. Chrome Pro T-120
Selah - massive, huge, gigantic yard sale fundraiser, hundreds of boxes of stuff and many VHS tapes, 95% of them factory retail, but there were a few home-recorded ones mixed in.
Tape 3 - 'The Last of the Mohicans' (1992), 'Lonely Hearts' (1991) and first minutes of 'Band of the Hand' (1986) taped off HBO on 10/18/1993 with promos. Maxell T-120
Tape 4 - 'Batman' (1989) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; part of 'Clambake' (1967) and 'A Fish Called Wanda' (1988) taped off TNT on 2/9/1995 with commercials. Avanti T-120
Tape 5 - Maryland vs. Clemson football (last few minutes) taped off unknown ABC affiliate on 10/4/2003 with commercials; Hawaii vs. Tulsa football taped off ESPN GamePlan PPV on 10/4/2003 with many ESPN-centric promos during commercial breaks, this was the 'SportsWest' coverage that I believe originated from KFVE in Honolulu. Maxell Advanced Hi-Fi T-120 (and no, not in HIFI)
Tape 6 - Hawaii vs. UTEP football taped off ESPN GamePlan PPV on 10/23/2004 with commercials and ESPN-centric promos, this was the ESPN Plus broadcast (also from KFVE Honolulu). Maxell T-120
A seventh tape had a few Days of Our Lives episodes taped off KHQ/NBC sometime in the early '00s with commercials, but the OTA quality was horrendous, mostly just picking up the audio. Lots of B&W static. What a waste of tape!
Off to North Idaho and Spokane WA on a big road trip Thu-Sat. Two Goodwill Outlets to visit (Pasco / Spokane), another outlet store run by Idaho Youth Ranch in Post Falls, numerous sales and thrift stores, it will be a doozy, and hopefully some great finds to boot.
At IYR, books and movies are 25c each. At Goodwill Outlet, all bins are rotated out every 2 hours or so. VHS is 49 cents each, DVDs 99c. Pretty sure they take in home-recorded donations like other Outlet stores.
The Goodwill Outlet in Pasco serves all Tri-Cities and Walla Walla stores, Wenatchee, Sunnyside, and Hermiston OR.
The Goodwill Outlet in Spokane serves all Spokane/Coeur D'Alene stores, Colville, Moses Lake, Lewiston, Moscow, Pullman, and surprisingly, EAST Wenatchee. Yes. There are two different Goodwill stores in Wenatchee that are run by different organizations, depending on which side of the Columbia River you're on.
Can't check until next week of course, but the Pasco Goodwill Outlet was better today than it was last time. I got to see a 'mob' of people giddily heading towards books and shoes when they opened the gates...
I believe I found six home-recorded tapes. Labels have some nature documentaries, one with Crocodile Hunter, one with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and one with (I think) The Thrill of It All with Doris Day. They are sitting out in my car (I'm spending the night near Lewiston ID right now).
And I found a vintage Cabbage Patch Kid for pennies on the dollar. A little dirty, but I can wipe her off.
I believe I found six home-recorded tapes. Labels have some nature documentaries, one with Crocodile Hunter, one with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and one with (I think) The Thrill of It All with Doris Day. They are sitting out in my car (I'm spending the night near Lewiston ID right now).
And I found a vintage Cabbage Patch Kid for pennies on the dollar. A little dirty, but I can wipe her off.
Completely forgot to post my latest finds from two weekends ago, this time from an estate sale in Parma Heights.
TAPE 1: Final episode of Providence taped from WKYC on 12/20/2002 with commercials; Days of Our Lives and Passions taped from WKYC on 1/15/2003 with commercials; end of an episode of Passions taped from WKYC on 12/31/2002 with commercials; partial episode of Days of Our Lives and Passions taped from WKYC on 12/6/2002; partial episode of Passions taped from WKYC on 11/29/2002 with commercials; partial episode of Will & Grace taped from WKYC on 5/9/2002 with commercials. Sony T-120.
TAPE 2: One hour of scrambled aerial signal of what appears to be WEWS circa 2007 or 2008; partial broadcast of Dateline NBC and partial episode of Law & Order taped from WKYC on 5/18/2007 with commercials. TDK T-120.
TAPE 3: Relentless (1989) copied from rental tape; several episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus taped from MTV circa 1990(?) minus commercials; MTV Unplugged with Nirvana taped from MTV in December 1993 (not the original broadcast), first two commercial breaks are intact, the rest are cut out; MTV News coverage of the vigil of Kurt Cobain and partial rebroadcast of Nirvana in Concert taped from MTV on 4/10/1994. Laser T-120.
TAPE 4: Three episodes of Universe: The Infinite Frontier and partial episode of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego taped from WVIZ in January 1996 with promos; another episode of Universe: The Infinite Frontier, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego ("Danube-Doo-Be-Duped") and partial episode of Wishbone taped from WVIZ in January 1996 with promos. TDK T-120.
TAPE 5: ER and partial broadcast of Channel 3 News at 11 taped from WKYC on 3/16/1995 with commercials; partial recording of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) copied from rental tape; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) copied from rental tape. Magna T-120.
TAPE 6: Part one of The Beatles Anthology taped from WEWS on 11/19/1995 with commercials; part two of The Beatles Anthology and start of News Channel 5 at 11 taped from WEWS on 11/22/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of She Fought Alone (NBC made-for-TV movie) taped from WKYC on 11/6/1995 with commercials. Unknown brand T-120.
TAPE 7: First segment of part three of The Beatles Anthology taped from WAKC on 11/23/1995 with a few commercials; partial episode of Montel Williams and partial episode of Days of Our Lives taped from WKYC on 10/26/2006 with commercials; end of Montel Williams, Days of Our Lives and partial episode of Passions taped from WKYC on 10/27/2006 with commercials; partial broadcast of Channel 3 News Sunday Morning taped from WKYC on 10/29/2006 with commercials; partial episode of Days of Our Lives taped from WKYC on 12/28/1995 with commercials; end of Channel 3 News at Noon and Days of Our Lives taped from WKYC on 12/29/1995 with commercials; partial episode of Rush Limbaugh, Later with Greg Kinnear and partial overnight rebroadcast of Channel 3 News at 11 taped from WKYC on 10/3/1995 with commercials. Unknown brand T-120, not in great shape.
TAPE 1: Final episode of Providence taped from WKYC on 12/20/2002 with commercials; Days of Our Lives and Passions taped from WKYC on 1/15/2003 with commercials; end of an episode of Passions taped from WKYC on 12/31/2002 with commercials; partial episode of Days of Our Lives and Passions taped from WKYC on 12/6/2002; partial episode of Passions taped from WKYC on 11/29/2002 with commercials; partial episode of Will & Grace taped from WKYC on 5/9/2002 with commercials. Sony T-120.
TAPE 2: One hour of scrambled aerial signal of what appears to be WEWS circa 2007 or 2008; partial broadcast of Dateline NBC and partial episode of Law & Order taped from WKYC on 5/18/2007 with commercials. TDK T-120.
TAPE 3: Relentless (1989) copied from rental tape; several episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus taped from MTV circa 1990(?) minus commercials; MTV Unplugged with Nirvana taped from MTV in December 1993 (not the original broadcast), first two commercial breaks are intact, the rest are cut out; MTV News coverage of the vigil of Kurt Cobain and partial rebroadcast of Nirvana in Concert taped from MTV on 4/10/1994. Laser T-120.
TAPE 4: Three episodes of Universe: The Infinite Frontier and partial episode of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego taped from WVIZ in January 1996 with promos; another episode of Universe: The Infinite Frontier, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego ("Danube-Doo-Be-Duped") and partial episode of Wishbone taped from WVIZ in January 1996 with promos. TDK T-120.
TAPE 5: ER and partial broadcast of Channel 3 News at 11 taped from WKYC on 3/16/1995 with commercials; partial recording of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) copied from rental tape; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) copied from rental tape. Magna T-120.
TAPE 6: Part one of The Beatles Anthology taped from WEWS on 11/19/1995 with commercials; part two of The Beatles Anthology and start of News Channel 5 at 11 taped from WEWS on 11/22/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of She Fought Alone (NBC made-for-TV movie) taped from WKYC on 11/6/1995 with commercials. Unknown brand T-120.
TAPE 7: First segment of part three of The Beatles Anthology taped from WAKC on 11/23/1995 with a few commercials; partial episode of Montel Williams and partial episode of Days of Our Lives taped from WKYC on 10/26/2006 with commercials; end of Montel Williams, Days of Our Lives and partial episode of Passions taped from WKYC on 10/27/2006 with commercials; partial broadcast of Channel 3 News Sunday Morning taped from WKYC on 10/29/2006 with commercials; partial episode of Days of Our Lives taped from WKYC on 12/28/1995 with commercials; end of Channel 3 News at Noon and Days of Our Lives taped from WKYC on 12/29/1995 with commercials; partial episode of Rush Limbaugh, Later with Greg Kinnear and partial overnight rebroadcast of Channel 3 News at 11 taped from WKYC on 10/3/1995 with commercials. Unknown brand T-120, not in great shape.
Today was another good day for tapes - two unlabeled tapes at a thrift store in Post Falls (across the border from WA) and about 15 or so from a huge yard sale in the small town of Plummer, ID on the Coeur D'Alene Indian Reservation, lots of movies and TV-movies on the labels (Passion and Paradise from 1989 was one of those tapes) and many tapes were very dusty and dirty. I only took tapes that were IN the sleeves and not without a slipcover. For example, there was a tape marked Andy Griffth-Reba. It was CAKED in black dirt and dust from the poor storage it was in. Thanks but no thanks. I think one has a Garth Brooks concert on the label as well.
Last stop(s) tomorrow before heading home include the Spokane Goodwill Outlet. That will be fun, I hope, more bins to explore. The outlet store in Post Falls for Idaho Youth Ranch was skunked out of tapes except some random Disney and comedy films, all purchased or former rentals.
Last stop(s) tomorrow before heading home include the Spokane Goodwill Outlet. That will be fun, I hope, more bins to explore. The outlet store in Post Falls for Idaho Youth Ranch was skunked out of tapes except some random Disney and comedy films, all purchased or former rentals.
Still going through tapes, but here's what I have found so far from my road trip to Idaho last week. Some wonderful finds (those are bolded) and a new record for the oldest TV recording I've ever found!! Duds are omitted.
Plummer ID (big yard sale with several boxes of tapes, I only took about 12)
Tape 1 - Part 2 of Passion & Paradise taped off KSPR 33 Springfield, MO/ABC on 2/21/1989 with commercials. My first Springfield find since 2016, when I found half of a 1990 KYTV-taped Another World in an eBay lot near Kansas City. Polaroid T-120 in SP
Tape 2 - 'Three on a Match' (1987) taped off KYTV/NBC on 8/2/1987 with commercials. I have this movie from the 1991 rebroadcast (KNDO) but it's great to find older commercials! Polaroid T-120 / SP
Tape 3 - 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' (1939) taped off TBS early on 5/2/1989 with commercials; 'The Glass Bottom Boat' (1966) taped off TBS in May 1989 minus commercials; 'How the West Was Won' (1962) and part of the Montreal Expos/Atlanta Braves game taped off TBS on 5/7/1989 with some commercials. Scotch T-120
Tape 4 - This is Garth Brooks taped off KYTV/NBC on 1/17/1992 with commercials. Sony T-120 in SP and blank after 57 min
Tape 5 - Starts with a multi-generation bootleg recording of some heavy metal concert, then cuts to the end of The Howard Stern Show, Night Stand with Dick Dietrick (parody of talk shows), Talk Soup (with a young Ryan Seacrest as guest host!), Coming Attractions, Behind the Scenes, and two late night infomercials for the Slim Patch System and Hair Genesis taped off E! in February 1999 with commercials. GREAT find. Maxell T-120, completely unlabeled.
Tape 6 - 'Silkwood' (1983) taped off KSPR/ABC on 5/17/1987 with commercials. This aired at the same time as Roses Are For the Rich on CBS, which I've found in the past. Polaroid T-120
Tape 7 - Part 1 of From the Dead of the Night taped off KYTV/NBC on 2/27/1989 with commercials
(About 4 more tapes left to check from this sale.)
Othello WA - Madeleys' Thrift
Tape 8 - 'An Affair to Remember' (1957) taped off the Disney Channel in the early '90s; 'The Egg & I' (1947) and most of 'The Window' (1949) taped off AMC on 8/19/1993 with promos and Gene Klavan segments. Sony T-120
Pasco WA - Goodwill Outlet
Tape 9 - Overnight recording of AMC on 2/18/1993 with promos: 'No Way to Treat a Lady' (1968), 'Palmy Days' (1931), 'Music for Madame' (1937) and 'The Falcon Strikes Back' (1943). Maxell EX T-120 without a case, but did find an empty Sony box mixed in the pile to use for that tape.
(Many duds, two rental copies and four that were second-generation copies of Animal Planet specials from the early '00s that had commercials edited out. One was part of an episode of Champions of the Wild from 1998, shortly after Animal Planet launched.)
Oldtown ID - Thrifty's Thrift Store just off Hwy 2
Tape 10 - 'Star Wars' (1977) taped off KREM/CBS on 2/14/1987 with commercials (great find!); part of 'The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory' (1987) taped off KHQ/NBC on 1/26/1987 with commercials (which I already have from KNDO); 'Robin Hood' (1973) taped off KXLY/ABC on 4/27/1986 with commercials - Disney Sunday Movie. SKC T-120
Beta Tape - A new oldest record has been set on this tape! Begins with a broadcast of Jimmy Swaggart taped off an unknown station circa 1984 or 1985; cuts to about an hour of Praise the Lord taped off TBN in December 1984 (my oldest TBN find!) with guest Lester Sumrall; last several minutes of 'The Day Christ Died' (1980) taped off KREM/CBS minus commercials, either the March 1980 broadcast or a repeat in 1983; and ends with a partial broadcast of Merv Griffin taped off KHQ-6 Spokane on 9/12/1979 with commercials!!! Chad Everett was the guest! Zenith L-750 in Beta II
Priest River ID - God's Provisions Thrift Store (on ID-57)
Tape 11 - Biography on Duke Ellington taped off A&E on 2/22/1997 with commercials (and local Spokane ad inserts); NewsNight, Style with Elsa Klenisch and open to CNN/SI taped off CNN on 2/8/1997 with commercials; last 15 minutes or so of the 68th Academy Awards taped off KXLY/ABC on 3/25/1996 with commercials, starts with Nicolas Cage's acceptance speech for winning Best Actor on 'Leaving Las Vegas', also includes about 1/2 of the Barbara Walters Special afterwards; partial episode of Ghostwriter (guest star Robin Leach!) and full episode of Square One Television taped off Spokane School District C.A.B.L.E. 18 on 3/1/1995, with a bulletin board afterwards. This was an educational cable station operated by KSPS between 7-3PM Monday-Friday, carrying PBS Kids programming and ITV shows. The rest of the time was shared by KWSU-10 in Pullman. A KWSU ID shows up at the end. First time finding Square One or Ghostwriter in the 'wild'. Too bad I didn't get Carmen Sandiego on this tape either. Ends with a 2 min. clip of Q6 News Nightside taped off KHQ-6 in December 1994. Maxell T-120
Tape 12 - 'Love Comes Softly' (2003) taped off Hallmark Channel in June 2003 with commercials, I already have this movie but this is a different broadcast from what I have...the first copy I found was the original 4/13/03 airing. Blank after 1:54 in EP, missing the opening. TDK T-120
Tape 13 - 'Boys Town' (1942) taped off The Disney Channel in March 1992 with a few promos before the film; Scenic Wonders of America and 'The Gnome Mobile' (1967) taped off The Disney Channel early on 3/18/1992 with a few promos; 'The Ugly Dachshund' (1966) and part of More Dinosaurs taped off The Disney Channel on 9/13/1992 with promos. Scotch T-120
Tape 14 - Another great tape...episodes of Dragon Ball Z taped off Cartoon Network in May 2002 (presumed 5/13) with commercials; followed by the 5/13/2002 WWF Raw and a partial Star Trek: The Next Generation taped off TNN with commercials; partial episode of History vs. Hollywood and Hitler's Henchmen taped off The History Channel in April 2002 with commercials. Maxell T-120
Spokane Goodwill Outlet
Tape 15 - 'For Me and My Gal' (1942) and 'The Pirate' (1945) taped off TNT on 6/10/1993 with commercials, including *YAKIMA* local ads from TCI!! This was found over 3 hours from Yakima! Scotch T-160
Tape 16 - Episodes of Landscape Smart, Gardening by the Yard, and two episodes of This Old House Classics taped off HGTV in October 2002 with commercials. Maxell Standard Grade T-120
Tape 17 - About 3/4ths of 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie' (2003) taped off Disney Channel on 12/27/2006 with promos, the first 25 min. were blank screen. TDK T-120 marked 'Karson's Cartoons', apparently none of this child's cartoons were on this tape...unless you count the little animated Lizzie that shows up here and there...
Tape 18 - 'The Happiest Millionaire' (1967) taped off unknown station with no commercials; part of the Barbara Walters Special taped off unknown ABC station (KOMO? KXLY?) on 12/10/1985 minus commercials; about half of Entertainment Tonight taped off KING-5 Seattle on 2/5/1986 with commercials (Robb Weller and Mary Hart, on Oscar nominees); episodes of Family Ties taped off KING/NBC on 2/6/1986 and 2/13/1986 minus commercials; clip of The Tonight Show (with Michael J. Fox) taped off KING/NBC in February 1986 (The Best of Carson); more episodes of Family Ties follow taped off KING/NBC all minus commercials. Memorex T-120
(I think I have one tape left to check from this Outlet.)
Post Falls ID - Hospice of North Idaho Thrift Store
Tape 16 - Starts with about 5 minutes of The $25,000,000 Hoax taped off KHQ/NBC on 11/22/2004 with commercials; episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives taped off KXLY/ABC on 12/12/2004 with commercials; most of an episode of The Amazing Race taped off KREM/CBS on 11/30/2004 with commercials. Blank after 3:06. Sony T-120
(One more tape to check, an unlabeled '90s Scotch that is halfway through the tape.)
Plummer ID (big yard sale with several boxes of tapes, I only took about 12)
Tape 1 - Part 2 of Passion & Paradise taped off KSPR 33 Springfield, MO/ABC on 2/21/1989 with commercials. My first Springfield find since 2016, when I found half of a 1990 KYTV-taped Another World in an eBay lot near Kansas City. Polaroid T-120 in SP
Tape 2 - 'Three on a Match' (1987) taped off KYTV/NBC on 8/2/1987 with commercials. I have this movie from the 1991 rebroadcast (KNDO) but it's great to find older commercials! Polaroid T-120 / SP
Tape 3 - 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' (1939) taped off TBS early on 5/2/1989 with commercials; 'The Glass Bottom Boat' (1966) taped off TBS in May 1989 minus commercials; 'How the West Was Won' (1962) and part of the Montreal Expos/Atlanta Braves game taped off TBS on 5/7/1989 with some commercials. Scotch T-120
Tape 4 - This is Garth Brooks taped off KYTV/NBC on 1/17/1992 with commercials. Sony T-120 in SP and blank after 57 min
Tape 5 - Starts with a multi-generation bootleg recording of some heavy metal concert, then cuts to the end of The Howard Stern Show, Night Stand with Dick Dietrick (parody of talk shows), Talk Soup (with a young Ryan Seacrest as guest host!), Coming Attractions, Behind the Scenes, and two late night infomercials for the Slim Patch System and Hair Genesis taped off E! in February 1999 with commercials. GREAT find. Maxell T-120, completely unlabeled.
Tape 6 - 'Silkwood' (1983) taped off KSPR/ABC on 5/17/1987 with commercials. This aired at the same time as Roses Are For the Rich on CBS, which I've found in the past. Polaroid T-120
Tape 7 - Part 1 of From the Dead of the Night taped off KYTV/NBC on 2/27/1989 with commercials
(About 4 more tapes left to check from this sale.)
Othello WA - Madeleys' Thrift
Tape 8 - 'An Affair to Remember' (1957) taped off the Disney Channel in the early '90s; 'The Egg & I' (1947) and most of 'The Window' (1949) taped off AMC on 8/19/1993 with promos and Gene Klavan segments. Sony T-120
Pasco WA - Goodwill Outlet
Tape 9 - Overnight recording of AMC on 2/18/1993 with promos: 'No Way to Treat a Lady' (1968), 'Palmy Days' (1931), 'Music for Madame' (1937) and 'The Falcon Strikes Back' (1943). Maxell EX T-120 without a case, but did find an empty Sony box mixed in the pile to use for that tape.
(Many duds, two rental copies and four that were second-generation copies of Animal Planet specials from the early '00s that had commercials edited out. One was part of an episode of Champions of the Wild from 1998, shortly after Animal Planet launched.)
Oldtown ID - Thrifty's Thrift Store just off Hwy 2
Tape 10 - 'Star Wars' (1977) taped off KREM/CBS on 2/14/1987 with commercials (great find!); part of 'The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory' (1987) taped off KHQ/NBC on 1/26/1987 with commercials (which I already have from KNDO); 'Robin Hood' (1973) taped off KXLY/ABC on 4/27/1986 with commercials - Disney Sunday Movie. SKC T-120
Beta Tape - A new oldest record has been set on this tape! Begins with a broadcast of Jimmy Swaggart taped off an unknown station circa 1984 or 1985; cuts to about an hour of Praise the Lord taped off TBN in December 1984 (my oldest TBN find!) with guest Lester Sumrall; last several minutes of 'The Day Christ Died' (1980) taped off KREM/CBS minus commercials, either the March 1980 broadcast or a repeat in 1983; and ends with a partial broadcast of Merv Griffin taped off KHQ-6 Spokane on 9/12/1979 with commercials!!! Chad Everett was the guest! Zenith L-750 in Beta II
Priest River ID - God's Provisions Thrift Store (on ID-57)
Tape 11 - Biography on Duke Ellington taped off A&E on 2/22/1997 with commercials (and local Spokane ad inserts); NewsNight, Style with Elsa Klenisch and open to CNN/SI taped off CNN on 2/8/1997 with commercials; last 15 minutes or so of the 68th Academy Awards taped off KXLY/ABC on 3/25/1996 with commercials, starts with Nicolas Cage's acceptance speech for winning Best Actor on 'Leaving Las Vegas', also includes about 1/2 of the Barbara Walters Special afterwards; partial episode of Ghostwriter (guest star Robin Leach!) and full episode of Square One Television taped off Spokane School District C.A.B.L.E. 18 on 3/1/1995, with a bulletin board afterwards. This was an educational cable station operated by KSPS between 7-3PM Monday-Friday, carrying PBS Kids programming and ITV shows. The rest of the time was shared by KWSU-10 in Pullman. A KWSU ID shows up at the end. First time finding Square One or Ghostwriter in the 'wild'. Too bad I didn't get Carmen Sandiego on this tape either. Ends with a 2 min. clip of Q6 News Nightside taped off KHQ-6 in December 1994. Maxell T-120
Tape 12 - 'Love Comes Softly' (2003) taped off Hallmark Channel in June 2003 with commercials, I already have this movie but this is a different broadcast from what I have...the first copy I found was the original 4/13/03 airing. Blank after 1:54 in EP, missing the opening. TDK T-120
Tape 13 - 'Boys Town' (1942) taped off The Disney Channel in March 1992 with a few promos before the film; Scenic Wonders of America and 'The Gnome Mobile' (1967) taped off The Disney Channel early on 3/18/1992 with a few promos; 'The Ugly Dachshund' (1966) and part of More Dinosaurs taped off The Disney Channel on 9/13/1992 with promos. Scotch T-120
Tape 14 - Another great tape...episodes of Dragon Ball Z taped off Cartoon Network in May 2002 (presumed 5/13) with commercials; followed by the 5/13/2002 WWF Raw and a partial Star Trek: The Next Generation taped off TNN with commercials; partial episode of History vs. Hollywood and Hitler's Henchmen taped off The History Channel in April 2002 with commercials. Maxell T-120
Spokane Goodwill Outlet
Tape 15 - 'For Me and My Gal' (1942) and 'The Pirate' (1945) taped off TNT on 6/10/1993 with commercials, including *YAKIMA* local ads from TCI!! This was found over 3 hours from Yakima! Scotch T-160
Tape 16 - Episodes of Landscape Smart, Gardening by the Yard, and two episodes of This Old House Classics taped off HGTV in October 2002 with commercials. Maxell Standard Grade T-120
Tape 17 - About 3/4ths of 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie' (2003) taped off Disney Channel on 12/27/2006 with promos, the first 25 min. were blank screen. TDK T-120 marked 'Karson's Cartoons', apparently none of this child's cartoons were on this tape...unless you count the little animated Lizzie that shows up here and there...
Tape 18 - 'The Happiest Millionaire' (1967) taped off unknown station with no commercials; part of the Barbara Walters Special taped off unknown ABC station (KOMO? KXLY?) on 12/10/1985 minus commercials; about half of Entertainment Tonight taped off KING-5 Seattle on 2/5/1986 with commercials (Robb Weller and Mary Hart, on Oscar nominees); episodes of Family Ties taped off KING/NBC on 2/6/1986 and 2/13/1986 minus commercials; clip of The Tonight Show (with Michael J. Fox) taped off KING/NBC in February 1986 (The Best of Carson); more episodes of Family Ties follow taped off KING/NBC all minus commercials. Memorex T-120
(I think I have one tape left to check from this Outlet.)
Post Falls ID - Hospice of North Idaho Thrift Store
Tape 16 - Starts with about 5 minutes of The $25,000,000 Hoax taped off KHQ/NBC on 11/22/2004 with commercials; episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives taped off KXLY/ABC on 12/12/2004 with commercials; most of an episode of The Amazing Race taped off KREM/CBS on 11/30/2004 with commercials. Blank after 3:06. Sony T-120
(One more tape to check, an unlabeled '90s Scotch that is halfway through the tape.)
Nice finds there, crainbebo. I haven't found ANY Merv Griffin since 2018, a partial episode from 1983, and I've also scored a full episode and a partial from 1985 early on in my hunting back in 2014-15. Mid-80s stuff is probably the best you can hope for from Merv, but 1979 stuff is truly nice to find. It beats my oldest nationally syndicated talk show find in the wild (a partial Michael Douglas from 9/30/1980 with Devo as guests), even if its still two years later than my oldest. The only time I found Square One TV in the wild was from 2003 Noggin reruns (12 episodes total), with a scene or two edited from each episode, but your episode looks to be complete. And it's ironic you're posting about "The Day Christ Died" today.
Unfortunately, one of my YouTube channels was nuked a few weeks ago (pannoni10), not due to copyright, but due to community guidelines. I don't post any foul language on my comments/videos, and in the rare occasions anything remotely explicit is considered, it always comes with an 18+ rating. I've appealed twice to Google since then, but haven't gotten a reply. I may just relaunch one of my two previously nuked channels in 2020 (the ABC soap purge) to replace it, so that some of the videos that may have been gone could reappear. Hopefully I'd at least get a response by Google, since we've both gotten replies due to copyright back from Google after appeals, only to end in disappointment. I guess the worker shortage is impacting Google as well.
I've got a lot of first generation L-750 Sony Betas (black striped boxes) coming my way next week from a Seattle seller, and may buy a bulk purchase from that seller if I get some good results here. It's crazy how some lots though on eBay with random unsearched content can still go for some crazy amounts like $209 for 26 tapes with no labels nor testing, and the tape stock isn't quite as old (mostly mid-80s Scotch L-750's, with a couple late '80s Sony L-750s mixed in). My lot has 16 tapes, but paid a small fraction of that, and can clearly see some tapes with various points of use on them.
Unfortunately, one of my YouTube channels was nuked a few weeks ago (pannoni10), not due to copyright, but due to community guidelines. I don't post any foul language on my comments/videos, and in the rare occasions anything remotely explicit is considered, it always comes with an 18+ rating. I've appealed twice to Google since then, but haven't gotten a reply. I may just relaunch one of my two previously nuked channels in 2020 (the ABC soap purge) to replace it, so that some of the videos that may have been gone could reappear. Hopefully I'd at least get a response by Google, since we've both gotten replies due to copyright back from Google after appeals, only to end in disappointment. I guess the worker shortage is impacting Google as well.
I've got a lot of first generation L-750 Sony Betas (black striped boxes) coming my way next week from a Seattle seller, and may buy a bulk purchase from that seller if I get some good results here. It's crazy how some lots though on eBay with random unsearched content can still go for some crazy amounts like $209 for 26 tapes with no labels nor testing, and the tape stock isn't quite as old (mostly mid-80s Scotch L-750's, with a couple late '80s Sony L-750s mixed in). My lot has 16 tapes, but paid a small fraction of that, and can clearly see some tapes with various points of use on them.