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Oldest Extant Off-Air VHS/Beta Tape You Have

It's been a long, drawn-out process continuing to look through and digitize my ever-growing backlog of tapes as of late. Here's a backlog of what I found at the Canton Goodwill Outlet a little more than a month ago. I made one more return visit since then and picked up more tapes but haven't looked at those in their entirety yet. Here's what I found the first time though. Some local content from adjacent markets found in addition to Cleveland/Akron/Canton.

TAPE 1: Three hours of blank signal, followed by One Life to Live and General Hospital taped from WEWS on 3/24/2005 with commercials. Kodak T-120 (supposedly originally had Back to the Future).

TAPE 2: 3ABN Presents taped from 3ABN in February 2003 with promos; Revelation Insights and partial broadcast of Revelation of Hope taped from 3ABN on 2/8/2003 with promos; partial broadcast of Everlasting Gospel taped from Safe TV on 2/8/2003 (never heard of this channel before, but evidently it was on Dish Network); 3ABN on Location and start of Earth Talk with Howard Lyman taped from 3ABN in February 2003 with promos; partial broadcast of Abundant Living and partial broadcast of 3ABN Presents taped from 3ABN on 2/7/2003 with promos, then cuts to some surfing on the Dish Network program guide before switching to a partial broadcast of The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) on the Sci-Fi Channel. RCA T-120.

TAPE 3: Army of Darkness (1992) taped from the Sci-Fi Channel in December 1998 minus commercials; Aliens (1986) taped from HBO in December 1998; Alien 3 (1992) taped from HBO in December 1998; partial episode of Arli$$ and partial episode of Sex and the City taped from HBO in December 1998 with promos. JVC T-120.

TAPE 4: Ghostbusters II (1989) taped from HBO on 9/16/1990 with promos; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and Batman (1989) taped from HBO on 9/16/1990 with promos--all during HBO's Test Drive free preview weekend hosted by Tom Parks. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 5: Balto (1995) taped from the Disney Channel circa 1997; NBC News coverage of the inauguration of Bill Clinton taped from WKYC on 1/20/1997. Focal T-120.

TAPE 6: Partial broadcast of Fox NFL Sunday pregame show taped from WJW on 9/17/1995 with commercials; NFL on NBC (Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Oilers) taped from WKYC on 9/17/1995 with commercials; Revco Sports Extra taped from WUAB on 9/17/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of NFL on TNT (Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings) taped from TNT on 9/17/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of Channel 3 News at 6 taped from WKYC on 9/18/1995 with commercials; partial broadcast of Newscenter 8 at 6:00 taped from WJW on 9/18/1995 with commercials; two episodes of Barney & Friends taped from WVIZ in September 1995 with promos. JVC T-120.

TAPE 7: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Dead Bang (1989) and Road House (1989) taped from HBO on September 14-15, 1990 with promos--also from the Test Drive free preview weekend. Scotch T-120.

TAPE 8: Quigley Down Under (1990) and partial broadcast of Green Card (1990) taped from Showtime in July 1992 with promos; City Slickers (1991) taped from Showtime in July 1992 with promos--all during Showtime's Show-Off free preview weekend hosted by Tommy Davidson. BASF T-160.

TAPE 9: A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994) copied from rental tape; partial episode of Law & Order taped from WKYC on 11/17/1998 with commercials; partial broadcast of Game 2 of the 1998 World Series taped from WJW on 10/18/1998 with commercials. TDK T-120.

TAPE 10: 1997 NFC Championship taped from WJW on 1/12/1997 minus most commercials; partial broadcast of the 1997 AFC Championship taped from WKYC on 1/12/1997 with commercials. Sony T-120 (much of the former was taped in SP speed, hence why the latter is incomplete).

TAPE 11: 1990 World Youth Cup Final and partial broadcast of Aspire Higher taped from ESPN in November 1990 with commercials; NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw taped from WKYC on 11/16/1990 with commercials; The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, Washington Week in Review, partial broadcast of Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser (has the first five minutes or so then cuts to the end credits) and The McLaughlin Group taped from WNEO/WEAO on 11/16/1990 with promos; partial broadcast of part three of Favorite Son (NBC miniseries) taped from WCMH on 11/1/1988 minus most commercials; Campaign Countdown: Is This Any Way to Elect a President? (NBC News special hosted by Tom Brokaw), Family Ties and partial episode of Day by Day taped from WCMH on 11/6/1988 minus most commercials. Sony T-120.

TAPE 12: Preview syndicated presentation of Invasion U.S.A. (1985) taped from WEWS in May 1988 with commercials. Audiotek T-120.

TAPE 13: Long tape largely containing news coverage of the Persian Gulf Crisis with a lot of channel flipping--partial broadcast of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw taped from WKYC on 1/14/1991 with commercials; partial broadcast of ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings taped from WEWS on 1/14/1991 minus commercials; clip from Newscenter 8 at 6:00 taped from WJW on 1/14/1991; partial broadcast of Video PM taped from TNN on 1/14/1991 with commercials ("Key Largo" by Bertie Higgins and "I Could Be Persuaded" by the Bellamy Brothers are the two videos shown); CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and start of PM Magazine (one of the show's last broadcasts before rebranding as Cleveland Tonight) taped from WJW on 1/14/1991 minus most commercials; partial broadcast of The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour taped from WNEO/WEAO on 1/14/1991 (Robert MacNeil talks with Gerald Ford on the Gulf Crisis); A Line in the Sand: War or Peace? (ABC News special hosted by Peter Jennings) taped from WEWS on 1/14/1991 with commercials; partial broadcast of Frontline taped from WOUB/WOUC on 1/14/1991 with promos; partial broadcast of Nightline taped from WEWS on January 14-15, 1991 minus commercials; partial broadcast of America on the Brink taped from WKYC on January 14-15, 1991 with commercials; partial broadcast of America Tonight taped from WTRF on January 14-15, 1991 with commercials; clip from Entertainment Tonight taped from WEWS on 1/15/1991; NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw taped from WKYC on 1/15/1991 with commercials; end of Newscenter 8 at 6:00 and partial broadcast of CBS Evening News with Dan Rather taped from WJW on 1/15/1991 with commercials; Frontline taped from WNEO/WEAO on 1/15/1991 with promos; partial broadcast of America on the Brink taped from WJW on January 15-16, 1991 with commercials; clip from America Tonight taped from WOAC on January 15-16, 1991 (WJW used to dump this show for Newhart, The Jeffersons and Arsenio Hall, so WOAC picked it up, as they did with The Pat Sajak Show when it was on the air); partial broadcast of Nightline and partial broadcast of Entertainment Tonight taped from WEWS on January 15-16, 1991 with commercials. TDK T-120.

TAPE 14: Game 1 of the 1995 American League Division Series (Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox) taped from WKYC on October 3-4, 1995 minus most commercials. Kodak T-120, rough quality throughout.

Few duds in this mix, some of which were millennial-era kids' shows without any commercials included (Rugrats, Little Bear, Blue's Clues, Franklin, VeggieTales Christmas special on DirecTV Freeview). At least the one tape of Nick Jr. shows had several of the Face bumpers included before many of the shows. Also some dubs of demo tapes of movies (Down on the Delta and American Outlaws) that I suspect were recorded by the same individual who gave us Tape #9, as they have the same blue screen after the movie is finished playing on the second VCR.

LOTS more to look through from several sales and one additional Goodwill Outlet trip. At a quick first glance, I've found Johnny Carson's last few Tonight Shows, a WOSU documentary on the history of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, some movies from Request Pay-Per-View, quite a few Browns games with the oldest dating back to the late '80s (including the dismal start to their 1999 return season against the Steelers), NYPD Blue reruns on FX, Rescue Me, Rush Limbaugh during the first season of his TV show, Schindler's List on WVIZ (yes, PBS did air that movie at one point), Hal Lindsey on TBN, One Stroke Painting with Donna Dewberry and I'm sure quite a few more oddities that I don't yet know about.
 
I love my VHS tapes..


To me anything analogue is beautiful!

RIGHT NOW My oldest OVER THE AIR recording is from KSTW in Seattle in 1986 -- GONE WITH THE WIND.. (Found online)

Although it was taped from CABLE so maybe that doesnt count,,

The oldest OVER THE AIR as in not cable I HAVE FOUND is "ET" - 1982 shown on a local channel in 1991.. There is so much noise in the video,it cant be cable! (I found this at salvation army)

The oldest tape I have of official VHS media is a 1978 release of 'BUS STOP' - 1956 from Magnetic Video...

Interestingly on this release they didnt cut the movie to fit your screen so if you put it on a widescreen CRT,you would see it wider.. On a reg screen you see the same as you would if it was sized... Its interesting how they left it full size!
 
1978 Magnetic...nice. I have a 1978 M*A*S*H and recently sold a 1980 Planet of the Apes. I would like to find "Welcome to Arrow Beach" on Magnetic, as it is one of the more sought-after VHS releases they distributed.

Got back a couple of hours ago from my Montana trip. I found tons of VHS tapes, mostly from one source - a Craigslist lot from an older man in Arlee (just 30 minutes north of Missoula on the south end of the CSKT reservation). One tape from a sale in Victor during the 50 Mile...two more from the Goodwill Outlet Spokane, two more from a thrift store in Deer Lodge on the way back today from Red Lodge and Billings. POURING down rain however! Another update to come later on the finds...
 
Im glad to see im not the only one who loves VHS :)

Have you ever had any 1977 Magnetic releases?? I did have 1 GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS but it was so grainy (Like it was digitalised :() it wasnt pleasant seeing..
 
Here's another set of my latest finds, not nearly as big, from a garage sale in Barberton. One was not your typical VHS tape but it was a great find nonetheless!

TAPE 1: Half Baked (1998) copied from rental tape; Black Sheep (1996) copied from rental tape; then reverts to a partial Radio Shack in-store demo loop video from June 1998! Obviously they reused this prerecorded T-120 tape to copy the two movies, but what was left of the original content of the tape was really cool--mix of music videos, different Radio Shack commercials, sports and movie clips, etc.

TAPE 2: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson taped from WKYC on May 15, 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1992 with commercials; partial broadcast of Later with Bob Costas (Bob interviews Jay Leno), overnight rebroadcast of Channel 3 News at 11:00 and partial Professional Educational Institute infomercial taped from WKYC on 5/22/1992 (early hours) with commercials. Fuji T-120.

The other three I found from this sale were duds. One had Touched by an Angel episodes without commercials and the other two had retail/rental dubs of hunting videos and gospel music concerts. Kind of ironic finding Half Baked among the mix of movies within this family's collection, as many of the retail tapes spotted were religious and family movies.

I mentioned earlier all the tapes of Browns games I found and still have yet to go through, but what I failed to mention is five of those tapes are Betamax rather than VHS. I find it kind of interesting how many Beta tapes I've been finding as of late because most of the time they're not all that easy to find in the wild.
 
I loved it when I found The Goonies recorded from analogue cable at salvation army! (Recorded from Cinemax)

The official Warner Brothers tape of this movie was DIGITALLY PROCESSED and looks like crap (Its thin as a pancake,etc)

Finslly getting a warm copy (Not digitally processed) from cinemax was pure gold! (I also have THE BREAKFAST CLUB recorded from HBO on center mix (true mono) and man what you can hear in the background is amazing!!)
 
And here are the results from the Montana trip. Most came from the Arlee MT lot. One of these tapes came from the Goodwill Outlet in Spokane (the other was a dud with 2 movies and NO AUDIO), the Victor MT tape was a rental-copy dud, and there were two from a thrift store in Deer Lodge, NW of Butte.

Tape 1 - 'Without a Trace' (1983), 'Tender Mercies' (1983) and 'Second Thoughts' (1982) taped off HBO in March 1984; followed by the HBO Coming Attractions show taped 3/26/1984 with promos afterwards, and part of another promo break leading to the first 30 minutes of "Triumphs of A Man Called Horse" (1983) taped off HBO in March 1984. Tape has signal issues in this portion. Laser T-120, the oldest I've ever found.
Tape 2 - 'Point of No Return' (1993), 'Striking Distance' (1993) and 'Coneheads' (1993) taped off unknown pay-TV channels; part of The Red Chair, a Playboy series on gentlemen's clubs, taped in 1994; followed by part of a softcore film and part of 'The Sinful Bed' (1991) taped off Action PPV in March 1994 with promos. unknown T-120, resell pile
Tape 3 - 'Sexual Magic' (2001) taped off The Movie Channel on 2/18-19/2006 with some promos before and after. Then there's another softcore film or series taped off Showtime, and I didn't bother looking at the rest of it. Sony T-160, all in SP, resell pile
Tape 4 - Tyson vs. Douglas shocker taped off HBO in February 1990, followed by the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Special taped off HBO on 2/11/1990; partial series finale of Miami Vice taped off KOBI/NBC (channel 5 Medford OR) on 5/21/1989 with commercials, first find from them! Ends with most of Days of Our Lives and part of Superior Court from 5/22/1989 taped off KOBI/NBC with commercials. Scotch T-120
Tape 5 - Eight hours of 9/11/2001 terror attack coverage taped off CBS, with local cut-ins from KXLF Butte. TDK T-160 in Hi-Fi SLP
Tape 6 - Andrew Lloyd Webber 50th Birthday special taped off KSPS/PBS in 1998; 'Against the Wall' (1993) taped off HBO on 4/3/1994 with several minutes of promos, during their free preview (hosted by Paula Poundstone). Sony T-120
Tape 7 - "Woodstock" (1970 / Director's Cut), "Madonna: Truth or Dare" (1991), and about ten minutes of "The Killing of Sister George" (1968) taped off Encore on 9/26-27/1998 with promos. TDK T-120
Tape 8 - 'Twins' (1988) and 'Adventures in Babysitting' (1988) taped off unknown pay-TV channels; 'My Stepmother is an Alien' (1988) taped off Showtime on 2/3/1990 with promos. Master T-120
Tape 9 - Episode of Who's the Boss? taped off ION Television in October 2007 with commercials (national feed); several episodes of Monk from a season 6 marathon taped off USA in October 2007 with commercials. TDK T-120, likely to resell pile due to the timeframe and the lack of local TV recordings.
Tape 10 - Starts with a 2000 episode of Providence taped off an unknown NBC affiliate minus commercials; then reverts to a partially taped-over broadcast of the first night game at Wrigley Field: Cubs vs. Mets, taped off KOBI/NBC on 8/9/1988 with commercials. Starts around the fourth inning. Avanti T-120
Tape 11 - 'City of Joy' (1992) taped off unknown pay-TV channel; 'The Hit Man' (1991), Pair of Jokers: George Lopez & Tom Parks, "Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man" (1991) and part of the 30 Minute Movie taped off Showtime on 1/31/1994 with promos. TDK T-120
 
Ha, that reminds me, one of the times I went to the Canton Goodwill Outlet, one of the tapes I spotted in one of the bins and didn't pick up was actually labeled "XXX." Something tells me that wasn't referring to the Vin Diesel movie. Amazing what can slip through the cracks there.

These finds came from an estate sale I attended in Medina a few weeks ago among the other places where I've found tapes as of late.

TAPE 1: The Coach: Woody Hayes, The Birth of Ohio Stadium, Charlie Rose and partial broadcast of TBDBITL: The Ohio State University Marching Band taped from WOSU on November 27-28, 2001 with pledge breaks and promos. Universal T-120.

TAPE 2: 1988 AFC Championship (Browns lost to the Denver Broncos), Family Ties and partial episode of My Two Dads taped from WKYC on 1/17/1988 with commercials; partial episode of Dallas and most of an episode of Falcon Crest taped from WJW on 2/6/1987 with commercials. Unknown brand T-120.

TAPE 3: The Bridges of Madison County (1995) taped from Request Pay-Per-View in June 1996 with promos; partial broadcast of A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) taped from Request Pay-Per-View in April 1996 with promos. TDK T-120.

TAPE 4: Waterworld (1995) taped from Request Pay-Per-View in March 1996 with promos; coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, CNN News Update, Talk Back Live, Inside Politics and more coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial taped from CNN on 9/26/1995 with commercials. Unknown brand T-140.

TAPE 5: Braveheart (1995) taped from Request Pay-Per-View in May 1996; Strange Days (1995) taped from Request Pay-Per-View in May 1996 with promos; Waltham Formula infomercial and partial hyG Ionic Toothbrush infomercial taped from WJW in May 1996 with commercials. TDK T-120.

TAPE 6: I.Q. (1994) taped from Request Pay-Per-View in September 1995 with promos. Polaroid T-120.

I failed to mention the specific music videos that were featured in the 1998 Radio Shack in-store tape I found in Barberton.
Janet Jackson--I Get Lonely
The Rembrandts--I'll Be There for You
Mr. Mister--Kyrie
Michael W. Smith--Love Me Good
Kenny Loggins--This Is It
The Heights--Feelin' Alright
Boyz II Men--Can't Let Her Go
Clint Black--Summer's Comin'
Spice Girls--Stop
Randy Newman and Lyle Lovett--You've Got a Friend in Me
Marc Cohn--Walking in Memphis
Marc Cohn--Already Home
John Tesh with James Ingram--Give Me Forever (I Do)
Joe Cocker--The Simple Things
Stray Cats--Stray Cat Strut
N Sync--I Want You Back
The Temptations--My Girl (Live at the Apollo)
The Beach Boys--Kokomo
Shania Twain--You're Still the One
Jon Secada--I'm Free
 
Wow was that all recorded from analogue cable?? (I think Request started back when analogue cable was still out there)

And yes,I reckon the XXX tapes slipped by... I dont think they would be there otherwise :D
 
Scott2013 said:
Ha, that reminds me, one of the times I went to the Canton Goodwill Outlet, one of the tapes I spotted in one of the bins and didn't pick up was actually labeled "XXX." Something tells me that wasn't referring to the Vin Diesel movie. Amazing what can slip through the cracks there.
Click to expand...
Are you sure the XXX tape didn’t slip in the cracks?
 
Man I really put updates on the backburner with a huge move in progress, lots of time in the legal and film industries, Ebay, etc. Anyways here is the last 3+ months worth:

Tape 507
1.2001? Mansions, Monuments, Masterpieces- Vanderbilt Homes (A&E) (55m some commercials)
2.2001 11th Annual Van Cliburn Competition (9m partial)
TRT 1h4m SP

Tape 508
1.2006? Various documentaries partial and full from History Channel all on the subject of Hurricanes, year is just an estimate based on talk of Hurricane Katrina, nearly all commercials cut TRT 2h43m SP

Tape 509
1.1995/3/23? Martin 3x21 partial first 10 mins only
2.1995/8/31 Living Single 3x1 premiere (30m) (WTTG)
3.1995/8/31 The Crew 1x1 series premiere (30m) (WTTG)
4.1995/8/31 New York Undercover 2x1 premiere (WTTG) (1h) oddly enough found a recording of the Season 1 finale some years back from another affiliate
5.1995? Video Soul Live From Indianapolis (BET) (32m partial)
6.1995? Def Comedy Jam Chris Tucker (HBO) (28m)
7.1993/10/3 Martin 2x7 premiere (28m missing one commercial break) WTTG?
8.1993/10/3 Living Single 1x7 premiere (26m missing last segment) WTTG?
9.1993/10/4 Fresh Prince of Bel Air 4x4 (22m commercials cut) unknown affiliate WRC?
10.1993/10/10 Martin 2x8 premiere (18m commercials and first segment cut)
11.1993/10/10 Living Single 1x8 premiere (27m one commercial break cut) (WTTG)
12.1993/11/2 Roc 3x9 premiere (24m missing first segment) WTTG?
13.1993? Def Comedy Jam Tracey Morgan (27m) (HBO)
14.1993/11/7 Martin 2x11 (22m commercials cut) WTTG?
15.1993? Living Single 1x11 (16m partial episode commercials cut) WTTG?
16.1993/11/14 Martin 2x12 (26m some commercials) WTTG?
17.1993/11/14 Living Single 1x12 (26m some commercials) WTTG?
18.1993/11/29 Fresh Prince of Bel Air 4x12 premiere (30m) (WRC)
19.1993/11/29 Blossom 4x14 (first 4 mins only) (WRC)
TRT 8h6m (talk about a winner for a unmarked Scotch T160!)

Tape 510
1.The Joy of Stress (PBS UNCTV Festival) (45m pledge segments mostly cut)
2.1994/11/13 ABC Sunday Night Movie- Lethal Weapon 3 (WGHP) bad reception color to B&W often (1h38m)
3.1994/11/13 WGHP 11PM News (33m) same issue with reception
4.1994/11/13 Entertainment Tonight- preview of Junior (WGHP) (1h)
5.1994/11/14 Siskel & Ebert (WGHP) (6m partial)
2-5 continuous block
TRT 4h4m LP?

Tape 511
1.1995/9/28 Maryland at Georgia Tech (ESPN) JIP 6:40 1st Qtr ends with 1:18 left in 4th (3:00)
2.1995/10/7 Miami at Florida St (ESPN) JIP 10:46 1st Qtr ends with 7:15 left in 4th (3:00)
TRT 6h EP

Tape 512
1.1994/2/24 Seinfeld 5x16 premiere (WAVY) (28m open cut)
2.

Tape 513
1.1997/2/23 The Ditchdigger’s Daughters (Family Channel premiere?) (2h)
2.1997/2/23 Columbo- Undercover (Family Channel reair) (1h20m partial)
3.1997? unknown Diana Ross movie partial (Family Channel)
4.1997? Carolina Skeletons (Family Channel) (1h57m)
5.1997? WLFL22 signoff and static screen (2h)
TRT 8h11m EP on BASF T160

Tape 514
1.1994/8/x Crazy From The Heart (TNT) (2h)
2.1994/8/x Yentl (TNT) (30m partial)
TRT 2h30m EP on BASF T160 rest blank

Tape 515
1.2000? Wyclef Jean- VH1 Storytellers (VH1) ~1hr
2.2000? BET Morning Moves Music Videos (BET) (22m)

Tape 516
1.2000/9/21 WTVD 11PM News (first 9 minutes)
2.1998/3/8 NCAA Tournament Selection Special (ESPNEWS) (28m partial)
TRT 37m EP

Tape 517
1.1992/1993? Many episodes of Kenneth Copeland’s Believers Voice of Victory off WLFL 22, and one clip of another televangelist I could not identify (all commercials but one cut) TRT 6h12m EP

Tape 518
1.1991/12/8 ABC Sunday Movie- Yes Virginia There Is A Santa Claus (WTVD) (1h31m)
-Commercials cut but some bumpers intact TRT 1h31m SP

Tape 519
1.1999/1/2x Oprah- Extreme Weight Loss Transformations including Jared from Subway (WFMY) (58m)
2.1999/1/2x WFMY 5pm News (2m partial)
TRT 1h at EP rest blank

Tape 520
1.Lots of music video clips from BET from circa August 2001 based on music video premieres, Snoop Dogg, Ginuwine, Mystikal (Live performance), Mary J Blige (Access Granted Special), vintage R&B videos (2h57m EP)
2.2001? More live performances off Soul Train, Showtime at the Apollo, etc. starts SP then later EP (1h16m SP/EP)
-Hard to pinpoint exact dates because all commercials were cut, TRT 4h13m EP/SP

Tape 521
1.1987? Its The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (WRAL) (23m) all commercials cut
2.1987? Garfield Halloween (WRAL) (23m) all commercials cut
3.1988/10/21 This Is America Charlie Brown- The Mayflower Voyagers (WRAL) (26m) some commercials cut
4.1988/10/21 Bugs vs Daffy Battle of the Music Video Stars (WRAL) (24m) most commercials cut
5.1988/10/28 This Is America Charlie Brown- The Birth of the Constitution (WRAL) (23m all but end comms cut)
6.1988/10/28 Garfield Halloween (WRAL) (20m) all commercials and opening cut weird to have 2 separate airings
7.1986? The Christmas Star last 2 minutes only
TRT 2h21m LP?

Tape 522
1.1989/5/21 President Bush and French President Mitterrand speak at Boston University Commencement (WBZ) (2h) SP then switches to a few minutes of EP at the end TRT 2h SP/EP

Tape 523 (Dad taped this)
1.1990? National Geographic- Those Wonderful Dogs (WUNC PBS) (36m partial)
2.1990/3/5 North Carolina People- Charles Kuralt (WUNC PBS) (17m partial)
3.1990/3/5? Mister Rogers Neighborhood Special (WUNC PBS) (1h8m most with some Festival promos)
4.1990/3/5? Sesame Street Special (WUNC PBS) (58m most with some Festival promos)
5.1990/4/30 I Love Lucy Show lost pilot episode - bad tracking (WRAL) (55m)
6.1990/5/2 Will Vinton’s The Raisins Sold Out! (WRAL) (29m)
7.1990/5/18 Garfield’s Feline Fantasies (WRAL) (28m)
8.1990? Unknown episode of Falcon Crest (WRAL) (12m partial)
TRT 4h49m EP

Tape 524
1.2005/9/24 to9/25 Sound Stage- back to back episodes with Heart (WUNC PBS) (1h58m with promos)
2.2005/9/25 As Time Goes By (5m partial)
TRT 2h3m SP

Tape 525
1.1996/9/2x Martin syndicated episode (30m) (WWOR)
2.1996/9/2x Martin 1x24 syndicated episode (30m) (WWOR)
3.1996/10/1 USA Tuesday Night Fights Camacho Jr. vs Martinez etc (53m partial) (USA)
4.1996/7/9 MLB All Star Game (11m partial) (WNBC)
5.1997/8/x Sally Jesse Raphael- Sally’s Bad Boy Updates (51m most) (WNBC)
6.1997/8/x WNBC 5pm News (8m partial)
7.1996/7/9 back to MLB All Star Game (12m partial 9th inning to end) (WNBC)
8.1996/2/4 WNBC News The Truth About Cancer
9.1996/2/x QVC Sports- Cal Ripken Jr. Memorabilia (43m)
10.1996/2/x QVC The Home Sampler (29m)
TRT 4h46m EP

Tape 526
1.2002/10/3 Cary NC Town Council Work Session (Cary TV) (6m)
2.2004/4/22 Friends 10x15 (WNCN) (22m commercials cut)
3.back to Town Council (2h25m)
4.Alice in Wonderland 1985 rental copy SP partial
TRT 3h59m EP/SP

Tape 527
1.1994/9/14 The Hermitage- A Russian Odyssey marathon of the complete series (WUNC PBS) (2h58m)
-Lots of promos for the brand new Ken Burns’ Baseball series
2.1994/9/14 Are You Being Served 1x4 (WUNC PBS) (30m)
3.1994/9/14 North Carolina Now- local newsmagazine (WUNC PBS) (30m)
4.1994/9/14 Charlie Rose- Bob Costas etc. (WUNC PBS) (first 4 minutes only)
TRT 4h2m LP

Tape 528
1.1996/11/13 Star Trek Voyager 3x9 (WRDC UPN) (58m)
2.1996/11/10? end of Babylon 5 then Star Trek Deep Space Nine 5x7 (WRDC UPN) (1h3m)
3.1996/11/15 Dallas: J.R. Returns (WRAL) (1h55m missing open)
4.1996/11/15 WRAL 11PM News (30m)
5.1996/11/15 Football Friday (19m partial)
6.1996/11/9 Topper (WTVD) (20m partial)
7.1996/11/9 ABC In Concert- Simply Red, Tina Turner (WTVD) (30m when did it go to a 30 minute format?)
8.1996/11/9 WTVD Signoff and static (36m)
TRT 6h8m EP

Tape 529
1.1989/3/29 Hard Time On Planet Earth 1x5 premiere and opening promo for Stroker Ace (WRAL) (54m open cut)
2.1989/3/22 Nightingales 1x9 (WSLS) (38m missing first third of episode)
3.1989/3/8 Hard Time On Planet Earth end of 1x2 (WRAL) (5m)
4.1989/3/15 Hard Time On Planet Earth 1x3 (WRAL) (59m)
5.1989/4/5 Hard Time On Planet Earth 1x6, Jake and the Fatman opening (WRAL) (1h1m)
6.1989/4/5 Nightingales 1x10 (WSLS) (59m)
7.1989/4/5 WSLS 11PM News (10m partial)
8.1989/2/19 ABC Sunday Movie Pete’s Dragon (WSET) (18m end only) SP
9.1989/2/19 ABC Sunday Movie Passion and Paradise (WSET) (6m open only) SP
TRT 5h14m EP/SP
 
Tape 530
1.1989/9/24 SNL 15th (WBZ) (2h29) tracking in and out
2.1989/9/24 WBZ 11PM News11PM News (27m) nearly complete
3.1989/9/6 1989 MTV Video Music Awards (1h2m) SP so approximately last half
-This is the best quality on this one I’ve seen anywhere too bad not complete
TRT 4h EP/SP

Tape 531
1.1999/2/18 ER 5x15 (WNCN) (54m missing part of opening and end credits)
2.The Dynasty The Nehru Gandhi Story (15m partial) (PBS)
3.1998/1/x Howard Stern Show Debbie Gibson show engineer competition (E!) (32m)
4.1998/1/x Howard Stern Show Tom Arnold plus start of next episode (E!) (33m)
5.1998/1/x AFC Champ clip showing 1972 Immaculate Reception game (1m)
6.2 mins of dead air then 1998/1/11 X Files 5x9 (KTVU) (1h1m)
7.1997/12/x X Files 4x2 syndicated (FX with local California commercials) (25m partial)
8.1997? ER unknown episode technical difficulties as its silent (KRON)
TRT 4h17m SP/EP

Tape 532
1.Child’s birthday party home movie (25m)
2.Really bizarre supercut edit of all the “sexy scenes” from Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me (11m)
3.Even more bizarre jerky cut edit of “sexy” stuff from various shows and movies with a small amount of nudity, focused mostly on the movie Short Cuts, but also Married with Children, The Benny Hill Show, and short cuts from E Fashion Week, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and more it felt like channel flipping (1h25m total)
TRT 2h2m SP

Tape 533
1.1986/9/25 The Cosby Show 3x1 (WPTF) (24m commercials cut)
2.

Tape 534
1.1994/5/27 end of Star Trek TNG on (WLFL), first host scene of TGIF with Boy Meets World cast on (WTVD) then back to Adventures of Briscoe County Jr. 1x9 repeat (WLFL) (1h3m total)
2.1994/5/27 X Files 1x4 repeat (WLFL) (38m missing last part of episode, also sporadic commercial editing)
3.1993/5/x Star Trek Deep Space 9 (WLFL) (17m partial)
TRT 1h58m SP

Tape 535
1.1993? 2 episodes of Kenneth Copeland’s Believers Voice of Victory (WLFL) (2h3m total)
-No commercials except at beginning and end so timer recording with paid programming spot TRT 2h3m SP

Tape 536
1.6 straight episodes of General Hospital from May 2013 (WTVD) (6h14m total)
2.2000/9/27 Summer Olympics 800m final, Water Polo USA vs Greece, USA Womens Basketball vs Slovakia (56m)
3.2000/9/22 Summer Olympics track and field, womens swimming 800m final, 50m final, gymnastics (WNCN) (57m)
TRT 8h7m EP Maxell T160

Tape 537
1.1999/10/x 3 episodes of Modern Marvels on History Channel- Hoover Dam, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Offshore Oil Drilling, last episode is missing last portion (2h43m total) TRT 2h43m SP Sony T160
-Nice to see History Channel before it became obsessed with Ancient Aliens and Pawnshops

Tape 538
1.2019/6/x 6 straight episodes of General Hospital (WTVD) (6h8m) EP one of my newest finds so far

Tape 539
1.2001/2/19? American Experience- Abraham and Mary Lincoln a House Divided 1st 2 parts (WBRA) (2h)
-Some promos present from this small PBS affiliate TRT 2h SP Sony T160

Tape 540
1.1999? Multiple documentaries from Discovery Channel: Panama Canal, Navy SEALS, Steel Air Craft Carrier, and Hoover Dam, nearly all have commercials cut, the Steel one was a 18 minute partial, rest complete (2h43m SP total)

Tape 541
1.1982? End of Red Buttons variety special, some promos, then Richard Pryor In Concert (HBO) (1h26m total)
2.1982? 9 to 5 (HBO) with a few promos after (1h47m)
3.1982? Catherine & Co. (1975 film) (Cinemax) (1h35m with promos and part of cartoon short “Ali Baba” after)
TRT 4h49m EP

Tape 542
1.2004/3/2x 2 unknown episodes of American Chopper (1h44m total) some commercials cut (Discovery)
2.2004? CSS Hunley exploration and discovery (The Science Channel) commercials cut (45m)
3.2004? Hoover Dam documentary (History Channel) 5m partial
TRT 2h34m SP Maxell T160

Tape 543
1.1996? Hot Ice 1981 Ryan O’Neal film (WKFT) (1h11m partial most commercials cut) bad tracking/reception
2.1996/4/24 WRAL Block 5PM, 530PM, 6PM News, CBS Evening News partial (1h32m total missing first few minutes of 5PM portion, ends after 7 minutes of CBS Evening News) bad picture but will try to save it given rarity
3.1996/4/2x The Young and the Restless (WRAL) (54m)
4.1996/4/2 The Young and the Restless (WRAL) (25m partial)
5.1996/4/2 WRAL 5PM News (26m most)
6.1995/12/22 Guiding Light (WRAL) (40m partial)
7.1995/12/22 The Young and the Restless (WRAL) (51m most)
TRT 6h EP tape played better towards the end though picture was in and out for most of it

Tape 544
1.The Sword in the Stone (1h19m) (Disney Channel)
2.1992/2/x Madeline and the Black Hat (30m) (Family Channel)
TRT 1h49m SP Fuji HQ T120

Tape 545
1.1986? Cosby Show episode (24m commercials cut) (WPTF)
2.1986? Sixteen Candles (Showtime) (1h34m with promos)
3.1986/7/x Cosby Show repeat (7m partial with some commercials (WPTF)
4.1986? Cheers episode partial (14m)
5.Hollywood Wives Part 1 (WTVD presumably) (1h35m commercials cut)

Tape 546
1.1992/12/16 Home video recording from Opryland USA from Christmas show (28m)
-The person recording did a terrible job with constant closeups of the person sitting in front of them!
2.1991/7/2x The Adventures of Robin Hood (TBS) (37m partial)
3.1991/7/2x The Adventures of Robin Hood (TBS) (1h57m missing end) did these air twice back to back?
4.1991/5/13 An Inconvenient Woman Part 2 (WTVD) (1h19m final two thirds of it)
5.partial unknown episode of Rescue 911 (9m)
TRT 4h29m SP/EP
 
chandler0201 said:
Tape 530
1.1989/9/24 SNL 15th (WBZ) (2h29) tracking in and out
2.1989/9/24 WBZ 11PM News11PM News (27m) nearly complete
3.1989/9/6 1989 MTV Video Music Awards (1h2m) SP so approximately last half
-This is the best quality on this one I’ve seen anywhere too bad not complete
TRT 4h EP/SP

Tape 531
1.1999/2/18 ER 5x15 (WNCN) (54m missing part of opening and end credits)
2.The Dynasty The Nehru Gandhi Story (15m partial) (PBS)
3.1998/1/x Howard Stern Show Debbie Gibson show engineer competition (E!) (32m)
4.1998/1/x Howard Stern Show Tom Arnold plus start of next episode (E!) (33m)
5.1998/1/x AFC Champ clip showing 1972 Immaculate Reception game (1m)
6.2 mins of dead air then 1998/1/11 X Files 5x9 (KTVU) (1h1m)
7.1997/12/x X Files 4x2 syndicated (FX with local California commercials) (25m partial)
8.1997? ER unknown episode technical difficulties as its silent (KRON)
TRT 4h17m SP/EP

Tape 532
1.Child’s birthday party home movie (25m)
2.Really bizarre supercut edit of all the “sexy scenes” from Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me (11m)
3.Even more bizarre jerky cut edit of “sexy” stuff from various shows and movies with a small amount of nudity, focused mostly on the movie Short Cuts, but also Married with Children, The Benny Hill Show, and short cuts from E Fashion Week, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and more it felt like channel flipping (1h25m total)
TRT 2h2m SP

Tape 533
1.1986/9/25 The Cosby Show 3x1 (WPTF) (24m commercials cut)
2.

Tape 534
1.1994/5/27 end of Star Trek TNG on (WLFL), first host scene of TGIF with Boy Meets World cast on (WTVD) then back to Adventures of Briscoe County Jr. 1x9 repeat (WLFL) (1h3m total)
2.1994/5/27 X Files 1x4 repeat (WLFL) (38m missing last part of episode, also sporadic commercial editing)
3.1993/5/x Star Trek Deep Space 9 (WLFL) (17m partial)
TRT 1h58m SP

Tape 535
1.1993? 2 episodes of Kenneth Copeland’s Believers Voice of Victory (WLFL) (2h3m total)
-No commercials except at beginning and end so timer recording with paid programming spot TRT 2h3m SP

Tape 536
1.6 straight episodes of General Hospital from May 2013 (WTVD) (6h14m total)
2.2000/9/27 Summer Olympics 800m final, Water Polo USA vs Greece, USA Womens Basketball vs Slovakia (56m)
3.2000/9/22 Summer Olympics track and field, womens swimming 800m final, 50m final, gymnastics (WNCN) (57m)
TRT 8h7m EP Maxell T160

Tape 537
1.1999/10/x 3 episodes of Modern Marvels on History Channel- Hoover Dam, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Offshore Oil Drilling, last episode is missing last portion (2h43m total) TRT 2h43m SP Sony T160
-Nice to see History Channel before it became obsessed with Ancient Aliens and Pawnshops

Tape 538
1.2019/6/x 6 straight episodes of General Hospital (WTVD) (6h8m) EP one of my newest finds so far

Tape 539
1.2001/2/19? American Experience- Abraham and Mary Lincoln a House Divided 1st 2 parts (WBRA) (2h)
-Some promos present from this small PBS affiliate TRT 2h SP Sony T160

Tape 540
1.1999? Multiple documentaries from Discovery Channel: Panama Canal, Navy SEALS, Steel Air Craft Carrier, and Hoover Dam, nearly all have commercials cut, the Steel one was a 18 minute partial, rest complete (2h43m SP total)

Tape 541
1.1982? End of Red Buttons variety special, some promos, then Richard Pryor In Concert (HBO) (1h26m total)
2.1982? 9 to 5 (HBO) with a few promos after (1h47m)
3.1982? Catherine & Co. (1975 film) (Cinemax) (1h35m with promos and part of cartoon short “Ali Baba” after)
TRT 4h49m EP

Tape 542
1.2004/3/2x 2 unknown episodes of American Chopper (1h44m total) some commercials cut (Discovery)
2.2004? CSS Hunley exploration and discovery (The Science Channel) commercials cut (45m)
3.2004? Hoover Dam documentary (History Channel) 5m partial
TRT 2h34m SP Maxell T160

Tape 543
1.1996? Hot Ice 1981 Ryan O’Neal film (WKFT) (1h11m partial most commercials cut) bad tracking/reception
2.1996/4/24 WRAL Block 5PM, 530PM, 6PM News, CBS Evening News partial (1h32m total missing first few minutes of 5PM portion, ends after 7 minutes of CBS Evening News) bad picture but will try to save it given rarity
3.1996/4/2x The Young and the Restless (WRAL) (54m)
4.1996/4/2 The Young and the Restless (WRAL) (25m partial)
5.1996/4/2 WRAL 5PM News (26m most)
6.1995/12/22 Guiding Light (WRAL) (40m partial)
7.1995/12/22 The Young and the Restless (WRAL) (51m most)
TRT 6h EP tape played better towards the end though picture was in and out for most of it

Tape 544
1.The Sword in the Stone (1h19m) (Disney Channel)
2.1992/2/x Madeline and the Black Hat (30m) (Family Channel)
TRT 1h49m SP Fuji HQ T120

Tape 545
1.1986? Cosby Show episode (24m commercials cut) (WPTF)
2.1986? Sixteen Candles (Showtime) (1h34m with promos)
3.1986/7/x Cosby Show repeat (7m partial with some commercials (WPTF)
4.1986? Cheers episode partial (14m)
5.Hollywood Wives Part 1 (WTVD presumably) (1h35m commercials cut)

Tape 546
1.1992/12/16 Home video recording from Opryland USA from Christmas show (28m)
-The person recording did a terrible job with constant closeups of the person sitting in front of them!
2.1991/7/2x The Adventures of Robin Hood (TBS) (37m partial)
3.1991/7/2x The Adventures of Robin Hood (TBS) (1h57m missing end) did these air twice back to back?
4.1991/5/13 An Inconvenient Woman Part 2 (WTVD) (1h19m final two thirds of it)
5.partial unknown episode of Rescue 911 (9m)
TRT 4h29m SP/EP
Click to expand...

Tell you now Chandler, History Channel should change it’s name to The Pawn Shop channel.
 
My last couple lots have been a bit unfortunate compared to many earlier this year, but hopefully this will change with my next lot that I'll explain below. Both of the lots come from locations near two prominent posters in this thread, and were all eBay auctions (yes, they're still around if you know where to look).

The first was a ten-tape lot out of New Hill, NC. As it turns out, the recorder was a carpetbagger with all local ads coming from NYC/Westchester County, NY stations. One tape consisted of a dozen episodes of Wings taped off USA in July 1998, all double run episodes. I'd prefer the original 1993 NBC broadcasts of course, but that's still about an hour's worth of ads that I've farmed and will be posting onto YouTube fairly soon. Another tape, marked "Television Shows", had three episodes of China Beach taped off in late 1991 (two with the commercials intact), the pilot of episode of Get Smart recorded off Nick at Nite in November 1991 with ads, along with a syndie rerun of WKRP in Cincinnati taped off WPIX in late 1991 with a few commercials. A third tape has the last half of All My Children from Black Friday 1991 as well as most of the first quarter of the Nebraska-Oklahoma NCAA football game (although most in WABC territory like this was recorded were probably busy shopping), along with a couple movies recorded off TNT in late 1991 and early 1992 with ads. A fourth tape had family movie footage of Disney's Animal Kingdom (mostly from the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride), and the remainder were rental or premium cable (HBO et. al) duds.

The second lot that I just searched this week was a 28-tape lot from North Canton, OH. Despite the proximity to the Pro Football HOF, no sports content and mostly movies were found. The two best non-movie finds, the 6/25/1989 episode of General Hospital and a special two-hour encore presentation of two Beverly Hills 90210 shows from 8/26/1992 were previous finds, so those are going the sell pile. About half were duds (2000s TCM broadcasts, scoped, or other premium cable/AMC with few or no promos). The oldest find was a recording of Christmas In Connecticut (1945) taped off WTBS on 12/20/1985 with commercials. Other decent finds included about a 20-minute promo break from Cinemax in April 1989, an eight-minute Movie Channel promo break from 1/26/1987, "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" (1947) taped off WTBS on 8/4/1987 with ads, Hot Spell (1958) taped off WTBS on 9/11/1986 with ads, Pursued (1947) taped off WJW on 6/7/1987 with commercials, and two tapes that are partially taped over with a movie prior to a few hours each of a Twilight Zone New Year's Marathon taped off Sci-Fi during New Year's 1995-96 with ads. Perhaps the best finds in this lot are three vintage movies that are currently bootleg only (no official VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray/streaming release): September Affair (1950) taped off A&E on 2/13/1989 with commercials (also includes the first ten minutes of Profiles), This Love Of Ours (1945) taped off AMC circa 1996 with the intro commentary intact, and The Joker Is Wild (1957) recorded off Cinemax circa 1989 with very few promos. I'm surprised that as much of a pop culture icon that Frank Sinatra is, there is no official release of this overlooked classic co-starring Mitzi Gaynor. Who knows if bootleg sellers will get flagged in the future and given that the copyright terms on these still have at least a decade remaining, I'm going to convert these. But this recorder definitely was out of the loop for the most part given that most movies were from the 1940s and '50s.

In addition, I also purchased a lot of 15 tapes in May from a seller based in Miami, and even though commercials were sparse, many of these tapes contained lots of local news and talk footage from late 1990 and early 1991, ranging from excerpts from the local news outlets (WTVJ/WPLG/WSVN/WCIX), WCIX's Insight, Metro-Dade Television's Metropolis, some public forum discussions including council meetings from Dade County (before it became Miami-Dade) itself. There was even a little bit of footage from South Florida's two Spanish-language stations (WLTV and WSCV) . Some content from WLRN, the secondary PBS station was also found. There were also a couple talk shows found, including an episode of Oprah from 1991 that I'll be posting soon on Archive that involves "playing with fire" (you know what I mean). And of course there was lots of footage about a war that seems quaint to the more "irate" wars that we're dealing with today. The seller still has a few tapes on his eBay account, but the prices tend to be exorbitant in comparison to the bulk lot I purchased. Hopefully someone could message him for a bulk deal as those tape #'s on the side were in the upper 300's and lower 400's, and there was one lot with three tapes sold with recorder #'s in the upper 100's that were taped in June 1988. Given that there were some drug bust stories features on that and the other, it's a chance to witness the "real world Miami Vice" if you happen to come across any of PrimeWerks remaining tapes. The content was too varied/splice to give out details, but I've started to post some of that content online and will be posting more over the next several months.

Next up will be a lot of 25 RCA T-120's out of Milwaukee. I got an message from the seller and told me that all of these tapes were recorded to the brim, and one index card indicated that these were SLP recorded. The tape stock looks to be around 1985-86ish, given the black background with the purple/blue/green/pink/red/orange/yellow "disco floor" pattern, with about three-quarters having the smaller print "VK 250" towards the bottom, effectively making them the first tapes produced following the original VK-250 that crainbebo talks about. One tape indicates the ABC movie "Silkwood" (1983) with "3 hrs", indicating that given the film's original runtime of 131 minutes indicates that commercials are probable in this lot, probably a rerun from a couple years after its original premiere. The same label says "Disney's Valentine", and I've already got the 1986 (DTV) and 1987 (Doggone) specials, but I am missing about the first 15 minutes of the '86 special. Hopefully this will yield better results than the last two lots.
 
Just finished going through another one of the estate sale tape lots I got, this one from a sale in the Akron suburb of Fairlawn. Most are VHS, but a few are Betamax.

BETA #1 1987 AFC Playoffs (Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets) taped from WKYC on 1/3/1987 with commercials. Sony L-750.

BETA #2: NFL on NBC broadcast of Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals taped from WKYC on 12/14/1986 minus most commercials; partial 8 All Night broadcast of Silver Lode (1954) taped from WJW in December 1985 with commercials. TDK L-500.

BETA #3: Paul Mauriat: Classical Elegance copied from rental tape; Peter, Paul and Mary 25th Anniversary Concert taped from WVIZ circa 1986 with partial pledge breaks. Sony L-750.

BETA #4: Do the Right Thing (1989) copied from rental tape; Saturday Night Live 15th Anniversary Special taped from WKYC on 9/24/1989 minus most commercials. Sony L-750.

Now for the VHS finds, including a surprise out-of-market recording:
TAPE 1: Breakthrough: The Education of the 2002 Cleveland Browns taped from WKYC on 8/28/2003 with commercials, copied from a Time Warner Cable DVR recording; clip from CNN Live Today taped from CNN on 9/26/2003; end of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and All My Children taped from WABC on 9/26/2003 with commercials. JVC T-120.

TAPE 2: Six episodes of NYPD Blue taped from FX during the network's NYPD Blue Most Wanted Marathon on 2/18/2001 with commercials. JVC T-120.

TAPE 3: Four more episodes of NYPD Blue from the aforementioned marathon, Tempur-pedic infomercial, Mind and Spirit infomercial, Hair Club for Men infomercial, Bosley Medical infomercial and partial Titanium II Professional Knife Set infomercial taped from FX on February 18-19, 2001 with commercials. JVC T-120.

TAPE 4: Clip from Ei8ht Is News at 6:00 taped from WJW on 12/31/1995; Fanfare for Cleveland (live local New Year's Eve special in celebration of Cleveland's bicentennial year) taped from WUAB on 12/31/1995-1/1/1996 with commercials; partial recording of a South Bend Medical Foundation recruitment video. Unknown brand T-15 (first two recordings are second generation dubs).

TAPE 5: NFL Voices of the Game and Outside the Lines (a special edition on the Browns moving to Baltimore) taped from ESPN on 12/14/1995 with commercials, appears to be a second generation recording; clip from Channel 3 News Sunday Morning taped from WKYC on 12/17/1995; partial broadcast of Fox NFL Sunday pregame show taped from WJW on 12/17/1995 with commercials; clips from News Channel 5 at 6:00 taped from WEWS on 12/17/1995; partial episode of What's So Funny taped from WJW on 12/17/1995 with commercials; clip from Ei8ht Is News at 10:00 taped from WJW on 12/17/1995; clip from Revco Sports Extra taped from WUAB on 12/17/1995; clip from 19 News at 11:00 taped from WOIO on 12/17/1995; clip from News Channel 5 at 11:00 taped from WEWS on 12/17/1995; clip from Sports Sunday taped from WEWS on 12/17/1995; clip from The Morning Exchange (Doug Dieken is interviewed on the day after the Browns' last game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium) taped from WEWS on 12/18/1995. TDK T-120.

TAPE 6: 1999 NFL Expansion Draft taped from ESPN2 on 2/9/1999 with commercials; JAG taped from WOIO on 2/9/1999 with commercials; NYPD Blue taped from WEWS on 2/9/1999 minus most commercials; clip from News Channel 5 at 11 taped from WEWS on 2/9/1999; partial episode of Kazoo: Kids at the Zoo (local E/I show taped at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo hosted by Mark Johnson), This Old House Classics, Bob Vila's Home Again and partial Carole Maggio's Facercise infomercial taped from WEWS in January 1999 with commercials. Sony T-120.

TAPE 7: Partial episode of The West Wing taped from WKYC on 1/16/2002 minus most commercials; partial broadcast of the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl taped from WEWS on January 3-4, 2003 with commercials (starts during the third quarter and some commercial breaks are missing, I already have the full game taped from WJXX); clip from SportsCenter taped from ESPN2 on 1/4/2003; clip from News Channel 5 at 11:00 (delayed following the Fiesta Bowl) taped from WEWS on 1/4/2003; clip from Sunday NFL Countdown taped from ESPN on 1/5/2003; NFL on CBS (Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers) taped from WOIO on 1/5/2003 minus most commercials; McDonald's Browns Tonight taped from WKYC on 1/5/2003 with commercials. JVC T-120.

TAPE 8: Rescue Me taped from FX on 9/8/2004 with commercials; 1964 Cleveland Browns NFL Champions Appreciation Show taped from WOIO on 9/10/2004 with commercials (DVR dub); Browns Town 24/7 taped from WOIO on 9/12/2004 with commercials (DVR dub); McDonald's Browns Tonight taped from WKYC on 9/12/2004 with commercials (DVR dub with commercials fast forwarded); Inside the Huddle with Butch Davis and partial broadcast of Entertainment Tonight taped from WKYC on 9/13/2004 with commercials. JVC T-120.

TAPE 9: Inside the Huddle with Butch Davis taped from WKYC on 12/30/2002 minus commercials; Fox NFL Sunday (Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons) taped from WJW on 12/29/2002 with commercials; partial episode of NYPD Blue taped from WEWS on 12/24/1992 with commercials; The West Wing and Law & Order taped from WKYC on 12/25/2002 with commercials; most of News Channel 5 at 6, ABC World News Tonight (Charles Gibson fills in for Peter Jennings) and partial episode of Wheel of Fortune taped from WEWS on 12/26/2002 with commercials; CSI taped from WOIO on 12/26/2002 with commercials; partial broadcast of Good Morning America taped from WEWS on 9/23/2002 with commercials. Maxell T-160.

TAPE 10: Browns Pregame Huddle taped from WKYC on 9/22/2002 with commercials; The NFL Today and NFL on CBS (Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans) taped from WOIO on 9/22/2002 with commercials (recording stops before the CBS postgame show); Fagan's Fifth Quarter taped from WOIO on 9/22/2002 with commercials; Inside the Huddle with Butch Davis taped from WKYC on 9/23/2002 minus commercials; partial Time Life Music '60s Gold infomercial and partial broadcast of CBS Evening News with John Roberts taped from WOIO on 9/22/2002 with commercials; partial NFL on CBS broadcast of Buffalo Bills vs. Minnesota Vikings taped from WOIO on 9/15/2002 with commercials. Maxell T-160.

TAPE 11: Channel flipping during AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game pregame coverage on WKYC, WEWS and WJW, along with some of Monday Night Countdown on ESPN on 8/9/1999, commercials are sporadic throughout; AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game (Cleveland Browns vs. Dallas Cowboys) taped from WEWS on 8/9/1999 minus most commercials; partial broadcast of Cleveland Browns vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason game taped from WKYC on 8/14/1999 minus most commercials; few minutes of Bloomberg Television on 8/14/1999 with commercials; partial broadcast of Cleveland Indians vs. Anaheim Angels (all postgame coverage) taped from WUAB on 8/10/1999 (early morning hours) with commercials; much of the rest of the tape is spontaneous cable box channel flipping in the wee hours of 8/10/1999 (SportsCenter on ESPN, More Sports and Les Levine on Fox Sports Net Ohio, Late Night with Conan O'Brien on WKYC, The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel, Unsolved Mysteries on Lifetime, American Justice on A&E, various movies on the premium channels, etc.), and then it cuts to home video footage of a senior dance before the tape runs out. JVC T-120.

TAPE 12: Most of Sunday Night Football (Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers) taped from WEWS (simulcasting it from ESPN) on 9/12/1999 with commercials. Sony T-160.

TAPE 13: The Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion (CBS special) taped from WJW on 1/10/1993 minus commercials; Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In 25th Anniversary (NBC special) taped from WKYC on 2/7/1993 minus commercials; partial episode of All My Children taped from WEWS on 7/10/1992 with commercials; end of Loving and another episode of All My Children taped from 7/13/1992 with commercials. BASF T-160.

Many more tapes were left behind at this sale, both Betamax and VHS. Lot more Browns games to be found.

Next set for me to go through will be from my latest trip to the Canton Goodwill Outlet a few weeks ago. I got at least 12 from that trip.
 
pannoni1 said:
My last couple lots have been a bit unfortunate compared to many earlier this year, but hopefully this will change with my next lot that I'll explain below. Both of the lots come from locations near two prominent posters in this thread, and were all eBay auctions (yes, they're still around if you know where to look).

The first was a ten-tape lot out of New Hill, NC. As it turns out, the recorder was a carpetbagger with all local ads coming from NYC/Westchester County, NY stations. One tape consisted of a dozen episodes of Wings taped off USA in July 1998, all double run episodes. I'd prefer the original 1993 NBC broadcasts of course, but that's still about an hour's worth of ads that I've farmed and will be posting onto YouTube fairly soon. Another tape, marked "Television Shows", had three episodes of China Beach taped off in late 1991 (two with the commercials intact), the pilot of episode of Get Smart recorded off Nick at Nite in November 1991 with ads, along with a syndie rerun of WKRP in Cincinnati taped off WPIX in late 1991 with a few commercials. A third tape has the last half of All My Children from Black Friday 1991 as well as most of the first quarter of the Nebraska-Oklahoma NCAA football game (although most in WABC territory like this was recorded were probably busy shopping), along with a couple movies recorded off TNT in late 1991 and early 1992 with ads. A fourth tape had family movie footage of Disney's Animal Kingdom (mostly from the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride), and the remainder were rental or premium cable (HBO et. al) duds.

The second lot that I just searched this week was a 28-tape lot from North Canton, OH. Despite the proximity to the Pro Football HOF, no sports content and mostly movies were found. The two best non-movie finds, the 6/25/1989 episode of General Hospital and a special two-hour encore presentation of two Beverly Hills 90210 shows from 8/26/1992 were previous finds, so those are going the sell pile. About half were duds (2000s TCM broadcasts, scoped, or other premium cable/AMC with few or no promos). The oldest find was a recording of Christmas In Connecticut (1945) taped off WTBS on 12/20/1985 with commercials. Other decent finds included about a 20-minute promo break from Cinemax in April 1989, an eight-minute Movie Channel promo break from 1/26/1987, "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" (1947) taped off WTBS on 8/4/1987 with ads, Hot Spell (1958) taped off WTBS on 9/11/1986 with ads, Pursued (1947) taped off WJW on 6/7/1987 with commercials, and two tapes that are partially taped over with a movie prior to a few hours each of a Twilight Zone New Year's Marathon taped off Sci-Fi during New Year's 1995-96 with ads. Perhaps the best finds in this lot are three vintage movies that are currently bootleg only (no official VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray/streaming release): September Affair (1950) taped off A&E on 2/13/1989 with commercials (also includes the first ten minutes of Profiles), This Love Of Ours (1945) taped off AMC circa 1996 with the intro commentary intact, and The Joker Is Wild (1957) recorded off Cinemax circa 1989 with very few promos. I'm surprised that as much of a pop culture icon that Frank Sinatra is, there is no official release of this overlooked classic co-starring Mitzi Gaynor. Who knows if bootleg sellers will get flagged in the future and given that the copyright terms on these still have at least a decade remaining, I'm going to convert these. But this recorder definitely was out of the loop for the most part given that most movies were from the 1940s and '50s.

In addition, I also purchased a lot of 15 tapes in May from a seller based in Miami, and even though commercials were sparse, many of these tapes contained lots of local news and talk footage from late 1990 and early 1991, ranging from excerpts from the local news outlets (WTVJ/WPLG/WSVN/WCIX), WCIX's Insight, Metro-Dade Television's Metropolis, some public forum discussions including council meetings from Dade County (before it became Miami-Dade) itself. There was even a little bit of footage from South Florida's two Spanish-language stations (WLTV and WSCV) . Some content from WLRN, the secondary PBS station was also found. There were also a couple talk shows found, including an episode of Oprah from 1991 that I'll be posting soon on Archive that involves "playing with fire" (you know what I mean). And of course there was lots of footage about a war that seems quaint to the more "irate" wars that we're dealing with today. The seller still has a few tapes on his eBay account, but the prices tend to be exorbitant in comparison to the bulk lot I purchased. Hopefully someone could message him for a bulk deal as those tape #'s on the side were in the upper 300's and lower 400's, and there was one lot with three tapes sold with recorder #'s in the upper 100's that were taped in June 1988. Given that there were some drug bust stories features on that and the other, it's a chance to witness the "real world Miami Vice" if you happen to come across any of PrimeWerks remaining tapes. The content was too varied/splice to give out details, but I've started to post some of that content online and will be posting more over the next several months.

Next up will be a lot of 25 RCA T-120's out of Milwaukee. I got an message from the seller and told me that all of these tapes were recorded to the brim, and one index card indicated that these were SLP recorded. The tape stock looks to be around 1985-86ish, given the black background with the purple/blue/green/pink/red/orange/yellow "disco floor" pattern, with about three-quarters having the smaller print "VK 250" towards the bottom, effectively making them the first tapes produced following the original VK-250 that crainbebo talks about. One tape indicates the ABC movie "Silkwood" (1983) with "3 hrs", indicating that given the film's original runtime of 131 minutes indicates that commercials are probable in this lot, probably a rerun from a couple years after its original premiere. The same label says "Disney's Valentine", and I've already got the 1986 (DTV) and 1987 (Doggone) specials, but I am missing about the first 15 minutes of the '86 special. Hopefully this will yield better results than the last two lots.
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Was it the new WKRP? Or the original WKRP?
 


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