If I can be permitted a small rant here...

Why does "vhs rip" or "vhs source" scare people in this hobby so much? Does it miss most people that EVERYTHING aired before, say, 2004 would most likely be from a VHS source?

I had a trade I was setting up, for a show that aired in 1996 or 1997, something that as far as I know has never been re-aired, I told the person I had to find my VHS tapes and transfter them to DVD, that stopped the deal, he said that he was not interested in anything that came from VHS, just stuff direct to DVD.

Well what the hell do you expect for something that aired BEFORE DVD EXISTED, let alone recordable DVD? How else would I have that show from 1997 in a format other then VHS?

I have had other conversations with traders that expressed similar "worries" about VHS sourced material.

It seems to be lost on the newcomers to this hobby or it's just that people are so spoiled by digital quality material that VHS is how a good portion of us have older items.

Just pisses me off that the letters "VHS" scare people away from a trade so fast. Yeah, I like DVD too, but I can accecpt "VHS sourced" if I have to.

If I can be permitted a small rant here...

Why does "vhs rip" or "vhs source" scare people in this hobby so much? Does it miss most people that EVERYTHING aired before, say, 2004 would most likely be from a VHS source?

I had a trade I was setting up, for a show that aired in 1996 or 1997, something that as far as I know has never been re-aired, I told the person I had to find my VHS tapes and transfter them to DVD, that stopped the deal, he said that he was not interested in anything that came from VHS, just stuff direct to DVD.

Well what the hell do you expect for something that aired BEFORE DVD EXISTED, let alone recordable DVD? How else would I have that show from 1997 in a format other then VHS?

I have had other conversations with traders that expressed similar "worries" about VHS sourced material.

It seems to be lost on the newcomers to this hobby or it's just that people are so spoiled by digital quality material that VHS is how a good portion of us have older items.

Just pisses me off that the letters "VHS" scare people away from a trade so fast. Yeah, I like DVD too, but I can accecpt "VHS sourced" if I have to.

A lot of my Exploitation movies come from VHS and they are fine. I guess it just depends on what people are looking for.

I agree, that although not the most convenient, or the newest format- VHS is still a good format.

Though nothing new (I don't think) is being put on VHS- it is still a reliable format, and I don't use it to create anything new, persay but I do still buy them at stores, closeouts, and use it for day to day recording.

If someone doesn't want a show from vhs to dvd, I hope they are resigned to not seeing it. Because a ton of stuff will never be released to dvd.
And the rest, will take quite a bit of patience.

If they don't want it converted, guess they just don't want it too much.

I agree, that although not the most convenient, or the newest format- VHS is still a good format.

Though nothing new (I don't think) is being put on VHS- it is still a reliable format, and I don't use it to create anything new, persay but I do still buy them at stores, closeouts, and use it for day to day recording.

If someone doesn't want a show from vhs to dvd, I hope they are resigned to not seeing it. Because a ton of stuff will never be released to dvd.
And the rest, will take quite a bit of patience.

If they don't want it converted, guess they just don't want it too much.i agree with you 100 percent i have lots of dvds but i have tons and tons of vhs and i also still get them at closeouts

Are you kidding? If I really want something that's rare, and EARLY, I'll take a vhs rip, an original kinescope rip, a film to video rip, ANYTHING, if it's a decent copy and I'm looking for it or interested in it. You're not going to find something like "Richard Diamond, PI" for example in a 'direct to DVD' format. I feel sorry for someone that doesn't want a vhs rip. They're going to miss out on a TON of great stuff.

VHS doesn't scare me, the majority of the older wrestling I have came from a VHS transfer. As you put it, if was before recordable DVD, how the hell else is someone supposed to have it?

Are people with head injuries entering into trading now?

Some people just don't understand that most new DVD-R recorders do not come equipped with time machines as well.

Just when I think I can't have less faith in people, I'm always surprised.

Who cares what the source is, as long as its the best one available

Some people are just dumb, plain and simple. They see that you have a 5 disk DVD set of some show for trade, and they automatically connect the words DVD=DVD quality. They don't stop and think of where those old shows came from...which is often VHS transfered to DVD. And Just because something is on a DVD disk doesn't mean it's DVD quality.

I don't think people are dumb. I just think that people are used to digital now-a-days and maybe the people you are dealing with are very young and don't know anything else.

I'm not sure people are completely dumb either, maybe just uninformed.

Believe it or not, there are actually 21 year olds walking around that do not know what an LP is either. It was simply before their time.

I'm not sure people are completely dumb either, maybe just uninformed.

Believe it or not, there are actually 21 year olds walking around that do not know what an LP is either. It was simply before their time.

LP, hell some of them don't even remember what a CD is these days, with all the legal downloading of new and classic music and Ipods and almost everyone wearing ear buds these days with music blaring out of them. :lol:

Nit-picky traders: hell wit 'em. It's tough to say when they have something you *really* want/need, but if they aren't gonna budge, you're done.

An understanding collector who is just grateful for the material will understand there may be tracking issues, grain, fuzz, antenna recorded, low quality cable line, audio muffled, etc. Eventually they'll see the light once they've dealt with the 20th person who says, "Hey, buddy, this is before dvd. Quality aint higher than this."

My two cents is simply that while I am always looking for the best quality possible, a bad recording is better than no recording at all....

I'm running late here, as usual but I have to chime in. I have over 2,000 VHS tapes of things I taped from TV over the last 25 years or so. I also have several hundred LP's and over 2,200 45 RPM records. If they are in good condition I will take an LP over CD any time. They have much more bass and a deeper fuller sound than digital music.

As for VHS, yes I have had a few tapes break over the years but not many considering how many I still have that are watchable. I watch mostly older shows (pre 1993) so I am used to things not being in perfect razor sharp quality and it does not bother me at all. Yes, dvd's are convenient for skipping to the chapter you want with no waiting but many shows will never be released commercially on dvd, just like many obscure songs from the past will never be issued on commercial cd's either.

If they are in good condition I will take an LP over CD any time.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I have several albums that I own on both vinyl and CD that when it comes time to listen to, the CD doesn't often see the light of day.

A few examples:
Willie Nelson's Yesterday's Wine
John Prine's Bruised Orange
INXS's single What You Need

The better levels aside, there's just something to be said for the crackle of an LP.