How Many Tapes In Your Collection? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

tvfan0101 · 04-05-2004, 02:52 PM

N/A

Agent 13 · 04-05-2004, 03:09 PM

By my son's last count, we had well over 1,000, including sp and slp. Since I've started to convert to DVD, I suppose the number is almost twice that now. Occasionally I trade off videos once I've converted them to DVD, but for the most part I don't like to do that should something happen to a DVD. I'm keeping my videos in boxes in storage just in case. Maybe some day I'll sell them at a garage sale but never on-line.

As for shows that we are personally looking for, I'd definitely have to say shows that are pre-1980. If modern TV dropped off the face of the earth it wouldn't hurt my feelings.

Jen

tvfan0101 · 04-06-2004, 04:03 PM

N/A

Agent 13 · 04-06-2004, 04:38 PM

It might seem like a lot, but aside from the local news, we have very little interest in modern TV so we don't have cable, satellite, or an antenna.

We have several average sized book cases to house them. Honestly, they really don't take up that much room as I label the short end of each tape so that we can easily see what we have. And DVDs are neatly stored in labeled cases.

At present, since we don't watch TV on a daily basis, we have more than we could ever watch. Tape trading isn't a hobby to us but a stockpiling of sorts, and our once huge want list is dwindling by the day. And then I'm outta here!

debwalsh · 04-07-2004, 10:39 AM

Three years ago when I moved home I had about 3500 videotapes (VHS NTSC, VHS PAL, and Beta) and maybe 500 DVDs. At this point, I'd estimate I've got maybe 5000 videotapes, plus 2500 or more DVDs. I'm starting to recycle more recent series that are released to DVD and reuse the tapes, but the older material I have - those precious shows I recorded on Beta, or that have never come out on DVD and aren't likely to - I'm copying to DVD-R and keeping the original tapes as well. Current material that I don't expect to come out on DVD I record directly to DVD-R, but stuff like Alias and Smallville, etc., I'm taping and will recycle the tapes when the shows come out on DVD.

Commercial VHS boxed sets that I've upgraded to DVD (or have simply never watched) I'm selling on eBay at a fraction of what they cost me. I'm recovering a little of the money I laid out, and more space, which is nice. Some of the recent films that have come out on DVD I'm starting to sell off, as well - if they don't hold up to repeat viewings, what's the point?

I've got something like 20 bookcases dedicated to tapes and DVDs, and stacks and stacks all over . I really need to spend some time this summer getting organized, because it's really starting to get to me.

debwalsh · 04-07-2004, 10:44 AM

What sorts of storage methods do folks use for their collections? I try to have everything on shelves, and I have a friend who stores everything in stacks of boxes.

jasimon1 · 04-08-2004, 03:56 PM

Does anyone catelogue thier collection? I'm looking for a good way to and would love suggestions.

RoseNylund · 04-08-2004, 07:07 PM

I must have at least 500. Some are on shelves in my closet, but I have those boxes that slide under the bed. They have them at Wal*Mart, and they have wheels on them, so you can just slide them back under.

debwalsh · 04-08-2004, 07:12 PM

I have a database of my collection that is now years out of date. Before my move 3 years ago, I had catalogued every tape and DVD with at least the title, and had planned to fill in the blanks of contents on each tape once I got settled. I numbered every tape as I added it to the database. Unfortunately, before I had a chance to back the whole thing up, my hard drive crashed, and I lost about 6 months' worth of data entry. By that time, all the boxes were unpacked and the tapes tucked on shelves. so the job of recreating the database with all the numbers matching up was more than I could do again. I have a main table of program titles that I use to generate my trading list. Some day I hope to get the entire library catalogued properly. Sites like TV Tome and Epguides.com make it so much easier now, since they list titles for so many shows that never listed titles on-air. And if you're not sure what title matches up to your show, there's an episode guide to match up against.

I wrote my database program myself, by the way, originally in dBase, then in FoxPro, then in Visual FoxPro. I guess Acess and Visual Basic are next ... :>

sansmasher · 04-12-2004, 09:46 AM

I have around 300 VHS and 100 DVD, we live in a small apartment, and space is limited.

Im trying to build up to the 1000 mark eventually, all my tapes are labeld, alphabatized, and numbered in a both a paper list, and a hotlist on a floppy.

tomboy872 · 04-12-2004, 11:25 AM

As of right now, I believe I have somewhere around 350 - 400 tapes, very little VCD, and no DVDs yet... not too many compared to some people. Then again, I'm only 17, so who knows how many I'll end up with in the future.

I keep them all in my room, most of them are stacked on shelves, but I'm running out of space in that department.

When or if I ever start converting to DVD, I'll probably use my attic for storage.

One thing's for sure, I can't wait for the summer to be here so I'll have plenty of time to label, number, and catalogue everything. Only about 3/4ths of my tapes are labeled, so I've got things recorded that I don't even remember taping.

Anybody with over 1000 tapes...

...you rock!

TV Favorites · 04-12-2004, 11:40 AM

I have probably near 2000 tapes.

barneyfife888 · 04-12-2004, 03:10 PM

I think I have around 485 tapes, I don't trade though, I just tape for myself and buy shows sometimes, my webpage link is below if you'd like to check it out, it just lists all the stuff I have in my collection, it's my way of keeping track of it all.

http://www.matmice.com/home/tapecollector

TVJedi · 04-12-2004, 10:00 PM

I'm more of a CDR kind of guy. I digitally rip my shows off the satellite DVR (to preserve source quality) and encode to 2-pass (at least) divx avi. Here's my general formula for storing them to CDR:

1 hour show = ~44 mins = 350MB
half hour show = ~22 mins = 175MB

So it is either 2 or 4 shows per 700MB CD. The resolution I use is 512X384 with audio bitrate at 96Kbps MP3. I believe that is higher res than an SP VHS recording. Anyhow it looks great off the home theater PC to my HD-ready set. I have on occassion used 320X240 resolution with a target filesize of 233MB for some hour-long reality series I may want to give another look at (and maybe not). These do look VERY VHS-like.

In short.. I have over 1000 CDRs for many of the newer series. With the advent of DVD players supporting divx, soon it will be even more convenient to play these back on any TV.

I was originally storing them all in CD jewel cases, but that became cumbersome, so I use the original CDR spindles now. Eventually I will just put labels on the spindles describing what series are contained in them. I do try to organize the spindles by comedy shows, 'serious shows' and reality shows. Makes it a little easier to locate them.

I got a DVD±RW drive for Christmas and for the shows I want to keep verbatim to the DVR, I simply rip them off the receiver's harddrive and burn right to DVD. When DVDR are free-after-rebate I may just skip the whole divx encoding part and save a ton of time.

jazzybill · 04-13-2004, 04:44 PM

I have over 4,000 tapes labeled and all in boxs. I do have around another 300 tape unlabeled and hopefully will have the time sometime to go through them abd label them.

Yes I do have a catalog of all shows that I do label. It makes it easier for me to go through my collection.

04-05-2004, 02:52 PM	#1
tvfan0101 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 29, 2003 Posts: 961	How Many Tapes In Your Collection? N/A
	Last edited by tvfan0101; 03-30-2011 at 10:38 PM.

04-05-2004, 03:09 PM	#2
Agent 13 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 02, 2003 Location: Good ol' USA Posts: 1,510	By my son's last count, we had well over 1,000, including sp and slp. Since I've started to convert to DVD, I suppose the number is almost twice that now. Occasionally I trade off videos once I've converted them to DVD, but for the most part I don't like to do that should something happen to a DVD. I'm keeping my videos in boxes in storage just in case. Maybe some day I'll sell them at a garage sale but never on-line. As for shows that we are personally looking for, I'd definitely have to say shows that are pre-1980. If modern TV dropped off the face of the earth it wouldn't hurt my feelings. Jen
	__________________ It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong. Abraham Lincoln Last edited by Agent 13; 04-05-2004 at 03:29 PM.

04-06-2004, 04:03 PM	#3
tvfan0101 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 29, 2003 Posts: 961	N/A
	Last edited by tvfan0101; 03-30-2011 at 10:38 PM.

04-06-2004, 04:38 PM	#4
Agent 13 Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 02, 2003 Location: Good ol' USA Posts: 1,510	It might seem like a lot, but aside from the local news, we have very little interest in modern TV so we don't have cable, satellite, or an antenna. We have several average sized book cases to house them. Honestly, they really don't take up that much room as I label the short end of each tape so that we can easily see what we have. And DVDs are neatly stored in labeled cases. At present, since we don't watch TV on a daily basis, we have more than we could ever watch. Tape trading isn't a hobby to us but a stockpiling of sorts, and our once huge want list is dwindling by the day. And then I'm outta here!
	Last edited by Agent 13; 04-06-2004 at 05:48 PM.

04-07-2004, 10:39 AM	#5
debwalsh Ancient Archivist Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Posts: 504	Three years ago when I moved home I had about 3500 videotapes (VHS NTSC, VHS PAL, and Beta) and maybe 500 DVDs. At this point, I'd estimate I've got maybe 5000 videotapes, plus 2500 or more DVDs. I'm starting to recycle more recent series that are released to DVD and reuse the tapes, but the older material I have - those precious shows I recorded on Beta, or that have never come out on DVD and aren't likely to - I'm copying to DVD-R and keeping the original tapes as well. Current material that I don't expect to come out on DVD I record directly to DVD-R, but stuff like Alias and Smallville, etc., I'm taping and will recycle the tapes when the shows come out on DVD. Commercial VHS boxed sets that I've upgraded to DVD (or have simply never watched) I'm selling on eBay at a fraction of what they cost me. I'm recovering a little of the money I laid out, and more space, which is nice. Some of the recent films that have come out on DVD I'm starting to sell off, as well - if they don't hold up to repeat viewings, what's the point? I've got something like 20 bookcases dedicated to tapes and DVDs, and stacks and stacks all over . I really need to spend some time this summer getting organized, because it's really starting to get to me.
	__________________ Deb Walsh Savage Traders Online!

04-07-2004, 10:44 AM	#6
debwalsh Ancient Archivist Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Posts: 504	What sorts of storage methods do folks use for their collections? I try to have everything on shelves, and I have a friend who stores everything in stacks of boxes.

04-08-2004, 03:56 PM	#7
jasimon1 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 04, 2004 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 382	Does anyone catelogue thier collection? I'm looking for a good way to and would love suggestions.

04-08-2004, 07:07 PM	#8
RoseNylund Back in St. Olaf... Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 19, 2003 Posts: 248	I must have at least 500. Some are on shelves in my closet, but I have those boxes that slide under the bed. They have them at Wal*Mart, and they have wheels on them, so you can just slide them back under.

04-08-2004, 07:12 PM	#9
debwalsh Ancient Archivist Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2004 Location: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Posts: 504	I have a database of my collection that is now years out of date. Before my move 3 years ago, I had catalogued every tape and DVD with at least the title, and had planned to fill in the blanks of contents on each tape once I got settled. I numbered every tape as I added it to the database. Unfortunately, before I had a chance to back the whole thing up, my hard drive crashed, and I lost about 6 months' worth of data entry. By that time, all the boxes were unpacked and the tapes tucked on shelves. so the job of recreating the database with all the numbers matching up was more than I could do again. I have a main table of program titles that I use to generate my trading list. Some day I hope to get the entire library catalogued properly. Sites like TV Tome and Epguides.com make it so much easier now, since they list titles for so many shows that never listed titles on-air. And if you're not sure what title matches up to your show, there's an episode guide to match up against. I wrote my database program myself, by the way, originally in dBase, then in FoxPro, then in Visual FoxPro. I guess Acess and Visual Basic are next ... :>

04-12-2004, 09:46 AM	#10
sansmasher Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 29, 2004 Posts: 7	I have around 300 VHS and 100 DVD, we live in a small apartment, and space is limited. Im trying to build up to the 1000 mark eventually, all my tapes are labeld, alphabatized, and numbered in a both a paper list, and a hotlist on a floppy.

04-12-2004, 11:25 AM	#11
tomboy872 Five By Five Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 11, 2004 Location: New York Posts: 20	As of right now, I believe I have somewhere around 350 - 400 tapes, very little VCD, and no DVDs yet... not too many compared to some people. Then again, I'm only 17, so who knows how many I'll end up with in the future. I keep them all in my room, most of them are stacked on shelves, but I'm running out of space in that department. When or if I ever start converting to DVD, I'll probably use my attic for storage. One thing's for sure, I can't wait for the summer to be here so I'll have plenty of time to label, number, and catalogue everything. Only about 3/4ths of my tapes are labeled, so I've got things recorded that I don't even remember taping. Anybody with over 1000 tapes... ...you rock!

04-12-2004, 11:40 AM	#12
TV Favorites Star of Family Feud Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 19, 2001 Location: United States of America Posts: 3,153	I have probably near 2000 tapes.
	__________________ TV Favorites Webmaster Classic TV Favorites Game Show Favorites Game Show Favorites Super Store Game Show Favorites Discussion Forums IMPORTANT NOTE RE: GSF TAPE GIVEAWAY- Due to an email glitch with the form I use on the site, any requests for tapes that were emailed after September 2006 need to be resent in order to have your name on the list. The form should be fixed now. Please only resubmit the form once. The new form system will let you know if an error has occurred.

04-12-2004, 03:10 PM	#13
barneyfife888 Mayberry forever Occasional Poster Join Date: May 08, 2002 Location: West Virginia Posts: 19	I think I have around 485 tapes, I don't trade though, I just tape for myself and buy shows sometimes, my webpage link is below if you'd like to check it out, it just lists all the stuff I have in my collection, it's my way of keeping track of it all. http://www.matmice.com/home/tapecollector
	__________________ The ultimate Don Knotts fan! See what happens when a simple hobby gets out of hand! http://www.matmice.com/home/tapecollector

04-12-2004, 10:00 PM	#14
TVJedi Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 28, 2004 Posts: 42	I'm more of a CDR kind of guy. I digitally rip my shows off the satellite DVR (to preserve source quality) and encode to 2-pass (at least) divx avi. Here's my general formula for storing them to CDR: 1 hour show = ~44 mins = 350MB half hour show = ~22 mins = 175MB So it is either 2 or 4 shows per 700MB CD. The resolution I use is 512X384 with audio bitrate at 96Kbps MP3. I believe that is higher res than an SP VHS recording. Anyhow it looks great off the home theater PC to my HD-ready set. I have on occassion used 320X240 resolution with a target filesize of 233MB for some hour-long reality series I may want to give another look at (and maybe not). These do look VERY VHS-like. In short.. I have over 1000 CDRs for many of the newer series. With the advent of DVD players supporting divx, soon it will be even more convenient to play these back on any TV. I was originally storing them all in CD jewel cases, but that became cumbersome, so I use the original CDR spindles now. Eventually I will just put labels on the spindles describing what series are contained in them. I do try to organize the spindles by comedy shows, 'serious shows' and reality shows. Makes it a little easier to locate them. I got a DVD±RW drive for Christmas and for the shows I want to keep verbatim to the DVR, I simply rip them off the receiver's harddrive and burn right to DVD. When DVDR are free-after-rebate I may just skip the whole divx encoding part and save a ton of time.

04-13-2004, 04:44 PM	#15
jazzybill Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 18, 2002 Posts: 213	My Video Collection I have over 4,000 tapes labeled and all in boxs. I do have around another 300 tape unlabeled and hopefully will have the time sometime to go through them abd label them. Yes I do have a catalog of all shows that I do label. It makes it easier for me to go through my collection.