your thoughts on videotapes - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

wiseguy182 · 01-06-2008, 03:14 AM

I've engaged in quite a few trades recently, with people on this site and people that are not. the only problems I've had all have the same thing in common: they were videotapes (I've only done 2 trades with videotapes, the rest were dvd's.)

the first one involved me being sent a tape that was defective. I sent it back, the person repaired it, but the quality was horrendous, probably at least partially because it was a tape. the other trade involved me sending out a tape (he couldn't take dvd's, although I prerred giving him dvd's because they are alot easier to copy). I put it in either a bubble or cushion mailer from the post office, and had them put fragile stamps on it, and it still arrived to him defective (it was fine when I sent it out). both of these trades were with people not on this site.

this has caused so many problems that I'm going to have to not do any more trades with tapes. Has anyone else had bad experiences with this?

KonfusionFTC · 01-06-2008, 06:05 AM

who this day and age doesnt have a dvd player? a normal dvd is what vhs used to be and blu-ray/hd is the new thing. thats like using an 8 track player. DVD Players are dirt cheap now as low as 15$

i think people who have vhs tapes should use a great vhs player to transfer the video to the computer and clean it up a bit with different filters and put it on a dvd.

videoJoe · 01-06-2008, 08:26 AM

Hey there,

I think it comes down to a few things.

One, the post office. VHS tapes, even if padded nicely, are heavy items, and not meant to be thrown. So many times while standing in line at the post office over the years, I see packages being thrown like the contents inside didn't matter a bit. And it's not just VHS in danger of damage. I sent one disc this week, with wrapping AND a bubble mailer, and it arrived to the trader cracked. To think Netflix can send a movie without padding and it doesn't get damaged but I went to great lengths and the disc still got broken. Thanks USPS.

Two, the quality of anything that is a dub from a VHS source to another VHS tape is going to radically reduce picture quality. And if the person doing the transfer is using inferior RCA cables (the red, white, and yellow plugs), picture distortion and audio hums will almost be certain. So it's important that if a person is doing VHS transfers that they use a high end VHS tape and good connectors. Also, clean heads on both vcrs to help avoid bad tracking.

Finally, and this is not meant to hurt anyone's feelings out there, but if you are still trading VHS to people in 2008, you need to get with the times. DVD recorders are not the premium they once were, and finding a decent one at a fair price is easier than it has ever been. Transferring from VHS to DVD helps to preserve the quality of the original source tape, and also helps to preserve the content of the VHS tape itself. We have a library of over 1100 VHS tapes of stuff we personally recorded over the last quarter century. Over the last four years, we have worked carefully in transferring it to dvd. It's a chore and takes forever, but the end result is worth any sweat involved.

Bottom line is that in any trade where you are dealing with VHS you have to ask yourself is there any other avenue for me to get this item. If the answer is no, then you might just have to roll the dice. But I will say again, anyone trading in VHS these days without the option of providing dvd, is like someone wanting to trade videotapes, but can only offer Beta format. Trading, to an extent, has to be taken with some degree of seriousness. And with that the willingness to get with the times.

cloggedmind · 01-06-2008, 11:08 AM

Videotapes have their own sets of problems from dropouts to tracking issues. Plus there's the fact that one tape might play well on one machine and badly on another. Recently manufactured tapes have taken a nosedive in quality, though and the likelihood of getting a brand new dud is quite high.

I don't like tapes, in general, and especially VHS for the quality issues with dubbing from one generation to the next. Still, in the case of some rare videos of broadcasts not seen in 20+ years, exceptionally rare films and live video and such-- in many cases, VHS is better than nothing!

I think a mutual understanding has to be reached when trading any medium, and that is to leave room for error. Any video/recording medium can have problems and both sides should have some agreement about replacing doa materials.

Ever get a dvd from a trade and have it lock up halfway through? Then have the person you got it from drop off the face of the earth when you ask them to replace it? That, solely, is what chaps my backside!

Bottom line is that both dvd and tape have good and bad points. But, I'd say that you shouldn't totally discount tapes as a trade medium. After all, if you get a bad spot on a tape you can usually play through it. Get a bad spot on a dvd and the whole thing just craps out!

Actually, all said, I'm not sure if I answered the question at all!

KonfusionFTC · 01-06-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by munsters100

Where do I get filters to clean up the picture after the tape is uploaded to the computer?

Email me. konfusion@cox.net

ill give you some guides for doing some good clean up jobs for transfering vhsto dvd and wanting to make a set out of it.

ways to clean up that left over crap on the screen and get rid of most of the static and other things

sbeamish · 01-06-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cloggedmind

Bottom line is that both dvd and tape have good and bad points. But, I'd say that you shouldn't totally discount tapes as a trade medium. After all, if you get a bad spot on a tape you can usually play through it. Get a bad spot on a dvd and the whole thing just craps out!

Amen.

I'm a life long technophobe. (My fiftieth birthday will roll around this coming July.) Nevertheless, I love my DVDs. Ofcourse I haven't actually figured out how to set the machine up to RECORD, but I love all the TV shows and movies my wife and friends have bought me for birthdays and Christmases these past few years.

But I'll continue to hold onto my VHS tapes, thankyou.

Yes, mailing tapes (and discs) is risky. I've been a USPS letter carrier for nearly 21 years now. There's simply no way around the physicality of the job. Unless you've actually done it, there's no way you can understand (or believe) it. Mail volume is tremendous, and it's only increased in the internet-age. (Who do you think is delivering all those Net-Flix?)

No, snail mail is far from history. And with all of the additional volume, sometimes the mail gets some rough treatment.

As far as DVDs being the ONLY way to go, I can't agree.

I don't do much trading, but anyone who's read most of my posts knows I've
been searching for the ultra-rare 1967 sitcom Mr. Terrific for years. Back in March I received quite a few episodes on tape from a fan in Germany. Unlike other eps I'd received earlier (from another German friend) these had a secondary audio track in the original English.

A local video transfer service was able to copy the tapes from PAL to NTSC and make the English track the primary track. Being sure to take every precaution, I had them make me a set of DVDs AND a set of VHS tapes.

Recently one of the DVDs started freezing up on me. My best friend (who actually knows what he's doing) scanned the disc on his computer and found some "error" spots that hadn't been there before. He was able to salvage the disc (almost completely) by "burning" copies.

Thank goodness I have the VHS tapes which have none of the missing frames and breakdown visible on my new DVD copies. And thank goodness I kept the original German PAL tapes. Right now they're back in the shop being copied onto a new set of DVDs and an additional set of VHS.

bman · 01-06-2008, 05:46 PM

konfusion if you don't mind, i would really be interested in those guides as well. i just found some good stuff on vhs that i would like to transfer. i'm most excited about the "malcom and eddie" episodes i found. So vhs still has a few vaules left on this earth!

shadowkaos · 01-06-2008, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KonfusionFTC

Email me. konfusion@cox.net

ill give you some guides for doing some good clean up jobs for transfering vhsto dvd and wanting to make a set out of it.

ways to clean up that left over crap on the screen and get rid of most of the static and other things

Nice I need to get a hold of these guides too

three 14 · 01-07-2008, 12:10 AM

just finished puting all my vhs tapes on dvd took me 2 and a half years to do now i am just watching what i have, i do little trading now i have slowed down
alot on that but when i want a show i ask on the board to see if someone has it.

wiseguy182 · 01-07-2008, 02:12 AM

videoJoe. I agree about USPS (sorry sbeamish). A few weeks ago, they dropped my package on the floor right after I had them put fragile stamps on it. sheesh.

clogged mind, you are correct, some times tapes just have bad spots, but the problems I've had recently involved entire tapes coming out worthless. I was going to have to redo an entire 6 hour tape for someone, but thankfully he said he would accept dvd's.

thanks for the input everyone.

01-06-2008, 03:14 AM	#1
wiseguy182 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 11, 2006 Location: Wendy's salad bar Posts: 7,030	your thoughts on videotapes I've engaged in quite a few trades recently, with people on this site and people that are not. the only problems I've had all have the same thing in common: they were videotapes (I've only done 2 trades with videotapes, the rest were dvd's.) the first one involved me being sent a tape that was defective. I sent it back, the person repaired it, but the quality was horrendous, probably at least partially because it was a tape. the other trade involved me sending out a tape (he couldn't take dvd's, although I prerred giving him dvd's because they are alot easier to copy). I put it in either a bubble or cushion mailer from the post office, and had them put fragile stamps on it, and it still arrived to him defective (it was fine when I sent it out). both of these trades were with people not on this site. this has caused so many problems that I'm going to have to not do any more trades with tapes. Has anyone else had bad experiences with this?

01-06-2008, 08:26 AM	#3
videoJoe Nostalgia Buff Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 10, 2007 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 213	Hey there, I think it comes down to a few things. One, the post office. VHS tapes, even if padded nicely, are heavy items, and not meant to be thrown. So many times while standing in line at the post office over the years, I see packages being thrown like the contents inside didn't matter a bit. And it's not just VHS in danger of damage. I sent one disc this week, with wrapping AND a bubble mailer, and it arrived to the trader cracked. To think Netflix can send a movie without padding and it doesn't get damaged but I went to great lengths and the disc still got broken. Thanks USPS. Two, the quality of anything that is a dub from a VHS source to another VHS tape is going to radically reduce picture quality. And if the person doing the transfer is using inferior RCA cables (the red, white, and yellow plugs), picture distortion and audio hums will almost be certain. So it's important that if a person is doing VHS transfers that they use a high end VHS tape and good connectors. Also, clean heads on both vcrs to help avoid bad tracking. Finally, and this is not meant to hurt anyone's feelings out there, but if you are still trading VHS to people in 2008, you need to get with the times. DVD recorders are not the premium they once were, and finding a decent one at a fair price is easier than it has ever been. Transferring from VHS to DVD helps to preserve the quality of the original source tape, and also helps to preserve the content of the VHS tape itself. We have a library of over 1100 VHS tapes of stuff we personally recorded over the last quarter century. Over the last four years, we have worked carefully in transferring it to dvd. It's a chore and takes forever, but the end result is worth any sweat involved. Bottom line is that in any trade where you are dealing with VHS you have to ask yourself is there any other avenue for me to get this item. If the answer is no, then you might just have to roll the dice. But I will say again, anyone trading in VHS these days without the option of providing dvd, is like someone wanting to trade videotapes, but can only offer Beta format. Trading, to an extent, has to be taken with some degree of seriousness. And with that the willingness to get with the times.
	__________________ Ecclesiastes 9: 10-11 Last edited by videoJoe; 01-06-2008 at 02:52 PM.

01-07-2008, 12:10 AM	#9
three 14 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: May 20, 2006 Posts: 428	vhs just finished puting all my vhs tapes on dvd took me 2 and a half years to do now i am just watching what i have, i do little trading now i have slowed down alot on that but when i want a show i ask on the board to see if someone has it.

01-06-2008, 06:05 AM	#2
KonfusionFTC Cobra Kai Never Dies Senior Member Join Date: Aug 09, 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,381	who this day and age doesnt have a dvd player? a normal dvd is what vhs used to be and blu-ray/hd is the new thing. thats like using an 8 track player. DVD Players are dirt cheap now as low as 15$ i think people who have vhs tapes should use a great vhs player to transfer the video to the computer and clean it up a bit with different filters and put it on a dvd.

01-06-2008, 11:08 AM	#4
cloggedmind Inactive Member Forum Regular Join Date: Apr 30, 2007 Posts: 529	Videotapes have their own sets of problems from dropouts to tracking issues. Plus there's the fact that one tape might play well on one machine and badly on another. Recently manufactured tapes have taken a nosedive in quality, though and the likelihood of getting a brand new dud is quite high. I don't like tapes, in general, and especially VHS for the quality issues with dubbing from one generation to the next. Still, in the case of some rare videos of broadcasts not seen in 20+ years, exceptionally rare films and live video and such-- in many cases, VHS is better than nothing! I think a mutual understanding has to be reached when trading any medium, and that is to leave room for error. Any video/recording medium can have problems and both sides should have some agreement about replacing doa materials. Ever get a dvd from a trade and have it lock up halfway through? Then have the person you got it from drop off the face of the earth when you ask them to replace it? That, solely, is what chaps my backside! Bottom line is that both dvd and tape have good and bad points. But, I'd say that you shouldn't totally discount tapes as a trade medium. After all, if you get a bad spot on a tape you can usually play through it. Get a bad spot on a dvd and the whole thing just craps out! Actually, all said, I'm not sure if I answered the question at all!

01-06-2008, 05:46 PM	#7
bman The Funniest Show Ever!! Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 13, 2007 Location: Bluegrass State Posts: 60	konfusion if you don't mind, i would really be interested in those guides as well. i just found some good stuff on vhs that i would like to transfer. i'm most excited about the "malcom and eddie" episodes i found. So vhs still has a few vaules left on this earth!

01-07-2008, 02:12 AM	#10
wiseguy182 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 11, 2006 Location: Wendy's salad bar Posts: 7,030	videoJoe. I agree about USPS (sorry sbeamish). A few weeks ago, they dropped my package on the floor right after I had them put fragile stamps on it. sheesh. clogged mind, you are correct, some times tapes just have bad spots, but the problems I've had recently involved entire tapes coming out worthless. I was going to have to redo an entire 6 hour tape for someone, but thankfully he said he would accept dvd's. thanks for the input everyone.