I did 42 of these tapes WAY back in 2012. And they were filmed on one of the very first VHS Camcorders. I feel your pain. I had a trick to to use a VERY old fashioned VCR along with a Symphonic brand that was "Honey badger DGAF!" with tapes! Along with a S-VHS Panasonic camcorder that could plow through anything. I did my Transfers with a Pinnacle Porsche design unit at the highest bitrate I could with some native effects that would gain up the video and clean it up. Now with A.I. ? I'm going to build the ultimate video processing rig this next year.
For such neglected cases, I have a good cassette case with two empty reels (the tape is removed from it). I insert the reel with tape into this case, wind the tape onto the good reel, then change the feed reel to a good one, attach the tape to the reels and play it in the new case. And, perhaps, I am a terrible perfectionist, but it hurts me to watch how the top cover creases the tape when closing. If suddenly a situation occurs where the tape tension has weakened significantly and it almost falls onto the grease of the loading racks, I de-energize the VCR and take out the tape drive mechanism entirely (this is usually easy to do in Panasonic), then I manually turn the capstan flywheel to wind the excess tape onto the take-up reel, supporting the tape with my finger so that it neatly stands on the racks (you may have to adjust it with your fingers, having put on gloves first), and then manually turn the worm gear (or you can apply 6 volts to the motor) to control the complete winding of the tape into the cassette and its careful extraction. I have the following principle: if the client brought the cassette in normal condition, it must be given to him in exactly the same condition (at least in 99% of cases). Otherwise, it turns out "the studio damaged my historical cassette". Situations are different, so I am always ready to fix them. If the tape crumbles - that's a separate story. But if the tape does not move or the monophonic sound slows down, it is better not to force the cassette and tape recorder, but immediately wind the tape into another case and - most importantly - onto other reels. The original problematic case can be wiped with wet wipes and isopropanol - sometimes it helps. Sometimes plastic crumbles from the reels (especially the teeth), so the reels can jam. The lower holes of the case should also be wiped.
I came across 2 full boxes of VHS tapes dating back from the mid-80 to early 90s the other day when my parents cleaned up their attic. Mostly stuff from my childhood. I'm in the process of converting them into h265 files and so far so good, with my old JVC SR-V101. We've come a long way man since the 80s! I wonder if Betamax tapes are the same in terms of degradation over time
Customer: “What’s this service charge for upside down video transfer? That’s unreasonable, I know all you guys do is just put tapes in a VCR and hit play.” Me: Awesome job going above and beyond. I definitely learned something new. Really appreciate your dedication and sharing.
with that tape I wouldn't be using that vcr for a start .....I would put that in a machine from 1988 1989 if you have one I bet it would play for you also you would have better control over the tracking......number 2 hint to get these old tapes going as you press play quickly after that press fast forward then stop usually helps for me ....Good Luck If it still doesn't work you need to oven bake it will work a treat also
I have a question about how you transfer the video to digital. If you are working with NTSC tapes, do you transfer them at 59.94fps? I know most people don't care but I see it as a must since it's best to preserve all frames in the video.
I don’t do upsacaling anymore, too time consuming and nobody is willing to pay for the time nor appreciates the very subtle differences. Good luck on your project, get more granular on your search, lots of other channels giving how to’s.
I would use better VCRs. But yes sticky tapes are indeed a nightmare when they lose the lubricating coat due to bad storage condition but let the customer know that it requires special attention, handling like that is still on you regardless what the situation is.
Using elgato definitely has the big advantage you can use it on a Mac and don't waste time with Windows. I use the old Dazzle devices, but needing to use Win7 32bit is quite a drawback and getting to run was a bit annoying
@@3800TType It seems stand the test of time on JVC, at least on late 90 early 2000 models. But early 90's Panasonic often need this to be replaced first. Remember those devices were not built to last more than ten years, it is a miracle that we can still use them nowadays, but it becomes difficult.
This channel should be called "Phil's got patience & memories" Greats tips Phil!
Cheers!
I did 42 of these tapes WAY back in 2012. And they were filmed on one of the very first VHS Camcorders.
I feel your pain.
I had a trick to to use a VERY old fashioned VCR along with a Symphonic brand that was "Honey badger DGAF!" with tapes!
Along with a S-VHS Panasonic camcorder that could plow through anything.
I did my Transfers with a Pinnacle Porsche design unit at the highest bitrate I could with some native effects that would gain up the video and clean it up.
Now with A.I. ?
I'm going to build the ultimate video processing rig this next year.
Great! Thanks for sharing, all the best!
For such neglected cases, I have a good cassette case with two empty reels (the tape is removed from it). I insert the reel with tape into this case, wind the tape onto the good reel, then change the feed reel to a good one, attach the tape to the reels and play it in the new case.
And, perhaps, I am a terrible perfectionist, but it hurts me to watch how the top cover creases the tape when closing. If suddenly a situation occurs where the tape tension has weakened significantly and it almost falls onto the grease of the loading racks, I de-energize the VCR and take out the tape drive mechanism entirely (this is usually easy to do in Panasonic), then I manually turn the capstan flywheel to wind the excess tape onto the take-up reel, supporting the tape with my finger so that it neatly stands on the racks (you may have to adjust it with your fingers, having put on gloves first), and then manually turn the worm gear (or you can apply 6 volts to the motor) to control the complete winding of the tape into the cassette and its careful extraction.
I have the following principle: if the client brought the cassette in normal condition, it must be given to him in exactly the same condition (at least in 99% of cases). Otherwise, it turns out "the studio damaged my historical cassette". Situations are different, so I am always ready to fix them. If the tape crumbles - that's a separate story. But if the tape does not move or the monophonic sound slows down, it is better not to force the cassette and tape recorder, but immediately wind the tape into another case and - most importantly - onto other reels. The original problematic case can be wiped with wet wipes and isopropanol - sometimes it helps. Sometimes plastic crumbles from the reels (especially the teeth), so the reels can jam. The lower holes of the case should also be wiped.
Thanks for sharing!
When I get tapes like that, I splice and make two video files then merge in post production. Glad to see you making videos again Phil.
👍
I came across 2 full boxes of VHS tapes dating back from the mid-80 to early 90s the other day when my parents cleaned up their attic. Mostly stuff from my childhood. I'm in the process of converting them into h265 files and so far so good, with my old JVC SR-V101. We've come a long way man since the 80s!
I wonder if Betamax tapes are the same in terms of degradation over time
Great! Betas are a challenge. Decks haven’t been made since 1993.
10:20 Pro move
😂
Amazing!
Thank you! Cheers!
Customer: “What’s this service charge for upside down video transfer? That’s unreasonable, I know all you guys do is just put tapes in a VCR and hit play.” Me: Awesome job going above and beyond. I definitely learned something new. Really appreciate your dedication and sharing.
You’re welcome!
with that tape I wouldn't be using that vcr for a start .....I would put that in a machine from 1988 1989 if you have one I bet it would play for you also you would have better control over the tracking......number 2 hint to get these old tapes going as you press play quickly after that press fast forward then stop usually helps for me ....Good Luck If it still doesn't work you need to oven bake it will work a treat also
👍
I have a question about how you transfer the video to digital. If you are working with NTSC tapes, do you transfer them at 59.94fps? I know most people don't care but I see it as a must since it's best to preserve all frames in the video.
I don’t do upsacaling anymore, too time consuming and nobody is willing to pay for the time nor appreciates the very subtle differences. Good luck on your project, get more granular on your search, lots of other channels giving how to’s.
I would use better VCRs. But yes sticky tapes are indeed a nightmare when they lose the lubricating coat due to bad storage condition but let the customer know that it requires special attention, handling like that is still on you regardless what the situation is.
👍
Using elgato definitely has the big advantage you can use it on a Mac and don't waste time with Windows.
I use the old Dazzle devices, but needing to use Win7 32bit is quite a drawback and getting to run was a bit annoying
👍
Something to be said for the reliability of those Panasonic loading mechanisms
It is the first thing that fails in Panasonic. But on JVC it's worse, it's the heads first.
👍
@@debranchelowtone really? Would've thought it was the other way around JVC loading always feels like it's gonna break
@@3800TType It seems stand the test of time on JVC, at least on late 90 early 2000 models. But early 90's Panasonic often need this to be replaced first. Remember those devices were not built to last more than ten years, it is a miracle that we can still use them nowadays, but it becomes difficult.