I am a retired broadcast engineer. I worked in video tape rooms, we used Kimberly-Clark KimWipes and 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean broadcast video heads and tape path. Plus, I fixed VCRs for over 10 years and only used KimWipes and 99% isopropyl alcohol.
You have quite the setup and you're doing a quality job! I've been transferring VHS to digital since Xmas break (over 2 months as of now), using almost the exact same setup you're using. Luckily, I bought a Panasonic DMR-ES35V (like many of yours) about 20 years ago to record everything to disc, which I only did a few. Now I'm running it through the ElGato program onto my Mac and the quality is excellent. The S-Video cable makes a world of difference! I'm cleaning the heads and capstans with 99% ISO & Q-Tips every 30-50 hours or so and haven't transferred any mildewed or moldy tapes (this is why I visited your channel and others - to see how you clean them). However, I did run across a disintegrating tape that shredded inside the VCR, which was lovely and quite fun to clean out. Sorry for the long post, but I'm learning all I can. I've transferred about 150 tapes so far (most 6 hr) and I'm about halfway done. 40 years worth. Thanks for showing us how the professionals work!
Hi Michael! Thanks for the comment! Glad to hear everything’s going well and you’re cleaning the heads and doing conscientious work! That’s pretty much the goal with my videos now, just shooting raw video and hammering home about head cleaning and quality transfers. Consumer awareness of this industry is nil and everybody is shopping for price and has no idea what goes into a transfer and then takes their tapes to the lowest bidder ie Legacybox and gets screwed. I am tired of hearing and seeing terrible quality transfers stories from these big online corporate junk yard transfer companies and even if my videos save a few people from heartbreak and drama and additionally educate other people transferring to do a quality job for their customers then mission accomplished! Cheers! Phil
I'm in the business as well. I see and face all the same challenges with old tapes with mold and other issues. I really appreciate seeing you explain what we, the real guys, have to do to transfer with quality. I occasionally get frustrated with a bad tape or trouble with a machine. It's a breath of fresh air to see your vids and you explaining the same problems I deal with. Sometimes it's a reminder of something else I can do to help a customers tape get transferred! Thanks for the great content
I have a Geneva video tape cleaner I bought back way when I wore a younger man’s clothes. What I don’t have is the cleaning liquid and replacement heads.
@@gotmemories quick question I'm going to do some of my vhs. You don't really need a powerful laptop but a guessing a decent graphic card. I'm planning to use the Elgato video capture.
There are only 3 things I suggest you do (everything else you do exactly how I would do it) and those 3 things are as follows - I would not boost the audio to above 0db, that will be clipping it, second thing is I would do a basic noise removal on the audio track and thirdly I would clean the other heads as well, not just the drum head. As a bonus, I would also not deinterlace the video when capturing it I would separate the fields and blend them to be 60 frames per second for NTSC or 50FPS for PAL - it will make the videos look much smoother, real and modern.
I would do all that but time is money and customers don’t want to pay. Nor appreciate. Great if you’ve got all the time in the world digitizing your own personal collection but 1000 tapes where people are willing to pay $9 a tape for 2hr tapes stuck in a garage for 35 years, gotta shave some fancy things off the menu. All the best!
Old video i know, but would there be a Betamax version of this? I recovered an old pretty moldy movie out of my skip dived Sanyo Betamax Recorder, and would like to clean it
If vinyl record cleaners still exist, why not for VHS? I really wish these VHS tape cleaners were still available, it's such a must-have accessory nowadays. I have a question regarding VCR maintenance, should I go for a dry or wet head cleaner cassette? And which brand would be the most reliable as I can't take risks cleaning manually in my VCR.
@@gotmemories good lord....btw...I live in Australia and I wish I lived near you or you near me....I am archiving my Mother's stuff (she was an opera singer) and the video side of things is making me nuts LOL
Yes, I’ve found a guy that makes industrial, purpose built video tape cleaners & I’m traveling overseas in a few weeks to do some RUclips videos on it all in action and possibly resell in the US.
got a question for you, i have the geneva video cleaner, i was working on a tape with mold on it, not a lot, i put it in fast forward, it broke the tape reel, as it was going , can ya help me out
@@gotmemories I Just Bought One Off Ebay A Few Days Ago Got It Yesterday And Tried It Out On A Couple Of Moldy Tapes It's A Fantastic Cleaning Machine, I Get Why They Are Hard To Come By These Days.
I am a retired broadcast engineer. I worked in video tape rooms, we used Kimberly-Clark KimWipes and 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean broadcast video heads and tape path. Plus, I fixed VCRs for over 10 years and only used KimWipes and 99% isopropyl alcohol.
I use the same! Oh what fun eh! Lol
You have quite the setup and you're doing a quality job! I've been transferring VHS to digital since Xmas break (over 2 months as of now), using almost the exact same setup you're using. Luckily, I bought a Panasonic DMR-ES35V (like many of yours) about 20 years ago to record everything to disc, which I only did a few. Now I'm running it through the ElGato program onto my Mac and the quality is excellent. The S-Video cable makes a world of difference!
I'm cleaning the heads and capstans with 99% ISO & Q-Tips every 30-50 hours or so and haven't transferred any mildewed or moldy tapes (this is why I visited your channel and others - to see how you clean them). However, I did run across a disintegrating tape that shredded inside the VCR, which was lovely and quite fun to clean out.
Sorry for the long post, but I'm learning all I can. I've transferred about 150 tapes so far (most 6 hr) and I'm about halfway done. 40 years worth. Thanks for showing us how the professionals work!
Hi Michael! Thanks for the comment! Glad to hear everything’s going well and you’re cleaning the heads and doing conscientious work! That’s pretty much the goal with my videos now, just shooting raw video and hammering home about head cleaning and quality transfers.
Consumer awareness of this industry is nil and everybody is shopping for price and has no idea what goes into a transfer and then takes their tapes to the lowest bidder ie Legacybox and gets screwed.
I am tired of hearing and seeing terrible quality transfers stories from these big online corporate junk yard transfer companies and even if my videos save a few people from heartbreak and drama and additionally educate other people transferring to do a quality job for their customers then mission accomplished!
Cheers!
Phil
I'm in the business as well. I see and face all the same challenges with old tapes with mold and other issues. I really appreciate seeing you explain what we, the real guys, have to do to transfer with quality. I occasionally get frustrated with a bad tape or trouble with a machine. It's a breath of fresh air to see your vids and you explaining the same problems I deal with. Sometimes it's a reminder of something else I can do to help a customers tape get transferred! Thanks for the great content
John, guys like us are a rare breed in this industry these days! What’s the name of your biz and where are you located?
@@gotmemories my company is Pictures to Digital and I'm located in Carmel, IN.
Carmel! The roundabout capital of America!
Great cleaning machine I wish I could get one for my VHS tapes. I have way too many to clean manually.
I have a Geneva video tape cleaner I bought back way when I wore a younger man’s clothes. What I don’t have is the cleaning liquid and replacement heads.
Replacement heads, just cut chamois cloth and replace the cloth on the plastic rollers and use isopropyl.
Bought that VHS tape cleaner $120 in year 2000. Still have it, seen on eBay someone selling it $600.
Yep! Insane! People don’t know how rare and expense this once mundane and once cheap stuff is nowadays!
@@gotmemories quick question I'm going to do some of my vhs. You don't really need a powerful laptop but a guessing a decent graphic card. I'm planning to use the Elgato video capture.
But where do you buy the replacement pads after they get too dirty after use for the Geneva tape cleaner ?
You have to cut pieces of chamois and replace them yourself
wow that is crazy! What a great video to learn from though!
Glad you enjoyed!
You are clearly doing an Excellent job, I have sent you a request for a quote (Craig)
Great!!
Hello, thank you for this information. Have you seen such a difference in VHS playback by 4 head and 6 head Vcr
Not really
Is that tape mould cleaner available about if I wanted one for worst case?
Made in 1994. Needle in a haystack.
There are only 3 things I suggest you do (everything else you do exactly how I would do it) and those 3 things are as follows - I would not boost the audio to above 0db, that will be clipping it, second thing is I would do a basic noise removal on the audio track and thirdly I would clean the other heads as well, not just the drum head. As a bonus, I would also not deinterlace the video when capturing it I would separate the fields and blend them to be 60 frames per second for NTSC or 50FPS for PAL - it will make the videos look much smoother, real and modern.
I would do all that but time is money and customers don’t want to pay. Nor appreciate. Great if you’ve got all the time in the world digitizing your own personal collection but 1000 tapes where people are willing to pay $9 a tape for 2hr tapes stuck in a garage for 35 years, gotta shave some fancy things off the menu.
All the best!
Old video i know, but would there be a Betamax version of this? I recovered an old pretty moldy movie out of my skip dived Sanyo Betamax Recorder, and would like to clean it
Here’s a video on cleaning Betamax.
ruclips.net/video/hzTGQ6KV_ys/видео.html
If vinyl record cleaners still exist, why not for VHS? I really wish these VHS tape cleaners were still available, it's such a must-have accessory nowadays.
I have a question regarding VCR maintenance, should I go for a dry or wet head cleaner cassette? And which brand would be the most reliable as I can't take risks cleaning manually in my VCR.
Hi! Wet. Tape cleaners are all old and the only way to properly clean it is taking the lid off and doing it manually.
Thank u
You’re welcome
Great video! I love you!
You are so kind
I'm thinking of trying to build one using a vcr 🤔
Possible
@gotmemories I am based in Uk I don't know where I can get Geneva Video Tape Cleaner PF-740
Nonexistent
Fascinating
Glad you enjoyed!
Best result is laying the deck flat, it flushes better. And if you cleans forward flip the blue cleaner to forward.
Yes, I do them same now. 👍
Mold = Gold
White gold! … Great show on Netflix FYI
Thanks for posting!
You’re welcome!
i just bought me Geneva video tape cleaner, i wanted to ask, if ya need to change
out the cleaning posts and pads, where can ya buy these.
Stopped making them 30 years ago. McGyver it unfortunately.
Hi, I'm interested in your work and would like to request a quote. How can I contact you for further discussion?
Hi! If you have moldy tapes, email pix to Info@gotmemories.com
The massive problem now is, this isn't even available to buy.
Correct! And if you find one, I’ve seen them go for $700+
@@gotmemories good lord....btw...I live in Australia and I wish I lived near you or you near me....I am archiving my Mother's stuff (she was an opera singer) and the video side of things is making me nuts LOL
Hi. where can you find the cleaning pads for this machine? thanks
You’ve got to make your own my friend! 30 year old machine with zero support. All the best!
@@gotmemories I supposed! Do you have any advice for me on how to create them? Have you found a viable alternative?
Yes, I’ve found a guy that makes industrial, purpose built video tape cleaners & I’m traveling overseas in a few weeks to do some RUclips videos on it all in action and possibly resell in the US.
Are you in the transfer industry?
@@gotmemories I do it as a hobby and I write from Italy
Interesting!
you can clean the heads using paper soaked in alcohol
There’s a video in the channel on that from many years ago
I have cleanermate VHS for sale
Can't find a tape cleaner at all these days.
Tell me about it
I have cleanermate VHS for sale
got a question for you, i have the geneva video cleaner, i was working on a tape with mold on it, not a lot, i put it in fast forward, it broke the tape reel, as it was going , can ya help me out
I don’t repair the geneva machines. If you’re referring to the tape itself, you’ll have to RUclips tape fix videos.
@@gotmemories im not asking ya to repair the machine or the tape, my question since ya know on the geneva why it might have done that to the tape
@@EXTREMEMIDSOUTH80 no idea
You Mentioned That The Geneva Video Tape Cleaner Machine's Are Rare, Just Curious How Rare Are They?
Very rare.
@@gotmemories I Just Bought One Off Ebay A Few Days Ago Got It Yesterday And Tried It Out On A Couple Of Moldy Tapes It's A Fantastic Cleaning Machine, I Get Why They Are Hard To Come By These Days.
Nice!!
Bonjour pourquoi il n y a jamais personne dans l atelier ?
I’m a one man show these days! Used to have 5 employees years ago but now, less stress, more enjoyable!
Does anyone have the Geneva vhs cleaner for sale?
If they do, prices are insane. One guy paid $800 for one.
I have cleanermate VHS for sale