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"We Are The VHS Preservation Society..."

Started by TJ, November 04, 2004, 02:28:19 PM

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TJ

As those of you who frequent 'Comedy Chat' will know, a short while back there was a bit of excitement when Tom Hedonist kindly posted up links to encoded versions of some old long-deleted VHS video releases, including the compilation of Bob Mills' "In Bed With Medinner", with many toasts and congratulations being raised in his direction (although sadly those of us on dial-up have had to do without!). This has got me thinking - there are literally *tons* of old videos out there that will eventually become useless, and quite a few of them will probably never see the light of day on DVD for various reasons. So... the purpose of this thread is for people to list any obscurities they might have that other people might be interested in, and if there is sufficient interest we'll see what we can do about digitising them for the benefit of future generations. I should point out that we're not looking for people saying "I've got all of Blackadder Goes Third" here; more stuff like ancient BBC Video releases (all those children's dramas, for example, or the Auntie's Bloomers/Adios Eldorado sort of thing), stuff that has been superceded by subsequent releases but contains exclusive material (the Doctor Who 'years' tapes, for example, or The Adam And Joe Video), or real lost-in-time weirdness like the Swing Out Sister Live video or "Using Your Electrolux 18500 with Peter Egan" or whatever. List away...

Bean Is A Carrot

Recently I picked up the VHS of "It'll Be Alright On The Night 3" at a market stall in Spittalfields for £1. I haven't got around to watching it yet, but the photo of Dennis Norden on the cover makes him look like Woody Allen. If I had a scanner I'd scan it for you all.

Fuckwittio

It's great how people are getting rid of their old pre-recorded VHS tapes by the truckload now. The prices for them have started coming down in my local charity shops bigtime - I got the director's cut of Das Boot & Raiders Of The Lost Ark for £1 each last week, both pristine.

I found it amazing how quickly some people got rid of their video recorders once DVDs started catching on. Considering how much my VHS player is used, I'd say it's a more indispensible item than my DVD player.

EDIT: Just to add, I have a large archive of late 80s/early 90s shit back in Ireland, but that's fuck all good to ye's now. I do have a request, though: did anybody here tape Jonathan Ross' 'Incredibly Strange Film Show' back in the day? I'd kill to see that series again.

TJ

Yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm hoping this thread will unearth [meaning the It'll Be Alright On The Night video]! I've got some stuff I could contribute myself, but I need to master the art of capturing (which isn't easy on a steam age PC). But to start the ball rolling, here's a couple of titles that have been mentioned in various Comedy Chat threads quite a bit that someone out there might have to hand:

Kevin Turvey - The Man Behind The Green Door
Absolutely The Vido 1 &2

Bonely Child

I picked up a Dennis Pennis (I can't remember the exact title, but he gets killed off in it) video fro 95/96 in Blockbuster for £1 a few weeks ago, which features Lucas & Walliams in quite a few sketches I don't think ever got broadcasted. Walliams still seems to be playing the exact same character in every sketch, just as he does now.

Rats

I got that have i got news for you pirate video with clunes and nelle morrissettey on it for a quid and that was really good, and punt and dennis "the milky milky" tour. I always fucking hated them but I thought "what the fuck, it's only a quid, what's a quid's worth of laughs?". More than they could manage, I tell you, I bravely slugged it out with them for 20 minutes and then it was off. I could put it on ebay and start the bidding at 3 quid but I think I might get more satisfaction watching it burn.

I know there not that old, I was on about the charity shops and how people are flinging out their videos

Beagle 2

Well not exactly obscure, but I've got Hysteria III and I can't see that being released on DVD. The best of the BBC Frank Skinner show too, which was better because he just used to get wierd guests he thought would be good on. And mr Methane.

Marty McFly

buddy's song, starring chesney hawkes and roger daltrey. goes for about 20 quid on ebay now. cheesiest fucking film ever..

Pinball

I've got literally 1000s of VHS tapes, many original, but also loads of off-airs. I thought of disposing of them many times, but instead opted for the fill-a-spare-bedroom-with-bookcases approach :-)

On a similar theme, I have several hundred laserdiscs, many of which I now have on DVD. So hard to throw 'em away! When laserdisc died, I bought bucketloads of cheap clearance sale LDs. Well worth the effort. I guess the same applies to VHS now... The mistake people make is assuming that all titles will be released in the new format. Certainly, in the case of laserdisc, rarer stuff like the NASA archive, and many music discs were never released on DVD, even now. So hang onto it!

As for cataloguing them, I gave up a few years ago so instead shelved them in alphabetical order, so at least I can find stuff.

A plug for the Programme Preservation Society. Their members keep lists of everything they've got. I suppose if all lists were saved as Excel or wfw files, it would be possible to have a Google database of it. Actualy, stone te crows, they just added a Google bar I notice (only the site but it's a start I guess)! They have video clips here.

hehe

TJ

Another possibly pertinent one (as it shows no signs of coming out on DVD) - "Mr Benn" was released across three or four tapes in the early 1990s, but all bar the first appeared to get deleted almost straight away. Did anyone pick up a full set?

Rats, there are tons of people on here (myself included) who would love that Punt and Dennis video. Are you able to capture it?

"Drunk And Disorderly" starring Roland Rivron as Prof. Arthur Mild and Keith Allen as Larry 'Ringside' Lewis. No idea where it came from but it's absolute shite. I've also got the unforgettable "Big Ron Bites Back".



Careful, its Extreme Comedy.

Quote from: "TJ"The Doctor Who 'years' tapes, for example

I've got the Tom Baker double video one.
Ben Elton's Stark.  And 3 live Ben Elton Videos.
Newman and Baddiel's History Today video (basically all the History Todays from the TV MWHE plus some stand-up stuff.)

JesusAndYourBush

I'd like to see captures of the BBC VT engineers Xmas tapes.  "Good King Memorex" and "White Powder Christmas" are the most well known because they've been circulated by Dr Who collectors but there's loads more.  I've got poor quality vhs copies of some of them but someone must have decent-ish copies.

TJ

Quote from: "JesusAndYourBush"I'd like to see captures of the BBC VT engineers Xmas tapes.  "Good King Memorex" and "White Powder Christmas" are the most well known because they've been circulated by Dr Who collectors but there's loads more.  I've got poor quality vhs copies of some of them but someone must have decent-ish copies.

This is currently 'under discussion' coincidentally enough. I'll say no more for now!

Rats

Really? Jesus christ TJ.
I've never captured from video but I could give it a go and see what happens. My capture card is terrible though, everything goes out of synch after 30 minutes so I'd have to do it in chunks. I'll see if I can get something going later on.

TJ

Quote from: "Rats"Really? Jesus christ TJ.
I've never captured from video but I could give it a go and see what happens. My capture card is terrible though, everything goes out of synch after 30 minutes so I'd have to do it in chunks. I'll see if I can get something going later on.

That's my problem too, otherwise you lot would all be swimming in "Watch With Mother" compilations by now. I don't have the hard drive space to to straight to AVI or the processor speed to do straight to DivX, and RealVideo always seems to go *just* out of sync. Don't know about MPEG, as I don't have software to capture straight to it...

gazzyk1ns

I've got The Real Ghostbusters Volume 3 (ex-rental from Blockbuster), the two episodes are "Cry Uncle" and "The Spirit Of Aunt Lois". I might not have bothered buying it but I noticed that the first episode there was always my favourite as a kid, the marshmallow man escapes from the containment unit!

I know it's a bit childish but it was good seeing them again, I used to love that cartoon as a kid. I can't cap myself but if anyone wants to make some digital copies then I'll happily post it to them, I'd like it back though.

VegaLA

I got a few TOTP apearances by New Order. I would love to convert my Sisters of Mercy to DV at some stage too.

Rats

Have you ever tried capturing to xvid TJ? That's what I do, it's the only thing my processor can cope with.

thomasina

Quote from: "Harold Lloyd's Safety Net"
Newman and Baddiel's History Today video (basically all the History Todays from the TV MWHE plus some stand-up stuff.)

I would love that!  I've got a live one of them but it has only one tiny History Today segment.

TJ

Quote from: "Rats"Have you ever tried capturing to xvid TJ? That's what I do, it's the only thing my processor can cope with.

How would I go about that then, Mr Rats?

Jemble Fred

Quote from: "gazzyk1ns"I've got The Real Ghostbusters Volume 3 (ex-rental from Blockbuster), the two episodes are "Cry Uncle" and "The Spirit Of Aunt Lois". I might not have bothered buying it but I noticed that the first episode there was always my favourite as a kid, the marshmallow man escapes from the containment unit!

I know it's a bit childish but it was good seeing them again, I used to love that cartoon as a kid. I can't cap myself but if anyone wants to make some digital copies then I'll happily post it to them, I'd like it back though.

The VHS Real Ghostbusters have all just been nrought out on DVD – four episodes to a disc, generally available for about £3.99. Both those episodes are on disc. So best not to torrent it or whatever you technologically able young folks get up to!

I. Have. No. Idea. Where. To. Start. With. The. Fucking. HUNDREDS. Of. Rare-ish. VHS. Tapes. I. Have.

Will get back to you on this one.

I have some Takeover TV, Dressing for Breakfast, that kind of thing.

TJ

Quote from: "Banana Woofwoof"I have some Takeover TV, Dressing for Breakfast, that kind of thing.

I certainly think the Adam and Joe segments from Takeover TV would go down well round here...

lardboy

I've got a couple of Harry Enfield Television Programme videos (series 2, I think).  If anyone wants them for whatever reason, capping preferably, but if not, then anyone can have 'em for nowt.  It's not like I ever watch them.

Can I put in a request for Norbert Smith - A Life?  I used to love this, but I've had very little luck in trying to track down a copy, and it's been a good 6 years since I've seen it.

Marty McFly

i'd love those harry enfield videos, lardboy. and i can capture, too, though it won't be for a few weeks.

want me to shoot you a PM? cheers :)

Ambient Sheep

I have over a thousand VHS tapes, containing almost everything I ever watched from when I first got a VCR in late 1985.  I have no plans to throw any of them away.

Most of them are off-airs of now-readily available stuff (all incarnations of Star Trek*, The X-Files, Thunderbirds / Stingray / Captain Scarlet, HIGNFY, many films - especially late night arty BBC2 / C4 ones shown in the 80s for some reason ;-) ), but there must be some corking stuff in there as well.  How much of it is available I don't know, most of it I should think.

What I might have I can't really say, as so many of the tapes are unmarked, but certainly there's a good few series of Whose Line Is It Anyway, the BBC2 Video Jukebox music video marathon (the first time they ever broadcast past midnight I believe), the odd Network 7, some nice little Channel 4 short films like "The Telephone Box" and "Kitchen Sink", and loads of other stuff I can't remember.  EDIT: some Mary Whitehouse Experience, plus BOTH incarnations of Newman and Baddiel [Rest] In Pieces - except the first episode of the first run.

What I know I *don't* have, but wish I did, is more stuff like the DEF II segments, and somehow I managed not to tape Snub TV because I didn't know it was on until the end of the run.

And no, I don't have Live Aid.  Missing that was one of the things that persuaded me to get a VCR.

My house sale is hopefully going through within four weeks now; after that I hope to have some time to start unpacking them, going through them and seeing what I've got.  I shall probably be buying a video capture card too, after Xmas, so If anyone has any requests, let me know.

*  - except Enterprise past the first season.  And yes, I *am* gutted now you can buy them on DVD with commentaries for £74 a series - that's only two-and-half times the cost of the blank tapes, will be much better quality, and compared to the extortionate £12.99 for two episodes they used to charge on VHS, is a bargain.  They are the only tapes I'm toying with reusing, but I'd hate to lose all those BBC2 continuity annoucements.

gazzyk1ns

Quote from: "Jemble Fred"

The VHS Real Ghostbusters have all just been nrought out on DVD

Ah, right... cheers, I wasn't aware of that! Serves me right for not Googling before I posted I suppose.

Rats

If you download and run this TJ http://www.koepi.org/XviD-1.0.2-29082004.exe you should be able to encode xvid in the capture program you use.

Tom Hedonist

Thanks for the kind words TJ...

I have a Steve Coogan Live vhs tape somewhere, and a couple of charity stand-up specials (from the late '80s - early '90s) and a Mike Reid tape also.

I really need to sort through my taped-from-telly stuff again at some point. I know I have Dennis Leary "No Cure For Cancer" and Bill Hicks' Channel 4 appearance.

I know I have Boy and His Dog on taped-from-telly vhs. It was filmed in 1975 and features a very young Don Johnson in the main role. Definitely one I'd reccomend.

BTW if anyone has any material they'd love to see made available to others, I'm more than happy to capture and torrent it, so long as you can send me a copy of the tape. Just drop me a PM and I'll let you know my address. Next week I hope to torrent Barney Sloane's copy of "An Evening with Simon Callow & Stephen Fry".

Edit: Steve Coogan, not Paul Coogan.