THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO VIDEO TAPE COLLECTING by Philip J. Satterley version 2.0 May 3, 1995 STOP!!!!!! Before you read further, please read the tape trading FAQ first. Have you read it? Are you sure?!?! Really, you aren't lying to me are you? Okay I believe you. So you would like to start a video collection? In this guide you will find everything you need to know about video collecting and trading. Just to set the record straight, this guide is geared for a "non pre-recorded" video collecting. Sure it's really easy to skip on over to the local video retail outlet and plunk down tons of money on all the Tim Burton releases and put them on the shelf. (thus ends the pre-recorded video collecting guide) Or to go down to your local video store, copy all the top 40 new releases, come out with a list and expect to start trading (I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me!) This guide deals with the collecting of recorded items such as TV shows, music videos, psychotronic films, cartoons, science fiction, amine, rare films, sitcoms, foreign television shows, spy shows, westerns, mysteries, TV pilots, classic commercials, film trailers, concerts, classic kids shows, and much more. For simplicity's sake this guide will refer to collecting and trading classic television shows, although all the other categories such as music video, movies, etc. are applied to the same rules. It's just easter to refer to a specific example. At first, video collecting may seem a bit intimidating, especially trading. There are several people who know alot about television shows, the trading process and collecting in general and being a "newbie" feel reluctant to ask questions that may seen stupid or pretend like you know everything about collecting (quality rating of video is usually subject to this). It takes time and experience to learn about the process and with experience, you'll quickly get the hang of it, that's what I hope to do with this guide. How does one get into collecting? Well many ways. For me it started while I was getting into music collecting. Being a GIANT fan of classic Genesis (with Peter Gabriel of course) I was searching for any video I could find of the band. At a record store I came across a music collecting publication (see FAQ for details) advertising large collection of Genesis video, write for list. It was from there I learned about how video trading exists. Just the actual process sounded quite appealing, that's why I still do it today. How I got into television collecting was while attending a science fiction convention. I came across dealers who were selling copies of classic television shows of things I haven't seen in years and stuff I didn't even know existed! (you mean there was a Green Hornet TV series?) After reliasing there was a network of trading shows like music video (I was a music video collector at the time) I decided to get involved. I was thrilled at the idea of seeing old shows I grew up with once again. Now enough with my life story. WHY COLLECT? First of all I must say, start collecting what you enjoy. If you don't like watching it in the first place, there's no value in collecting it. All items in your collection should have some type of personal value to you such as sentimental, entertainment or amusement. Even horrible things such as Olivia Newton John specials are amusing to watch while amongst friends creating a kind of "Cringe" value. Also collect things you may have the desire to watch again one day. If you're sure you'll never want to see it again, tape over it, but keep in mind there were several things in my collection I said that about and quite enjoyed the second time around! (Seaquest D.S.V. is the PERFECT example of that for me). Most collectors collect things they like to watch and there are a few who do research. In my opinion there's NOTHING like coming home from a hard day at work and plunking in front of the TV and watching something I REALLY want to watch. The only drawback is it seems to take almost the same amount of time to pick something out as it takes to watch it! Also seeing I don't like sports at all it keeps me entertained on Sundays. More "Advanced" collectors who trade frequently even may start collecting items not necessarily for themselves but for other collectors. Items with a "high trade value" may not be your cup of tea, but you may get alot of great things by trading with them. STARTING A COLLECTION In this section I'll go through every aspect of the collection and the trading process. This will give you a clear understanding on what happens and how it goes about happening. First of all there's the TRADE. Video trading is defined as exchanging a tape of recorded video for another tape of recorded video with an equal amount of time recorded on it. The brand and grade of blank video tape the material is recorded on should be comparable (see FAQ for descriptions) This is described as an "equal time" trade. There are other variations in trading as well. If a person is desperatly looking for a certain item on video they may offer a 2 for 1 trade (let's say 2 hours of his video for 1 hour of what he's looking for) If a person doesn't have anything to trade there are "Blank" trades. When I first started and didn't have much to trade I would send a trader 2 NEW blank video cassettes along with enough money for return postage. They would record what I wanted on one tape, send it back to me and keep the other blank for themselves (for labor). This is an excellant way of starting a collection for the begining trader, but this MAY be considered a violation of fair use seeing some sort of profit is made. There are also people who sell video or charge for wear on thier VCRs. There are many legal disputes about this. In the audio world there has been a large split of opinions concerning this subject. In the past audio tape collectors who deal in non-profit trades find themselves in the "fair use exception" (see FAQ) because they do this only as a hobby and not a way to make money and , in their opinion, stealing from the artist. The other side are the people who take recordings of concerts, outtakes or demos and "press" them into a illegal "Bootleg" CDs, tapes, or in the past records and sell them at conventions. These are known as "Bootleggers". Many tape traders believe bootleggers are giving them a bad reputation because of their illegal activities. The same opinions can apply to video collectors and has been argued and argued. All I can say is people have their own opinion on the subject and are not likely to change (I've seen too many large discussions among the computer Internet newsgroups which are NEVER solved). THE VIDEO LISTS The common tool of the video collector is the list. There are two lists I usually keep. One is the trade list I give to fellow collectors. The second is my personal tape inventory list so I know what's on which tape. I'll start with the inventory list. An Inventory list has the tape number (or volume number of a certain series) and lists exactly what's on the tape, in what order and tape counter readings (so you can find certain episodes). PLEASE take my advice, START YOUR LIST WITH YOUR FIRST TAPE! DAY ONE!!!!! You won't regret it when you have 200 tapes in your collection and you know what's on what tape. I remember my mother laughing when I had one tape in my collection and tape one was listed on the first page as "Tape 1". She said "Do you really think you'll fill that notebook?" Now I have TWO looseleaf notebooks FILLED with over 5000 pages! I always pull them out when she visits for a good laugh. Now the second list is the trade list. This is what's usually swapped first amongst traders. The trade list is a listing of what's in your collection. Trade lists can be put together many different ways and most of them work just fine. Naturally when you only have a couple of tapes it's best just to write them on a piece of paper and even photocopying them (to avoid a sore wrist writing out multiple copies.) But as your list grows it's much easier to keep things organized. If you have or have access to a word processor, USE IT!!!! It helps quite alot, especially for large collections. I must tell you there's nothing more frustrating than receiving 100+ page list that's hand written and not in any order whatsoever. They just add things to the bottom of the page and photocopy them. A good, organized list always gets results. For example here's how I organize my list. First I list the title of the series alphabetically A-Z, so if I'm looking for Lost in Space, naturally I look under L. Secondly (next to the title of the series) I list running time. It's amazing how many people leave this out. It makes it pretty tough to determine how much time you want off the person's list if you aren't sure of the running time of each show. (I usually state time without commercials unless original commercials are left in.) Second I list quality (another important thing to make sure you list). If all the episodes I have are the same quality I just give a quality listing next to the title of the series. If the individual episodes varry, I put the quality next to each episode title. The third thing I list is weather or not the series is in stereo (an advantage to owning a hi-fi VCR). Now I list the title of each individual episode in my collection. Being a completist I also list the original network airdate beside the episode so I can show what order the series ran and what episodes are in each season. Finally, on the left side of each episode I list which volume that certain episode can be found. It makes things MUCH easier to find! An easier method (and less space and time consuming) is the "rough list" This is where you list all of the shows you collect with the number of episodes of each show beside them. When the other trader finds a show of interest you can send them a specific listing of the episodes you have of that show. I usually send out a rough list but also keep a full trade list (as well as my inventory list) on computer so I can print out episode titles upon request. It's always a good idea to state your trade conditions and quality rating definitions on the first page of the list. Also on the last page it's always good to indicate all the things you are looking for in a want list. It's also nice to spice your list up with a nice cover and maybe even pictures throughout your list. TV guide provides great list "decorations"! Once you've seen other people's lists you'll start getting ideas for yours. Now make several copies and you're ready to trade. Listing your episodes is great for collecting an entire series, but how do you know how many episodes you have of a series and how many you still need? Episodes guides solve that problem. An episode guide is a listing of the titles of episodes within a series. These are simply the best way of keeping track of your inventory by using them as a checklist or to look up specific episode information you are looking for (airdate, guest stars, plot, etc. What I do is keep photocopies of the episode guides in a notebook and highlight the episodes I have with a highlighting pen, this way when I get more in I can check them off and see how many I have to go to complete the series. Episode guides are also where I get my episode titles and airdates for my list. There are several sources to get episode guides but by far the easiest is the internet (see FAQ) SEALING THE DEAL As you start trading, here are a few tips to keep in mind. First of all, when trading through mail make sure you verify the deal in writing first. If someone is sending me shows I've indicated on my want list, I want them to write me first and let me reply before they send them. This is because I may be getting the same show from a different source. Another thing to remember as a courtesy is if another arrangement has not been made, always match the quality of tape stock and class of postage. If they send a tape FIRST CLASS, I also send FIRST CLASS. If you are on a budget it is a good idea to remember to agree on grade of tape and postage first so they don't send you professional grade tape via overnight express and expect the same. Also while mailing tapes wrap them in a plastic bag to prevent the "Gook" that can be found inside most mailers from getting in the tape (as well as the VCR) This stuff can destroy the inside of a VCR as well as a tape! Plastic newspaper bags (the delivery persons use to keep the paper dry when they deliver it in the rain or snow) are the PERFECT size!!!! I prefer other traders to write down what's on the tape on a separate piece of paper and leave the labels alone. I have a certain way I like to label and catalog my tapes, and it's also harder to read other people's handwriting. TAPING TIPS Here are a few tips for good taping. A good taping technique is always helpful, especially for making other collectors happy when doing their tapes. Every collector had his or her own preferances, but here are a few I use. First of all make sure you have a good VCR connection using the audio and video OUTPU and INPUT jacks connected by patch cables. Using a coax cable for connecting is not recommended because the quality is not as good. If you have 2 decks and only one is Hi-Fi, record on the Hi-Fi. The Hi-Fi tracks produce a much better audio signal. When copying tapes (not off air taping), here are a few suggestions to keep in mind: 1) Make a "Black Tape". Yes, an entire tape with nothing but black recorded on it. Black is good for recording a leader at the begining of your tapes and to put between episodes. The easiest way to get one of these is actually just use the black at the begining of a pre-recorded cassette. Or, if you have a VCR equipt with a flying erase head, record the black signal several times over and over until the tape is full. If you have a laser disk player (or know someone who does) take a laser disk recorded in CAV and leave it on still frame during the black, then simply record it until the tape is full. 2) Always use new tape stock when recording for traders. It's a common courtesy NOT to use recycled tape. 3) When starting a tape, record at LEAST 20 to 30 seconds of black at the begining. This allows the deck to get up to speed before the show starts during playback. 4) Tape at LEAST 10 seconds of black between shows. This helps selecting certain shows when the tape is used again for copying. 4) If there is space at the end try to fill the tape with "filler". Some of the BEST things in my collection I received by someone filling the end of a tape. I have a large collection of unusual items such as TV trailers, cartoons, and TV commercials. You might want to even highlight other items of interest in your collecting (this is good advertisement for future trades)I've even edited together a preview tape of other items in my collection I use exclusively for filling tape. When recording off-air for collectors, here are some things to keep in mind: 1) Make sure you have a CLEAR signal. If you are using an antenae when recording make sure it is a CLEAR signal throughout a program (make sure it won't fade out every 15 minutes or something like that) 2) Record on the Hi-Fi if you have it. 3) Record at LEAST one minute before the program starts and at LEAST one minute after the program ends. There's nothing more frustrating then getting credits cut. 4) When recording 1/2 hour shows it is recommended to only record 3 episodes per tape at SP. It is VERY likely the last episode will be cut if you put on 4 due to the extra minute recorded before and after each program. 5) When recording off-air it is NOT recommended to edit commercials. There is a strong chance that during a commercial you'll start the recording too late or even not at all! TAPING SPEEDS Most common VCR's have multiple recording speeds. There are SP (2 hour), LP (4 hours) and SLP or EP (6 hour). In the early days when blank tapes cost about $12 each it was common and more affordable to do all your taping at SLP. Now that the price of tapes have dropped DRASTICALLY things are much different. I usually don't record at SLP unless it's something I plan to watch and then tape over. The quality is the pits up against SP. LP is quite uncommon seeing many of the new machines don't offer that speed anymore. Also tracking is more difficult on Hi-Fi machined during playback. When the picture is good, the audio is off and vice versa. SP taping is what's common among collectors (in fact it's the only speed I accept). All of the above speeds are related to NTSC VHS. SVHS is a different story. A SVHS tape recorded in SLP looks just as good as one recorded in normal SP. Now that SVHS tapes are dropping in price, SVHS is becoming more common. Hi8 is also becoming quite popular because of the quality and small size. TRADING AROUND THE WORLD Up until a couple of years ago, this was pretty rare. Due to incompatable video systems around the world (see FAQ) video trading was almost impossible. The equipment was VERY expensive (exceeding over the $10,000 price range!) and having them converted was WAY too expensive ($75 a tape!). The other method was a "Camera Transfer". This was where a PAL VCR and monitor was set op and an NTSC camera was used to shoot the image off screen. This way you could enjoy tinted or washed out color, no color or even reflections of the sun coming through the window on the PAL TV screen (acompanied by images of people walking back and fourth across the window) This was the most common method because it was the most inexpensive. Now technology has caught up with that. Thanks to Panasonic, Aiwa and Sharp there are VCRs that can transfer to ANY standard in the world! Recently several VCRs coming out in Europe have a special NTSC playback feature. This speeds the playback up to NTSC as well as converting the color to PAL encoding. This allows for good watching but not converting. Here are a few notes about trading overseas. First remember it will cost a bit more in postage (sending 1 tape to the U.K. costs about $5 for air mail). Air mail or "Small Packet" is the quickest (about 10-14 days) Most videos are sent the "Small Packet" rate because regular rate is more expensive per ounce. The cheaper is surface but that can take up to 2 months! Not highly recommended. Customs slips are required on all packages. These are small green little labels stating the contents of the package, weather or not it is a "Gift", value of the package and weight. These slips are free and available at any post office window. To save time and prevent holding up the line at the post office, take a stack of them home and fill them out beforehand. The clerk at the window will show you how to fill them out. When filling out the contents of the package, it goes through customs much faster when you state what general type of material is on the tape (TV show, home movie, etc.) Your typical entry will say "1 videocassette of television show" Also be sure to transfer your trader's tape in the proper format. I've accidently sent many tapes in NTSC when they were supposed to be in PAL. When you commonly record video in PAL you generally get 3 hours per tape at SP speed (or 180 minutes) while over here we get 2 hours per tape at SP speed (120 minutes) When trading PAL video for NTSC and vice-versa, I found it easiest to do it this way. 2 tapes of PAL at SP (6 hours) for 3 tapes of NTSC at SP (6 hours) even though the tape numbers don't equal, the time does. TOOLS OF THE "TRADE" So what type of equipment do you need? There is a misconception that all video collectors and traders must all own the state of the art, top of the line, professional studio equipment that only TV stations can afford. Well actually that's not the case. If you are the casual taper, 2 vcr's are actually all you need. Some begining traders can get by with 1 VCR and do off air recordings, but for copying tapes it's much easier to own 2 decks instead of renting them because it's alot cheaper in the long run (also now you can pick up a great deck for about $200) Also try to get decks labeled with "HQ" circuitry. This provides better quality and much fewer dropouts. If in a few years you collection starts to grow and you get more involved in trading you might want to invest in something bigger. I ALWAYS recommend Hi-Fi decks. Even if you don't collect things that are recorded in stereo, a Hi-Fi mono signal still sounds better (see FAQ). Also if you do alot of off air taping yourself and would like to edit commercials, I would highly recommend a deck equipt with a "Jog Shuttle" and "Flying Erase Head". These features give you the advantage of making clean to-the-frame edits without "Rainbow" lines you commonly get with other decks when you make an edit. Nowadays you can get a good jog shuttle deck for about $400. You might want to plan even further and invest in a S-VHS deck. When I purchased my first jog shuttle deck several years ago, I decided to spend the extra $100 and get the next higher SVHS model and I have to say I'm sure glad I did! The price of SVHS tape is constantly dropping and you can record in SLP and it looks just as good as normal SP. Contraty to common belief, Beta is still a popular format. Superbeta Hi-Fi decks now run about $300 and blanks are about $3. You can record 3 hours at BetaII and the quality blows standard VHS away. I know of MANY collectors who still deal in Beta. It's not really an exclusive format, but it's still nice to have a Beta deck around. Then if you REALLY get into it, you might want to invest in other "accessories". One thing I added to my system when I bought my second Hi-Fi deck was to put an audio equalizer between them for mixing audio. Make sure it features a bypass switch because you only want to use this when necessary. And if you really want to sink some money into your system you can purchase mixers, character generators, color correctors, time base correctors, patch bays and special effects generators. If you are a "scrounger" and like investigating pawn shops, garage sales and flea markets, there are TONS of things you can look out for. In the 70's TV stations used 3/4 inch decks for playback, editing and recording. Now there is Betacam SP, 1 inch and digital formats they are now using. 3/4" decks are now being thrown out, sold or even given away and 3/4 inch tape stock is being given away by the boxfull. So collectors are starting to pick these up because they feature very high quality. You can pick up a good older deck for around $50, I got my 1972 model for that much and it works GREAT! (it even has a tuner!) If you have older tapes that were recorded a while back look out for older VCR's. Even though the early "piano key" models won't have all the bells and whistles, they'll track ANYTHING! There isn't one tape I've come across my early machine won't track. The older machines have more solid machinery and wider tracking ranges, so it's always nice to have one around just in case. Just some things to keep in mind while browzing. Video collecting and trading is a GREAT and inexpensive hobby (a blank tape is actually cheaper than going out to a movie). I hope this guide has helped you and has given you a greater understanding of this fascinating hobby. It is always beneficial to inform and get people involved in video collecting because it doesn't create competition, it creates more people to get stuff from! A battle where BOTH sides win! NOW GO OUT THERE AND START TRADING!!!!! HAPPY TRADES! Phil Satterley atv@netcom.com ************************************************************************* Special thanks to: Micky DuPree John Lavalie Steve Phillips