What do you do with old VHS tapes?

[drivesafe]

What do you do with old VHS tapes, I have 200 to 300 old VHS cassette tapes, not the pre recorded type, just old TV shows and what ever.

Do you you just throw them out or is there some way of recycling them.

Note, I probably have 20 new VHS tapes that have never been used if someone wants them.

[Grizzly_Adams]

I've got a similar problem. I have a stack of old movies and TV series that I had in VHS format and I've since replaced with DVD's.

I didn't want to throw them out because they were working movies etc., so now they're just sitting around at home taking up space :(

[SuperMono]

Generally they get put in a cupboard somewhere and ignored for a few years.
Our daughter drags out the odd one every now and then, fires up the old player and sits around with a few friends laughing.

[Tote]

I Have a cupboard full of tapes for one of these
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/07/307.jpg that I found in the shearing shed at our farm.
The sad bit is that I still remember how to do a head change on one. The stuff you learn in your apprenticeship stays in your head for a long time....

Regards,
Tote

[UncleHo]

I have a very good VHS tape of the 50th anniversary of the Normanby Landings, which I would like copied to DVD but it is copyrighted,and I don't know anybody with the tech knowhow to do it.:(

cheers

[Eevo]

use them to wrap peoples cars up with

put a few together and use them as a snatch straps

[rb30gtr]

What is a VHS? Is that like one of those old data storage disc thingos, think they were called CD's...

:wasntme:

Seriously though, Planet Ark will recycle them.

[Debacle]

I have a very good VHS tape of the 50th anniversary of the Normanby Landings, which I would like copied to DVD but it is copyrighted,and I don't know anybody with the tech knowhow to do it.:(

cheers

You should be able to connect a vhs player to a computer with a video capture card, very cheap on ebay. Can't see why copyright would be a problem, unless it is in some weird format that the card won't recognize.

[Mick_Marsh]

I have a very good VHS tape of the 50th anniversary of the Normanby Landings, which I would like copied to DVD but it is copyrighted,and I don't know anybody with the tech knowhow to do it.:(

cheers
Saw this in the adds up the top.
VIDEO TO DVD, DVD TO VIDEO, Film to DVD, Records to CD, VHS to DVD, VCR to DVD, Tape to DVD (http://www.aniceguy.com.au/?gclid=CMadzOHGzLgCFQvkpAodsjMAgQ)

[uninformed]

yeah, but I want to know who has still got BETA :)

[clubagreenie]

Pull all the tapes out, braid them together, braid each braid together, make a unique tow rope.

[d2dave]

yeah, but I want to know who has still got BETA :)

I do. I still have a working Beta VCR. I do plan one day to transfer all my Beta tapes to DVD. (I am guessing some where between 150 to 200) I have the equipment to do this.

Beta was a far superior system to VHS. It was that Sony owned the rights to Beta, and because of their greed, asking far too much in royalties, killed their own goose that laid the golden egg.

[UncleHo]

G'day Mr Whippy :)

Can you do VHS tape to CD/DVD ?

[d2dave]

Very easy, provided the VHS does not have protection. All you need is VHS player, and a DVD recorder, or a recorder with a hard drive.

I have a DVD recorder with a 500 gig hard drive. Nothing uncommon. Just plug a VHS into it.

[WingsOfToa]

I'm keeping mine. I have the original panasonic player that came out, plus another two more working players. I figure they may be worth something later on. Plus a stack of videos.

I'm not that old, but ive got a beta player with a copy of animal house thatI got for my probably 16th birthday. I'm guessing that maybe worth something. We'll see...

If you have any you want to get rid of, give them to St Vinnies or something, least they may make a buck or 2 from them.

[slug_burner]

Very easy, provided the VHS does not have protection. All you need is VHS player, and a DVD recorder, or a recorder with a hard drive.

I have a DVD recorder with a 500 gig hard drive. Nothing uncommon. Just plug a VHS into it.

Protection was fairly basic, a pulse to upset the copying VCR levels which was ignored by TVs. Plenty of software to get around that basic form of protection.

Uncle Ho, I am sure I could get your vid converted. PM me if you want to follow up.

[d2dave]

I'm not that old, but ive got a beta player with a copy of animal house thatI got for my probably 16th birthday.

I would hazard a guess that you are about 44

[Chops]

Some TV's take the "memory sticks" so you may be able to just record it straight from your VHS through your TV and onto the stick. Then you can download it onto your comp and burn it to disk.
I still have my Panasonic VHS with a matching DVD player/recorder which can do the job, but have never tried it :angel:

[richard4u2]

I have a very good VHS tape of the 50th anniversary of the Normanby Landings, which I would like copied to DVD but it is copyrighted,and I don't know anybody with the tech knowhow to do it.:(

cheers
do you have a dvd recorder if so just plug the vhs into the input of the dvd and then the out put of the dvd to your tv and hit play on the vhs and when it plays hit record on the dvd

[landy]

Hi all,
I saw a very interesting program a while back that suggested that the reason Beta failed was because Sony refused to get on board with the porn industry. Apparently you will not find any Beta porn and it cost Sony dearly. Sony learnt a big lesson and released Blu-Ray for porn titles immediately. It's also the reason (apperntly) why you get a Blu-Ray player in your Sony Play Station. So the kids get Blu-Ray and hassle the parents to buy the BR DVDs so flooding the market.

Nino.

[d2dave]

Hi all,
I saw a very interesting program a while back that suggested that the reason Beta failed was because Sony refused to get on board with the porn industry. Apparently you will not find any Beta porn and it cost Sony dearly. Sony learnt a big lesson and released Blu-Ray for porn titles immediately. It's also the reason (apperntly) why you get a Blu-Ray player in your Sony Play Station. So the kids get Blu-Ray and hassle the parents to buy the BR DVDs so flooding the market.

Nino.

I find that hard to believe. Video machine manufatures do not make movies. Sure some one like Sony could own a large movie company like MGM, but I am sure these type of companies don't make porn. It is usually made by small operators.

In Australia all our porn comes from Fyshwick in Camberra(has to be good for something).

It is a well known fact that Sony owning the rights to Beta, and charging others to use it is what killed it.

[Gary S11]

I'm finding the pic, quality on my VHS tapes are deteriorating, even being kept in a dry dark place, so don't wait too long to transfer to cd. Just my two bobs worth. Gary

[WingsOfToa]

I would hazard a guess that you are about 44 Pretty close MrWhippy. Still feel 22 :D By the way I miss your icecreams..

As for betamax porn, I did see one I took from my brother inlaws stash. So they do exist. Really raised an eyebrow between us boys for our 1st time. Before that, we only had playboys and needed to use our imagination.. I was definately younger than 16 come to think of it...

[Blknight.aus]

wont help much, your average burnable CD/DVD has a shelf life thats about half of the life of a VHS tape

[Discomark]

I had a pile of VHS cassettes in the storage room for years and when I went to retrieve them a few months back I found that the tape had become brittle and would quickly clog the heads of the player if I did attempt to play them.
Others had gone mouldy and would also quickly bugger up the player if I did attempt to play them so I chucked the lot : (
Bottom line is if you do have any 'valued tapes' you better convert them to Ones & Zero's ASAP as VHS tapes have a 'use by' date which is now over due!
One option is to look for something like a Sony DVDirect VRD-MC5 or equivalent
Sony DVDirect VRD-MC5 Review & Rating | PCMag.com (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2228674,00.asp)
A mate of mine has one and has converted all his old videos to DVD's and then to memory stick/Hard drive for extra safe keeping.
Of course no digital storage medium is 100% guaranteed so these days I keep several backups of treasured stuff at various locations due to theft/fire as memory is cheap.
Cheers
Mark

[Cobber]

I still watch VHS tapes at the rate of a couple per month.

A lot of the stuff I have on tape I have since bought on DVD, but I have loads of stuff which I either haven't got on DVD, or isn't on DVD (yet). Notably is many, many years worth of F1 Grand Prix that I used to tape when Channel 9 was broadcasting live at 2am ... dunno why I didn't just keep taping over them, but now I'm glad I didn't. :cool: Problem I have here is that they do the yearly highlights DVDs, but nothing with complete GPs!

[clubagreenie]

If you're playing old stored VHS fast forward and rewind them fully before playing. It throws off any oxides and contaminates. The tape will oxidise and go mouldy if stored poorly

[zulu Delta 534]

Quite time consuming I know but can turn out very rewarding in the end.
Follow these easy steps;

Unwind the tape completely from the spool and lay the tape out on a long flat table.
From your nearest modelling shop you should be able to purchase some large tins of model aircraft paint;
Modcolour#335197/42-HR3 Red and
Modcolour#346629/75-Wt2 White
Using two separate 3inch brushes, alternately paint red then white 6 inch wide slashes at approx 48degrees across the whole length of the tape.
Allow ample time to dry, then rewind the tape back into the canister (a hexagonal sided biro is handy for this operation)
Take the completed tapes into the nearest Police Headquarters and sell them as "incident marker tapes", or even to Bunnings, where, with a bit if imaginative thought and marketing flair you should be able to flog it off as "construction / House Renovation Warning Tape" for the growing DIY sector.:D
Regards
Glen