You are the Goat of restoration!! I got me my spice tape and block ordered. Same thing happened with the company I sent my video tape. Most of the got returned. At least they didn't mess with them. I am soaking these videos like there's no tomorrow, lol! Thank you!!
Great video Colin, mould is a real pain to clean, especially on 8mm as you mention. It's quite frustrating the amount of places who offer tape transfers and have no idea what they are doing, shocking attempts at 'repairs' as demonstrated in your video. I wish people wouldn't risk their priceless tapes to save a few £. Better to pay a little extra and have it done professionally and to a good standard
Just discovered your channel from your Frankentape video. So happy to discover you upload quite frequently. Instantly subscribed! I'm hoping to begin the process of digitizing many vhs, vhs-c, and hi8 casette film full of family memories. Loving the channel and your high level of production, knowledge, and love for what you do!
Jeeze, I've definitely done some not great splices on 8 tracks and a Beta or two, but I've never done regular tape straight around a snap on the play side! Definitely spent some time getting the top covers back on 8mm tapes before...
@@video99couk Thank you for the reply. I did an ensemble of the two components -the spring and the release latch-of the loading opener in a Panasonic Hi8 tape. Indeed, it’s a difficult task. For the first time situation, the issue is finding how the two components fit together. The trick was to use a second cassette of the same brand as a reference for the ensemble. The two pieces are so tiny that it’s impossible to make the ensemble without tweezers, and a head mount magnifier also helps a lot. After this, the task becomes second nature. Thanks once again for the response.
As a kid, before we had a 2nd VCR, I spliced together off-air recordings of The Twilight Zone to make a compilation tape. (I grew up with 1/4" audio reel-to-reel, and had splicing tape and experience from that.) Though still not a good idea, even as a kid, I knew to use proper splicing tape, and got all the segments right-side-up, magnetic-side-out, splicing tape on the non-magnetic side, and the joined bits of tape straight to each other. That business should be out of business.
Hi, I have a few questions regarding splicing tape. What brands do you recommend? Is there any other type of tape similar in case I can't find splicing tape? Scotch transparent or invisible tape are any good? What about Scotch 41 Splicing Tape?
Splicing tape is still available, it's generally blue in colour these days. I've not tried that though... not yet at least... possible UA-cam video coming up on that subject.
Could you give a recommendation to "de"-mold moldy images that are "just" to moldy, to gently roll them off by hand? Tried the "swirling technique" wasn't super sucessful helped for a few meters. I have tried this myself for a bunch of tapes where i DO NOT KNOW what's on it and therefore is to expensive for me to have it brought to some professional (who might just does cowboy tricks). I read "things" like distilled water and things like this? But.. i dont want to completly destroy it (greetings from Berlin).
Hi, I really enjoy your content and I was listening and was intrigued when there were splicing blocks for VHS tapes and was wondering where to buy them as I check amazon and eBay and there isn't any at the moment.
Half inch (VHS/Beta etc.) blocks do turn up on eBay from time to time. They're not that rare so should cost too much. Other sizes such as 3/4 inch and 8mm can be much harder to find.
I am happy to come across this video! Now I know what is wrong with my video cassette which happens to be a Maxwell 8mm. I know now that the spring load that is broken :-( Is it possible to be fixed?????
That spring is horrible on Maxell (and Boots) branded tapes. Most camcorders don't mind if it is missing, but most bigger decks (EVS9000E etc.) won't accept a tape with the spring missing. It's too fiddly to refit, so it's usually better to transplant the spools over to some other brand of shell such as Sony or TDK.
How do you clean grimy mold on the surface of the tape instead of the edges? The surface of the tape looks dull instead of shiny. What cleaning solution and method is used?
For half inch tapes, I will either run through my tape cleaning rig which includes a sapphire block salvaged from an old Betacam deck, or I have sent a few to someone I know with a TapeChek cleaner. For 8mm, if they are that mouldy then I've found that the tape starts to break up into pieces and it's lost. Baking tapes a scientific oven at 50C for about 8 hours can help to stabilise the surface too.
@@video99couk I thought I saw a TapeChek cleaner in one of your videos. Do you use any type of cleaning solution? Most videos I see on youtube use 99% isopropyl alcohol. The only person I know that can transfer really bad condition tapes is specsbros.com but he's "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" type of person. Is it true or myth that in general VHS tapes played on a SVHS machine via S-video will give a better quality transfer than on a VHS machine via composite? I thought VHS like Laserdisc use composite video signal.
@@rsuryase Several questions there: The TapeChek cleaner is not mine, but belongs to someone I use when necessary. If you send me an email via the web site I can put you in contact with him if required. Alas I've found that with really terrible tapes, the improvement is only marginal. I believe that VHS is better on an SVHS machine for two reasons: Firstly the chroma signal is kept separate via the S-Video connector. Secondly, some high-end S-VHS decks (which I use) include a Digital Timebase Corrector which is very useful for removing lateral wobble from some VHS recordings. I also use an external TBC too which tends to be more useful for frame sync timing and vertical stability. VHS is a colour-under format which means it does record colour separately from luminance, but at a much lower resolution. The same is true of SVHS actually which still has the abysmal VHS colour resolution. LD is different, it records the whole signal in Composite Video, it does not separate out chroma and luma. There are a few early professional formats which do the same.
@@video99couk Nice to know you use SVHS machines to transfer VHS tapes. This make VHS machines kinda useless for transfer houses then. SVHS machines can be very expensive to this day. I haven't see a video showcasing your SVHS machines.
@@rsuryase It just so happens I'm half way through a video about S-VHS machines, but I've hit a problem obtaining spare parts so I've not yet completed it. Maybe I will do so next week. If you look at my very early video about touring the studio, you can see some of my SVHS decks. The only thing I generally use VHS machines for are SECAM tapes (no SECAM capable S-VHS decks were built) and some very occasional oddball recordings which just play better on a VHS. However some transfer businesses almost certainly do use cheap domestic VHS players!
I have a different question. Do you have a video out on how to repair the spring on the door to a 8mm tape that has come off? If not can you do one and let me know?
There are two springs typically, one for the door and one for the door lock. The design of the door lock one varies from one manufacturer to another, but the worst to reassemble are Maxell/Boots. Most machines though will take a tape in just fine with no door or lock at all. Some though won't, mainly mains decks like the Sony EV-S9000 and others. It's fiddly to refit these springs so if you don't need to, then don't bother.
Repair cost depends how bad it is, for example if it is mouldy. A simple repair is £5, a full de-mould £30, plus transfer cost of a single tape of usually £15. Email me via my web site if you would like me to work on it.
Yep they sound like cowboys. Although for my ordinary crappy vhs tapes i have spliced them with sellotape but on the back and removed the excess with a razor blade, then cleaned the edges with cotton buds and alcohol to remove side sticky. Worked for me, but that was long ago and my eyes have lost some of the close up focus i used to have :-(. For mould i think bleach, but thats for household use, not tapes.
hi have a akai mg14 the power pcb is so bad it can't be fix because i can't find a plans anywhere alot of all the power reg are bad and not working been all over the pcb i bet you have the same some times i have fixed a 4 track cassette that was in a bad way used alot of RS parts and easy to get hold of par i have a tascam 238 that can only play back at 3 speeds made 1 good deck out of 3 could not resell people are funny with pimp gear
That really is a disgrace! You pay someone to mess up what you could mess up yourself for free with sticky tape?! I’d sue them if it came back like that the cheeky bastards!!!!
hi where do people keep there tapes i have a warm place where i keep all my tapes very likely they put the tapes in the roof i bet big time i never had any bad 8mm video tapes same with betacam tapes if they are looked after there no need to copy of the tapes looks like my mate done this before i did tell him off 1/2 edit block for audio can be use for video i have a 8mm edit block gold bars it cost
These particular tapes were stored in a barn! I've had similarly mouldy tapes from someone who lived on a houseboat. Lofts and garages seem to be the main culprit. Fuji branded tapes seem to be significantly more likely to develop mould than Sony.
in my pad there was 2 loo's one was not getting used i pulled the loo out re did the paint work and did the floor put in racks for all my video tape's put it water heaters in the floor so it's the same heat all over
You are the Goat of restoration!! I got me my spice tape and block ordered. Same thing happened with the company I sent my video tape. Most of the got returned. At least they didn't mess with them. I am soaking these videos like there's no tomorrow, lol! Thank you!!
Great video Colin, mould is a real pain to clean, especially on 8mm as you mention. It's quite frustrating the amount of places who offer tape transfers and have no idea what they are doing, shocking attempts at 'repairs' as demonstrated in your video. I wish people wouldn't risk their priceless tapes to save a few £. Better to pay a little extra and have it done professionally and to a good standard
Just discovered your channel from your Frankentape video. So happy to discover you upload quite frequently. Instantly subscribed! I'm hoping to begin the process of digitizing many vhs, vhs-c, and hi8 casette film full of family memories. Loving the channel and your high level of production, knowledge, and love for what you do!
Jeeze, I've definitely done some not great splices on 8 tracks and a Beta or two, but I've never done regular tape straight around a snap on the play side!
Definitely spent some time getting the top covers back on 8mm tapes before...
Thank you for the informative video. Could you make a video on placing back the release catch -spring loading opener-on the Hi8 cassette?
Scotch branded tapes have a terrible spring assembly which is nearly impossible to reassemble.
@@video99couk Thank you for the reply.
I did an ensemble of the two components -the spring and the release latch-of the loading opener in a Panasonic Hi8 tape.
Indeed, it’s a difficult task. For the first time situation, the issue is finding how the two components fit together. The trick was to use a second cassette of the same brand as a reference for the ensemble.
The two pieces are so tiny that it’s impossible to make the ensemble without tweezers, and a head mount magnifier also helps a lot.
After this, the task becomes second nature. Thanks once again for the response.
As a kid, before we had a 2nd VCR, I spliced together off-air recordings of The Twilight Zone to make a compilation tape. (I grew up with 1/4" audio reel-to-reel, and had splicing tape and experience from that.) Though still not a good idea, even as a kid, I knew to use proper splicing tape, and got all the segments right-side-up, magnetic-side-out, splicing tape on the non-magnetic side, and the joined bits of tape straight to each other. That business should be out of business.
Hi,
I have a few questions regarding splicing tape. What brands do you recommend? Is there any other type of tape similar in case I can't find splicing tape? Scotch transparent or invisible tape are any good? What about Scotch 41 Splicing Tape?
Splicing tape is still available, it's generally blue in colour these days. I've not tried that though... not yet at least... possible UA-cam video coming up on that subject.
Could you give a recommendation to "de"-mold moldy images that are "just" to moldy, to gently roll them off by hand? Tried the "swirling technique" wasn't super sucessful helped for a few meters. I have tried this myself for a bunch of tapes where i DO NOT KNOW what's on it and therefore is to expensive for me to have it brought to some professional (who might just does cowboy tricks). I read "things" like distilled water and things like this? But.. i dont want to completly destroy it (greetings from Berlin).
You could do a few meters by hand, holding some tension on the supply spool as you pull tape off. Try really hard not to snap it though.
@@video99couk ok, thank you man. I guess this is what i will be trying to do then.
Hi, I really enjoy your content and I was listening and was intrigued when there were splicing blocks for VHS tapes and was wondering where to buy them as I check amazon and eBay and there isn't any at the moment.
Half inch (VHS/Beta etc.) blocks do turn up on eBay from time to time. They're not that rare so should cost too much. Other sizes such as 3/4 inch and 8mm can be much harder to find.
I am happy to come across this video! Now I know what is wrong with my video cassette which happens to be a Maxwell 8mm. I know now that the spring load that is broken :-( Is it possible to be fixed?????
That spring is horrible on Maxell (and Boots) branded tapes. Most camcorders don't mind if it is missing, but most bigger decks (EVS9000E etc.) won't accept a tape with the spring missing. It's too fiddly to refit, so it's usually better to transplant the spools over to some other brand of shell such as Sony or TDK.
video99.co.uk thank you for your reply. Hopefully it will be a easy fix for me.
How do you clean grimy mold on the surface of the tape instead of the edges? The surface of the tape looks dull instead of shiny. What cleaning solution and method is used?
For half inch tapes, I will either run through my tape cleaning rig which includes a sapphire block salvaged from an old Betacam deck, or I have sent a few to someone I know with a TapeChek cleaner. For 8mm, if they are that mouldy then I've found that the tape starts to break up into pieces and it's lost. Baking tapes a scientific oven at 50C for about 8 hours can help to stabilise the surface too.
@@video99couk I thought I saw a TapeChek cleaner in one of your videos. Do you use any type of cleaning solution? Most videos I see on youtube use 99% isopropyl alcohol.
The only person I know that can transfer really bad condition tapes is specsbros.com but he's "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" type of person.
Is it true or myth that in general VHS tapes played on a SVHS machine via S-video will give a better quality transfer than on a VHS machine via composite? I thought VHS like Laserdisc use composite video signal.
@@rsuryase Several questions there: The TapeChek cleaner is not mine, but belongs to someone I use when necessary. If you send me an email via the web site I can put you in contact with him if required. Alas I've found that with really terrible tapes, the improvement is only marginal.
I believe that VHS is better on an SVHS machine for two reasons: Firstly the chroma signal is kept separate via the S-Video connector. Secondly, some high-end S-VHS decks (which I use) include a Digital Timebase Corrector which is very useful for removing lateral wobble from some VHS recordings. I also use an external TBC too which tends to be more useful for frame sync timing and vertical stability. VHS is a colour-under format which means it does record colour separately from luminance, but at a much lower resolution. The same is true of SVHS actually which still has the abysmal VHS colour resolution.
LD is different, it records the whole signal in Composite Video, it does not separate out chroma and luma. There are a few early professional formats which do the same.
@@video99couk Nice to know you use SVHS machines to transfer VHS tapes. This make VHS machines kinda useless for transfer houses then. SVHS machines can be very expensive to this day. I haven't see a video showcasing your SVHS machines.
@@rsuryase It just so happens I'm half way through a video about S-VHS machines, but I've hit a problem obtaining spare parts so I've not yet completed it. Maybe I will do so next week. If you look at my very early video about touring the studio, you can see some of my SVHS decks. The only thing I generally use VHS machines for are SECAM tapes (no SECAM capable S-VHS decks were built) and some very occasional oddball recordings which just play better on a VHS. However some transfer businesses almost certainly do use cheap domestic VHS players!
I have a different question. Do you have a video out on how to repair the spring on the door to a 8mm tape that has come off? If not can you do one and let me know?
There are two springs typically, one for the door and one for the door lock. The design of the door lock one varies from one manufacturer to another, but the worst to reassemble are Maxell/Boots. Most machines though will take a tape in just fine with no door or lock at all. Some though won't, mainly mains decks like the Sony EV-S9000 and others. It's fiddly to refit these springs so if you don't need to, then don't bother.
Hi I have a tape needing repair , how much is it to put onto digit . Repair is the same , will need splicing
Repair cost depends how bad it is, for example if it is mouldy. A simple repair is £5, a full de-mould £30, plus transfer cost of a single tape of usually £15. Email me via my web site if you would like me to work on it.
Yep they sound like cowboys.
Although for my ordinary crappy vhs tapes i have spliced them with sellotape but on the back and removed the excess with a razor blade, then cleaned the edges with cotton buds and alcohol to remove side sticky.
Worked for me, but that was long ago and my eyes have lost some of the close up focus i used to have :-(.
For mould i think bleach, but thats for household use, not tapes.
hi have a akai mg14 the power pcb is so bad it can't be fix because i can't find a plans anywhere alot of all the power reg are bad and not working been all over the pcb
i bet you have the same some times i have fixed a 4 track cassette that was in a bad way used alot of RS parts and easy to get hold of par
i have a tascam 238 that can only play back at 3 speeds made 1 good deck out of 3 could not resell people are funny with pimp gear
That really is a disgrace! You pay someone to mess up what you could mess up yourself for free with sticky tape?! I’d sue them if it came back like that the cheeky bastards!!!!
Why did they refuse to sell you stuff?
Wouldn't sell outside USA.
You’d think a company that does something as esoteric and obscure as transferring video from old-timey tape
would at least be competent at it.
Alas there are some people in this business who just don't understand the technology. Video recorders are not as simple as they may appear.
hi where do people keep there tapes i have a warm place where i keep all my tapes very likely they put the tapes in the roof i bet big time
i never had any bad 8mm video tapes same with betacam tapes if they are looked after there no need to copy of the tapes looks like my mate done this
before i did tell him off 1/2 edit block for audio can be use for video i have a 8mm edit block gold bars it cost
These particular tapes were stored in a barn! I've had similarly mouldy tapes from someone who lived on a houseboat. Lofts and garages seem to be the main culprit. Fuji branded tapes seem to be significantly more likely to develop mould than Sony.
in my pad there was 2 loo's one was not getting used i pulled the loo out re did the paint work and did the floor put in racks
for all my video tape's put it water heaters in the floor so it's the same heat all over