Even though it is 2017, numerous vintage content from the past has yet to be

released onto video. This is due to a variety of reasons mentioned on other sites,
such as rights issues, lack of support, or intention that such recorded are no
longer culturally relevant. This short guide will explain how to acquire pre-
recorded video formats, along with how to sell and what to look for.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Evidence is that video tape trading has existed since the release of the Sony
Betamax in 1975, with the VHS format following shortly afterwards. Gone were the
days that could mean the only recordings of the show were held professionally on
either kinescope or U-Matic tape. Of course it was expensive in those early days of
home video, but by the mid-1980s, both formats were affordable for most middle-
class families. Coincidentally, the rise of VCR coincided with the boom of Cable
TV. Suddenly, it became possible to record anything broadcast off of TV. That
said, it was a bit pricy in terms of storage hardware- a 3-hour Beta tape would
cost around $15 in 1970s dollars. Thus, recordings would in general either be wiped
(retaped) or saved for only the consumers' absolute favorites, mostly cinematic
movies. It was also more common for recorders to not record the commercial breaks
as a result. Though as time wore on, it become common for people to store dozens
and dozens of tapes to make their own collections.

Initially, VHS and Beta were close in terms of popularity, with of course Beta
losing out due to less recording time per tape. The final Betamax rolled off the
line in 1993, and as a result, it is easier to find older content on lots of Beta
tapes as opposed to VHS tapes, which are still sold in a few places today despite
the last commercial movies being released in 2006 and a limited quantity of Beta
tapes released as late as 2016. As DVDs took over around the turn of this century,
many people purchased digital converters thus converting their old tape collections
to a digital format that is allowable to be saved on hard drives, and eventually
the cloud. Many consumers decided to trash their old tapes as a result, supported
by more titles available on DVD. Today, while there is some sentimental value on
videotapes (especially Betamax), numerous tapes still exist in numerous places and
the easiness of video sharing technology allows showing old content easier.
However, many production companies have yet to release numerous shows onto DVD,
even some primetime series from the '90s and '00s. With this in mind, it still
implies that there is valuable content to be found, in addition to discovering
numerous "lost" shows that you believe would never hear about ever again. That
said, hunting blank tapes for special content can be the basis towards joining the
tape trading circuit as a launching point. The biggest reason for this is the
availability of video converters that allow to convert your classic recordings into
21st century technology.

WHERE TO LOOK

Despite people throwing out their tapes due to disinterest and improvement, many
collections are still lying around. Here is where you should hunt:
Basements and attics.
Yard/garage sales
Thrift stores
Online tech forums
Online TV fan sites, especially those that involve tape traders
And of course, eBay
WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Given the typical patterns of what an average consumer wants, there is surely going
to be stuff that will be much easier to find than others. When searching lots, be
sure the seller has a view of the labels if not on the description, and if not, ask
the seller if possible. If there is no clue what's on them, purchase accordingly at
a reasonable price. It does increase the fun factor with regards to what might be
on there. Make sure the seller ships via Media Mail unless if reasonably priced
otherwise. Also take into consideration tape quality since many tapes have degraded
over the years, and unless if hard to find, nobody prefers a picture with
fuzziness, poor tracking, or bounciness and funny sounds. Also, if you encounter
the same seller in the future, base your bidding/purchasing on how much you enjoyed
the content provided in past purchases. If you find a lot of treasures and "hot"
stuff, keep on the lookout, but if encounter a mostly "junk" lot full of recordings
copied from retail copies, widely released movies without commercials, or
educational documentaries that are out of date and supplanted by superior versions,
pass on any future offerings.

An important thing to consider is if the tapes have been tested and work fine,
since I recently had a seller contain tapes that turned out to be improperly stored
that lead to the tape improperly winding that caused the tape heads to squeal and
eventually disintegrate to the point that a new VCR is needed, setting you back
more than just the tapes themselves.

A BRIEF GUIDE TO THE VARIOUS BLANK TAPE PACKAGING STYLES

Pay attention to the label design styles that are pictured, since they can also be
a clue if no label description is shown in terms of its release.

BETA- SONY

Sony is by far the most common brand that was produced for the Betamax. Typically,
the oldest tapes you might find are those with a black box and read SONY K-30 or
K-60 in white lettering. The number represented the length of the tape in minutes
as recorded in Beta I speed. They were expensive at the time they were released,
at around $16 per hour in 1976 dollars (around $70 today!), so as you might expect,
these tapes can be hard to find outside of the big cities. These were produced from
1975 until late 1977 or early 1978, when the packaging was changed to a black/dark
gray striped pattern with the speed/size now in larger red lettering to reflect
tape length instead of time. For example, K-60 became L-500, K-30 became L-250,
while the new L-750 speed was introduced. Midway through this style's run, the L-
830 speed was introduced (around the fall of 1979) and the packaging design was
modified to include

The next style change for Sony tapes happened in 1981 with the introduction of its
Dynamicron system, with vertical yellow/orange/red/purple rectangles on the bottom
half of tape and the length now indicated in black lettering, on a white
background. Around 1983, Sony introduced its UHG line, designed for near-broadcast
quality performance and you'll find these tapes have a brownish-silver tone
compared to the white of the standard tapes. The bars changed from vertical to
horizontal on the packaging.

In 1986, Sony introduced its ES technology for extra quality, with the speed on the
front now at the bottom, with the multi-colored bars as above now shown diagonally.
In addition, the UHG on the previous era was now known as ES-HG, still with a
brownish background around the diagonal bars.

Another style change came around 1989 or 1990 , with ES now appearing in a larger
font, the speed (now almost all L-750 or L-830) appearing in a smaller orange font,
with a small vertical red bar and larger vertical gray bar on the right-hand side
of the front of the packaging. The HG version had a pattern with brown and tan
horizontal stripes in the front. The red portion of the vertical bar described
above is blue on the HG version.

Around 1993 or 1994, Sony made its final full style change, and there were several
brands available. The standard issue had a three-toned front, with a larger blue
top, black middle, and white-colored bottom with Betamax at the bottom of the blue
area, with in the black area a statement about its performance in both English and
French. The speed was now in blue in the white portion, along with a label to the
left that says "Super Technology Hi-Packing" for resolution. The HG tapes were
now with an appearance with a rather large black top, smaller gray middle, and
larger silver-colored background, with the speed now in red on the silver portion.
Another type released was the ED-Metal tape with a black background and the words
ED-Metal written right above a gold-colored bar.

The very last Beta tapes produced by Sony in the late 1990s simply had a black
cover with Sony in the upper right and Beta and the logo in the lower right.
Apparently these were by special order and never sold in general retailers.

BETA- Other manufacturers

Scotch is the only independent to contain the K-60 speed as mentioned above. Other
manufactuer styles to look for in terms of tapes released around 1978, 1979, or
1980 with the word Betamax with the "B" in the capital Greek style include:

-Any Zenith (includes the L-830 Maxitape)

-Toshiba (especially taped with the black/aqua background)
-BASF with black background and green/yelow/orange/red/pink horizontal stripes near
the bottom of the shell
-Dupont's Primetime
-TDK with a black blackground, brown bars, with the speed in red
-Ampex
-Fuji with a "B-Type" logo below the length indicator

Most of the other manufactures you'll find tend to be from the 1981-89 time frame,
although Kodak, Polaroid, and TDK continued to manufacture Beta tapes into the
early 1990s. Here are just a few examples:

*Maxwell's L-500 and L-830 tapes from the mid-80s, with the L-750s continuing
through the late '80s
*For Memorex, early '80s tapes have the shell placed where the brand, logo, and
text and best seen with the tape shown at a wider angle. Blue stripes were added
around 1986, while earlier '80s tapes
*Radio Shack's Supertape line from the mid-late '80s

For more great information with regards to tape shell designs, I'd highly recommend
the Beta Info Guide gallery of cases, especially the "Pix7" page.

VHS

For earlier VHS releases, most manufacturers used the same design styles as used
for the Beta releases. In the mid-80s, the popular brands available were Quasar (in
standard, HG, and HF), Sony (similar styles as the current Beta tapes), Fuji, TDK,
and of course JVC.

Note that the extended length T-160 was introduced in 1982, with RCA, TDK and
Panasonic being the first manufacturers, but these are rarely seen compared to
tapes issued since the early '90s.

Here is a rough guide with regards to box labels.

Era guide:
1= 1976-1984
2= 1985-1989
3=1990-1994
4=1995-1999
5=2000+

Ampex (diagonal rainbow stripes on front with black background): 1 to 2

BASF
Gray background with navy blue lettering and rainbow horizontal lines at bottom: 2
Yellow box with black line below: 3

Fuji

White with orange tape length and BERIDOX in silver: 1

White with black "BERIDOX" on the tape: 2
Red/black/green diagonal stripes on side above gray trapezoid with HQ: 2 to 3
Silver with red multi-colored line below: 2 to 3
Black with multi-colored squares/rectangles on front: 3
White/green background with red/gray stripes and 120 on a red line on the side with
NFL logo on front: 4
"HQ 120" in gold on a black ground with a curving green/white line: 4 to 5
Various green/black shapes with "6 hrs.": 5

JVC
Gray/chrome box with black "HG" and T-120 in gold: 1
White with red/orange/gray diagonal stripes: 2
Silver with upside down black triangle on top with company in red letters: 3
Black/Red box with gold SX on cover: 4

Kodak
Yellow with triangular black top, no HS: 2
Yellow with triangular black top and HS: 2 to 3

Maxell
Black, silver, or tan with red/green/blue horizontal lines on front: 2
Black with diagonal green stripes and diagonal company name: 2 to 3
Gold box with HGX-Gold: 3
P/I Plus with black/gold background: 3 to 4
Various shades of blue with picture of a tape on upper right corner: 4 to 5
Deep green/red/red with white lettering: 5

Memorex
Black with gray lines and HS in silver on a red rectangle: 2
Pink/dark gray with red triangle inside yellow circle on cover: 3
Company name lowercased with yellow "swoosh" around the "M", three circles at the
bottom with tape length number in yellow: 4 to 5

Multitech (has diagonal red/green/blue lines interspersed with black on a

triangular-shaped wedge): 2

Panasonic
Gray with transparent section with the tape visible, "Premium Standard" on corner:
2

PDM Magentics (all): 1

Polaroid
White with "SUPERCOLOR" in caps on side: 2 to 3
White with smaller company name, no "SUPERCOLOR: 3 to 4

RCA
Black or silver case with VK prefix to the tape speed: 1
Black background with "disco floor" square pattern: 2
White top, gray bottom with "Lifetime Warranty" on top: 3
Marble gray/black or green with purple semicircle on side: 4 to 5
White/yellow background with "Standard Grade" in white letters on green box on
side: 5

Scotch
Black background with blue, green, yellow, and red diagonal bars: 1 (the earliest
releases have Scotch in a different, typewriter-like font)
Black background with red T-120 on top: 2
Black background with company name in gray on top: 2
Black outside with gray rectangles with multi-colored circle below T-120: 2 to 3
Black background with smaller rectangles and white vertical line in the center with
3M in the corner: 3
Special pink "All My Soaps" case: 3

Sony
White with horizontal yellow/orange/red/purple on front: 2
White with diagonal yellow/orange/red/purple on front: 2 to 3
White/gray with HS and vertical red/green bars: 3
Black box with red V: 4
Purple/pink with "V" and "PREMIUM GRADE" in yellow on side: 4 to 5
Blue/purple with semi-circle shapes: 5

TDK
Super Avilyn HS with parallel black bars and chrome silver lettering with T-120 in
red: 1
White/red black label with red/green/blue color bars on the side with "Super Avilyn
HS" in red below and 120 in white on black below: 2
White/red case with HS in white: 3
Black case with gold lettering (mostly with "Extra High Grade"): 3
White or gray case with black rectangle above skinnier red rectangle with HS in
gold- 4
Gray case with black section with "Hi-Fi" and a sky blue with "Extra High Grade": 4

White/gray box with white side that says "Premium Quality": 5

Red circle with sun on a red/black background: 5

More details coming in the future!

RARITY AND DESIRABILITY GUIDE

There are two main factors with regards to the content that will be found: the era
of recording, the format, and of course the type of program. For this guide, 1 is
common and 5 is rare.

1: Common. More often than not in a large lot of 30 tapes or more, this type of
programming will turn up. Enjoy for the content if you like these, but are
generally poor resellers other than being used as "blanks".
2: Uncommon. A few episodes/programs will typically turn up in the same large lot
as above. Most beginning collectors will be happy to find such content, though more
experienced ones will pass on these.
3: Scarce. Typically one or two recordings in the same lot will appear in any
average lot. Many of these titles have never been released onto DVD, though most
entertainment companies still have archival copies of these. Even experienced
collectors will still feel that they've found something interesting.
4: Rare. Not every lot will contain such the programs that are listed as these are
truly hard-to-find. However, ever so often such a program will be discovered and
will be proud to discover it, especially since many of these programs have been
lost forever.
5: Ultra Rare. Finding recordings as listed below will take patience, research, and
some luck. Stories of "lost/missing episodes" have been uncovered, and is part of
the appeal to this hobby!

VHS

TYPE OF PROGRAM

Theatrical movies: 1+ (Ultra common) for those released onto DVD or newer that have
a resale value under $20, 1 for DVD releases that had a short print run and sell
for $20 or more on the secondary market, making a VHS copy a viable cheaper
alternative, 2 for VHS/Beta/Laserdisc-only releases, 3 for those not available on
video

These are by far the most common genre that you'll find, especially since first
that was what people either saw or wanted to see and wanted to have a copy to watch
at their request without either waiting for the release or paying more money for
it, and saw few TV programs as worth saving due to their less serialistic matter.
You'll find that these were recorded several ways: off of broadcast TV, on premium
cable, via Pay-Per-View, or copied onto a retail cassette. Generally speaking, the
last is to be avoided while those with commercials off of broadcast are the most
desirable.

Made-for-TV movies: 1 (late 1990s and 2000s), 2 (early-mid 1990s), 3 (mid/late

1980s), 4 (late 1970s-early '80s)

While some of these had a commercial release, many still haven't done so and some
have only bootleg versions available. In away, along with direct-to-video releases,
this is the contemporary version of the old "B-movie" during the Double Feature era
at the movies. Some of these include pilots for TV series.

Educational documentaries: 1 (1990s and beyond), 2 (1985-1989), 3 (1984 and before)

Because these had few commercials since many aired on public television, most
people wanted to improve their knowledge by rewatching such programs, and found
recording a copy as much of an investment as purchasing a book. Also found on the
History, Discovery, Learning (before it became an E! wannabe), and other
educational networks.

Special events/award shows: 1 (mid-90s and beyond), 2 (late '80s/early '90s), 3

(early-mid '80s), 4 (mid-late '70s)

These are relatively easy to find, yet fund to collect and sell. Everything from
the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, Tonys, beauty pageants, TV reunions, holiday specials,
celebrity spotlights, magic shows, and more.

Sports: Varies. 1 for the Olympics since 1992, 2 for the 1984 and 1988 Olympics,
wrestling since 1985, and major championship events (these are popular though,
especially if a large lot), 3 for regular season and more standard events, 4 for
anything else prior to 1985.
These are also among the most in demand categories. Some earlier lost forever.

Sitcoms and Dramas: 1 for Top 30 Nielsen-rated shows since 1995 and all syndicated
broadcasts, 2 for all other first-run shows since 1995 and Top 30 shows from the
early '90s, 3 for 1985-1989 broadcasts of Top 30 shows and 1990-1994 broadcasts of
non-top 30 shows, 4 for 1980-1985 broadcasts, 5 for broadcasts prior to 1980.

There are many shows that have never released onto DVD, though surprisingly thanks
to being on the same block as the Top 30 shows, turn up more often than you think.
Subtract a point for categories 2-5 if they're series finales. Dramas tend to be
just a bit easier to find due to them being somewhat more serialistic.

Daytime Soap Operas: 1 for clips of any show from 1985-present of a few minutes , 2
for any full episode from 1995 onwards, 3, from 1987-1994, 4 from 1982-1986, 5 for
anything 1981 and earlier.

Among all daytime TV genres, these are the easiest to find and typically sell
well. Considering their high production, they continue to be popular as fans try to
assemble as complete of a story as possible. They had a high re-record rate
compared to other genres, so partial episodes are rather common.

Talk Shows: 2 (1995-present), 3 (1987-1994), 4 (1982-1986), 5 (1976-81). Some

earlier ones lost forever.

Almost as easy to find as soap operas, these don't sell nearly as well, though
there can be some useful information and provide a more real world look that
scripted TV lacks and I find these underrated as a category.

News Programs: 1 for primetime news programs (60 Minutes, 48 Hours, 20/20,
Dateline) and political specials (inaguaration, debates) since the mid-90s, 2 for
late '80s/early '90s primetime news programs, political specials, and all other
newscasts broadcast since 1995, 3 for early-mid '80s primetime news and political
specials along with all other news content from the late '80s/early '90s, 4 for
'70s primetime news/political specials and early-mid '80s local, morning, and early
evening news, and 5 for anything else not described. Subtract one category for
partial (at least 40% but not more than 95% of coverage), and two categories for
clips if 3 or more.

Game Shows: 2 for anything since 1997 (including GSN), 3 for the late 1980s-mid
1990s, 4 for the early-to-mid 1980s, and 5 for anything before 1980.

Many shows from 1975 into the mid '80s have been lost forever. After further
research, I find this the rarest category, as most of these aired during daytime or
the early evening and usually were taped over for the few that decided to record,
often for the contestants or a family member of a contestant who was on a
particular episode. But as far as the pre-1997 shows, you'll most likely find an
episode of an early evening or overnight syndicated show such as Wheel of Fortune,
Love Connection, or Jeopardy! mostly due to their proximity to the popular
primetime programming.

Pay-TV Channel content (Non-movies): Promos: 1 from 1990 onwards, 2 for the mid-to-
late 1980s, 3 before 1983. Add one point to each for original programming on these
channels.

These are fairly easy to find yet fun to discover, mostly because the movies found
before and after these were among the most recorded programs on home video off of
TV.

Children's programming: 2 from 2000 onwards, 3 for the 1990s, 4 for the mid-late
1980s, and 5 for anything prior to 1983.

This is probably the second rarest category since most children didn't understand
(including myself) how to properly record, and was a burden to keep using different
tapes that would cost money, and instead usually watched the tapes purchased from
retail instead. The commercials that are usually found from these are among the
most sought after and harder to find compared to other genres.

Religious programming: 2 for the 1990s onwards, 3 for the 1980s, 4 prior to 1980.
Many shows from the '70s/'80s lost forever.

Like news/game shows, these generally only concern those who were present, and
since these usually air on Sunday Mornings, are scarcely found. This doesn't
include the 700 Club which falls under the news category listed above.

Music television including concerts (not just MTV): 1 for PBS concerts/performances
from the mid-80s onwards 2 the 1990s onwards for any non-PBS program or any PBS
concert from the early '80s, 3 for the mid-to-late 1980s (except for PBS, in which
case '70s content qualifies), 4 for any non-PBS broadcast prior to 1985.

As you can see, the generation gap certainly was alive and well, and far too often
you'll find the older generation preferring the symphony hall, jazz, and vintage
rock over the disco, new wave, hard rock, hair bands, grunge, and teen pop that the
more youthful crowd preferred, and since far more older people recorded, this skews
the programming towards the oldies. Even among the "good stuff", you're more likely
to find Friday Night Videos or classic MTV over classic VH1, TBS Night Tracks, or
USA Night Flight due to the popularity or availability.

Subtract a point if such content is random videos without commercials, pledge

breaks, or promo/VJ segments. Note: this does not include any copy of a pre-
recorded retail tape!

Commercials: In general, 1 for 1992 onwards, 2 for 1987-1991, 3 for 1983-1986, 4

for 1979-1982, 5 for 1978 and older.

Based on the targeted form of ads that are found, children's tend to be the hardest
to find since they primarily aired during children's programming, but do show up a
bit more during the Christmas holiday season. Local ads are surprisingly easy to
find since they are usually leased outside of primetime and on cable and are among
the most entertaining to search for. Be aware that approximately 40% of all tapes
tend to have commercial breaks either partially or completely cut from programming,
and generally speaking, the older the recording, the more likely that the ads were
"paused out".

Local content: 1 for a Top 10 Nielsen market, 2 for #11-25, 3 for #26-#50, 4 for
#51-#100, 5 for #101 and smaller.

This is a simple measure of population and economical factors. New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, San Francisco, Detroit
(since it was a larger area a few decades ago), Dallas, and Houston will always
have the lion's share of the programming represented, while small markets such as
anywhere in Alaska, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Vermont, Maine,
Mississippi, and many rural areas with only a small city to anchor will always be
the toughest to find individually, but with not too much effort can be found in
terms of type. That said, larger markets have more of an audience and can be fun to
trade or sell to, while the videophiles will enjoy the small markets. This
includes commercials (see above), local newscasts, magazine programs such as
Evening or PM Magazine, public television, and sports.
BETA

TYPE OF PROGRAM

Theatrical Movies: 1 for anything released onto any home video format, 2 for titles
never released onto video

Made for TV Movies: 2 (mid-1980s-early 1990s), 3 (mid-1990s and beyond, 1979-82), 4

(1975-78)

Special events/award shows: 2 (1980s-early 1990s), 3 (post-1993 and pre-1980)

Educational documentaries/PBS: 2 (1980s-early 1990s), 3 (post-1993 and pre-1980)

Sports: 2 (Olympics, major championships), 3 (regular season of major sports), 4

(minor sports such as Bowling, Cycling)

Sitcoms and Dramas: 2 (Top 30 Nielsen shows from the mid-1980s-early 1990s), 3
(1979-1982 and 1994+ for Top 30, all other shows during the 1980s-early 1990s), 4
(1975-78)

Talk Shows: 2 (mid-1980s and beyond), 3 (late 1970s-early 1980s), 4 (1975-76)

News Programs: 2 for late night local news broadcasts and special reports from the
mid-1980s-early 1990s, 3 for the same as above from 1979-1982 or after 1993 plus
early evening newscasts, 60 Minutes, Nightline, and short clips of other news
programming, 4 for anything before 1979, and any morning/midday/overnight newscasts

Game Shows: 3 for syndicated early evening and overnight shows from the mid-1980s
and beyond, 4 for all daytime network/syndicated shows from the mid-1980s and
beyond plus any evening/over night show from 1979-83, 5 for everything from 1975-78
and daytime shows from 1979-1983.

Pay TV Channel content: 1 for the mid-1980s-early 1990s, 2 for 1979-83 and after
1993, 3 for 1975-78.

Children's Programming: 3 for the mid-to-late 1980s and 1990s, 4 for 1979-83, 5 for
1975-78

Religious Programming: 3

Music Television: 2 for any recordings consisting of individual songs/interviews

without commercials, 3 for recordings with commercials

Commercials: 1 from 1986 and beyond, 2 from 1983-1985, 3 from 1980-1982, 4 from
1979 and older

Since Beta tapes weren't as widely sold/produced, it is easier to find older

commercials pound by pound. However, the shorter tape length also means that the
recorders slightly more likely "paused out" during recording, so the "Scanimate
era" spots aren't as common as you might expect.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://www.ebay.com/gds/A-guide-to-collecting-vintage-pre-

recorded-video-tapes-VHS-Beta-/10000000179103561/g.html