Quote: zooo @ August 30 2012, 4:31 PM BST

You're a changeable fellow, aren't you.

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Very changeable.

I wonder if Kall managed to get the OFAH VHS copies.

Apart from autographed covers, are any VHS tapes of old comedy shows ever likely to appreciate (such as vinyl records)? I can't imagine the clunky, crappy quality things would ever be worth more than what they go for in charity shops - unless they're deleted from archives and never released on DVD or any other format. I very nearly threw away a box of old Doctor Who VHS tapes in Australia but then stupidly put it into storage.

I can't see that happening personally. Non-DVD titles will always have a certain value, as you mention, but otherwise ... there's just not any particular charm to the things and I can't imagine anyone affording them the kind of romantic attachment as people did to vinyl.

I don't want to go into a quality discussion like "vinyl sounds better than CD maybe VHS looks more organic than DVD...".
I think one big difference between vinyl and VHS is that the covers of vinyl discs had a bigger format so that the cover art was more important than it is now. Let's take for example the covers of the old Genesis LP's...these were paintings created by real artists and they looked fantastic. The CD reissues are not that spectacular anymore because they're to small to give you the initial experience. And new titles usually feature boring portrait photos of the artist and things like that. So vinyl collectors apprreaciate the cover artwork almost as much as the (sound) quality and the nostalgic value of them. With films and shows its arguably different. Only few people care for the artwork and the artwork weren't really made with love to begin with in most cases . And let's face it...like the poster before already said VHS are clunky and unhandy monsters. So who'd want them back?

Quote: kall @ August 28 2012, 10:53 PM BST

I want to know where to get cheap Only Fools And Horses VHS anywhere online because I have DVD recorder and I want to convert comedies starting with OFAH. I want Fatal Extraction first.

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Just a heads up, the OFAH VHS releases are copy protected so you'll need something to bypass that to get them onto a DVD recorder. Had all sorts of hassles transferring A Royal Flush from the original tape.

Vinyl -v- CD is a totally different battle. Vinyl rules. I amass comedy vinyl like the worst kind of magpie but this month the missus is forcing me to part with a whole library full of comedy VHS. I'm going to keep the stuff that hasn't made it through to a DVD release but I see no need to weep. Apart from perhaps nostalgia. And my youth somehow being trampled on by a woman looking a lot like my missus in iron clogs with comedy hating spikes on. Sod it, I'm going to weep like an idiot.

What's VHS copy-protected?

Sorry to hear about your woes Agnes.

Quote: AJGO @ November 20 2012, 12:45 AM GMT

What's VHS copy-protected?

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IIRC they include an extra bit of data within the picture signal. TVs know to ignore it, but it causes other recording devices to scramble or otherwise corrupt the picture in some way.

Quote: Aaron @ November 20 2012, 2:27 AM GMT

IIRC they include an extra bit of data within the picture signal. TVs know to ignore it, but it causes other recording devices to scramble or otherwise corrupt the picture in some way.

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How can a VHS have a signal? I am very, very stupid.
So, it's not like when you used to put sellotape over that punched-in bit to record?

No it's not.

Everything connected to your TV or audio system has a signal. That's just what the stream of information between devices is called. The term 'signal' does not denote the means of that information's conveyance, merely that there is information being exchanged.

So when a video plays, apart from what you see, it is also doing a secret thing to any TVs or Recorders that might be looking, and is going 'garbled garbled nothing to see here guv'? Like, through the scart lead or summat?
Thanks for indulging me, I am honestly interested, and I wish I was pretending to be this thick!

Well we're simplifying somewhat, and not all videos do it, but yes.