Video Tapes in unknown (to me, sorry) format

[mark_in_manc]

Hi folks

The bloke who runs the industrial museum where I volunteer has a couple of video tapes (in two different formats), where we don't know the formats and have no players. I know I could do a load of googling, but I am sure someone here might be able to tell me what they are - pics attached. If anyone has any ideas how to get them into a format of rather more use, I would be likewise grateful. It would be nice to be able to tell him how much it might cost, and I suppose he can then gauge how interested he is in the contents!

cheers
Mark

[paulsherwin]

It looks like a Betacam tape. This was a Sony analogue professional standard derived from Betamax used by many broadcasters for ENG work in the 80s/90s before being replaced by DigiBeta. I don't think you're going to find hobbyists who can digitise this for you, though it could be done professionally (at a cost).

You can't play a Betacam tape on a domestic Betamax VCR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betacam

[Refugee]

It is likely that you could get them onto an SD card for a donation to the broadcast engineering museum.
https://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=9405&page=2

[Ted Kendall]

The second picture is of a U-Matic tape. These came in various flavours, and a facilities house would be your best bet for a transfer.

[bambi01]

I could digitize the PAL BETACAM tape for you, sadly I do not have a PAL 3/4" U-MATIC player.

[red16v]

The first tape is clearly marked as Betacam SP. This is a professional broadcast format and the tape will not be playable in a domestic Betacam machine. The second tape looks like some type of U-matic tape.

[dj_fivos_sak]

Betacam SP (metal tape version of the original Betacam format, incompatible with Betamax) and U-Matic (aka 3/4"). Could be low-band or high-band.

[paulsherwin]

If you need to digitise the tapes professionally, these are typical rates:

https://oxfordduplicationcentre.com/umatic_digitising_services_oxfordshire_uk.html

I have no connection, and lots of other conversion businesses exist.

[mark_in_manc]

Thanks for your help, everyone. I expect I'll be at the museum tomorrow, so I can report back!
all the best
Mark

[TIMTAPE]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

If you need to digitise the tapes professionally, these are typical rates:

https://oxfordduplicationcentre.com/umatic_digitising_services_oxfordshire_uk.html

I have no connection, and lots of other conversion businesses exist.

They look like a better than average media transfer company but this statement from their website caught my attention:

"Magnetic tape has an estimated lifespan of between 10-20 years."

[Gulliver]

Originally Posted by TIMTAPE

They look like a better than average media transfer company but this statement from their website caught my attention:

"Magnetic tape has an estimated lifespan of between 10-20 years."

If that were true Mark's videotapes would have long since self destructed.

A number of companies say that to scare people into acting quickly

I used to get some video/audio conversion ads in my social media and I would pull up advertisers on these claims. They all partially backed down and admitted that was a worst case scenario.

I bet I am not alone in these pages in having videotape 50 years old, VHS and Beta cassettes not far behind and audio reels from the 1950s that all play fine.

As others state, those look like Betacam SP and U-Matic. But it's impossible to detect which U-Matic format is on the tape until someone tries playing it.

[TIMTAPE]

Originally Posted by Gulliver

A number of companies say that to scare people into acting quickly...

It may also cause some people with valued tape recordings older than 20 years to toss them in the bin. In that scenario nobody wins.

[paulsherwin]

I suspect they're just covering themselves in the event of a transfer failure. Some of the tapes they're dealing with will have been sitting around in a poor storage environment for decades.

To be clear, I wasn't actually recommending that company - it was just a typical example.

[TIMTAPE]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

I suspect they're just covering themselves in the event of a transfer failure. Some of the tapes they're dealing with will have been sitting around in a poor storage environment for decades...

Well yes but doesnt that underline that there are too many variables including the particular tape stock and its storage conditions over x years to give any generalised statement as to practical life expectancy which is of much use to anybody?

Companies or organisations which offer clear, detailed guidance as to how non specialist people can store/ preserve/rescue from a disaster, typical media, inspire some confidence.

Here's one from my own country of Australia:

https://www.nfsa.gov.au/preservation/guide/home

and another:

http://www.specsbros.com/

[Graham G3ZVT]

Originally Posted by TIMTAPE

It may also cause some people with valued tape recordings older than 20 years to toss them in the bin. In that scenario nobody wins.

The irony is that the NAND flash stick that the material will be transferred to may well retain the data for less time than the above estimate.

[Dave Moll]

... but at least the digital copy is easily backed up.

[TIMTAPE]

Originally Posted by Graham G3ZVT

The irony is that the NAND flash stick that the material will be transferred to may well retain the data for less time than the above estimate.

Maybe I wasn't clear. Most people these days no longer use or play tapes and if they ever did, it may only be a distant memory.

What I meant was that after reading such a "20 years maximum" statement, such people may not even bother to take them for digitising, instead throwing their supposed "past use by date" valued tape recordings in the bin. Once that's done the tapes are gone. Nobody will ever know whether the tapes were still useable or not.

As we know, unlike slide film (transparencies) or movie film which can at least be viewed as still frames with the most basic equipment, picture and sound on magnetic tape requires a proper dedicated player in good condition. The people who tend to catch out shoddy companies are those rare ones who can still at least play their own tapes well enough to confirm the tapes are still fine before handing them over to a digitising facility.

[Paul Stenning]

Can we get back onto the subject of Mark's tapes please.

[mark_in_manc]

I've received a very kind offer from a forum member to digitise these for us - and before that came, I found a commercial outfit near here who can also help us. I've forwarded these contacts to our curator and I hope he'll let me know soon how he wants to proceed. So thanks very much everyone - I hoped you could help us out, and you came up trumps again