The audio from vcr (and betamax) hi fi tapes - are they worth keeping ?

Channel Hopper

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With the advent of all the more 'Carlos Fandango' standards of content delivery, I am wondering if the stuff I have (plus that found earlier today - no idea who or where it came from), is worth anything.

About 200 tapes , mostly prerecorded of movies that would have cost the original buyer a pretty penny, many still in shrinkwrap and with HMV/other pricing and BOGOF offers stickers on them.
Of course it won't be Hi Def vision, but my question revolves around the audio, and in particular the movies that really make the grade when it comes to budget/composer/orchestra and the overall cinematic experience of the sounds.

A lot of the titles in the boxes come with the detail 'digitally remastered' or with ' Dolby THX' on them, but then again they are tapes and might have possibly degraded in the time they have been stored.

So, does the audio playback of a VHS / Beta tape, that must have been carefully manufactured in the highest quality at the time, then shipped in their millions around the world (PAL and NTSC) and then never played, compare to more recent offerings, when current DVD/Bluray offers same in the spiel of consumerism spk?

I do have a decent VHS player, but would be hesitant to install a compatible audio system (beyond that whch I have already) to bring out the best in tape unless somebody here can confirm it is worth the trouble.

Thanks in advance.
 

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Movies would be a waste of time IMHO.
Concerts, the HiFi sound track is usually ok and a £60+ sound card should do a reasonable job in capturing the quality, look for >105db in the specification which means the rest of the board is of reasonable quality (you won't hear much difference compared to >90db but the rest of the components will not be as good).
Always kill the RFI and keep the cables away from each other. Pro cables XLR & Jacks have proper shielding and grounds, domestic cables aren't as good and the signal gain is lower.
 

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I'll have rummage through later today for concerts, first glance however is that it is in the main blockbuster films, Spielburg / Star Wars etc.

What would the comparison noise levels be for a modern Bluray release ?
 

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The audio on the VHS tape is true L&R audio recording, not the chopped up digital stuff* like on CD's and DVD's, some Bluray audio is getting back to true L&R and in some cases true 5.1 surround.

The SNR would would be dependent on the playback and audio equipment.

*With most digital recording devices you will lose 1/2 of the of the original analog L&R audio input, this at a 32 to 48 kHz sample rate on the analog to digital converter, so everytime the AtoD is sampling the incoming L or R channel the analoge audio on the other channel is lost..

So a good sound card on a PC (one with L and R inputs, or more for surround sound) and the correct software to do L&R wave file recording (2 separate files) you can get some very nice recordings.
 
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Thanks for the answers.

I was hoping to keep the whole video / audio thing completely analogue and separarate from the PC, since I do have an unused Dolby Processor sitting here doing nothing (Marantz), a couple of reasonable priced speakers (a make I can't recall atm, plus a pair of Denons) as well as an old school Logitech subwoofer/5.1 system that weighs far more than I would expect. It would be a shame just to bolt onto the computer that is really only used for work (and posting here).
 

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Do you have a reel to reel machine? At 7.5 ips, they'll produce a pretty sound.
 

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It must be worth it for this alone :-wow

The Special Edition of this film corrects a minor goof. In the original version, when the Emperor arrives, numerous TIE Fighters are seen flying around the Death Star. The first group of TIE Fighters that appear on screen and fly closer and closer to the Death Star simply disappear in an instant right before the scene changes to the Emperors arrival inside. In the Special Edition, they continue on their path and do not disappear.

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - Alternate Versions - IMDb
 
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