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Mark Zenier

In article ,
chuck wrote:
On Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:56:21 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

" I just want to watch my shows
without commercials using the equipment that I presently have."

I can dig that. Fortunately for me I don't even watch TV. I'd bet that
you only watch a couple of shows anyway. If I get the urge I would prefer
to watch old eps of Gunsmoke and things like that, or Get Smart, Lost In
Space. What I would really like is Star Trek but CBS is being very stingy
with those. When you can't even get ONE full episode on youtube you know
they are actively policing it.

I guess I can't bitch too much except for the fact that they should be
in public domain. I'm one of those people who would love the RIAA to come
knocking because at the trial I will bring in TONS of media. "Go through
this and figure out wehat I owe becasue I already paid for this
material", by their own words it is the material - not the media. My
scratched up records would come in handy.

Unfortunately for what you want you are going to need set top boxe(s). I
think with a splitter and one box set to 4 and the other to 3 you can
have multiple event timer record, at least two anyway. You could luck out
and have another show on one of the channels already coming through one
of the boxes.

"If so, would it be
possible to obtain one that way? "

Like smuggling nylons behind the iron curtain or something ? Or dealing
drugs, smuggling ? I dunno, in this country they send out a SWAT team for
people who sell raw milk. No ****. They come and tear up the farmhouse,
confiscate everything but your clothes, like any money, computers,
firearms. Then it's hell getting it back even if acqitted. I think I'd
rather deal drugs.

The other problem is that for my purposes I would need an NTSC input, so
the only options available would be Japan, Canada and a couple of South
American countries.

"Everyone of them had lost
coercitivity and all that was left was snow."

I find it hard to believe that that just happened to all of them.
Perhaps a small EMP ? This occurs whenever lightning strikes. If it was a
few of them yes. All of them ? I hate to ask after the fact but, are you
sure the VCR didn't have bad heads ? I mean did you try them in another,
or maybe make a test recording on one to see that they were actually
erased ? I played a beta tape last year or so ago that was recorded back
in about 1990. When I used to actually use the beta I ran across some
tapes I got from someone that were in beta 1 and while my machine
wouldn't play them, you could tell the signal was still there.

J

No, I don't think EMP is the answer since the Memorex tape was in the
same location. I used to be a consumer electronics technician when
Beta was around and I keep my deck in good shape. Pre-recorded Beta
tapes from the same era, also kept in the same location, playback
fine. I was at a major electronics retailer's headquarters during
that time period and we got a considerable discount on purchases so
most of the Sony tapes were bought in bulk from them. Chuck

Sony equipment may be good stuff, but Sony media, unless the top of
the line, is crap, subcontracted out to the lowest bidder.

I've had:
Sony VHS tape that was too wide so that the tape guides in the VCR
put a wrinkle on the edge.

A cake box spindle of Sony CD-R blanks with 2/3rds of them that
wouldn't burn, on a Sony burner.

Sony 3.5 inch 1.44 Meg diskettes that had a five percent failure rate
for a clean format. (Even the no-name Chinese diskettes from Office
Max had less failures).

Mark Zenier
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