Bridge House Videos

[Jeff]

We have found a number of old videos filmed at the Bridge but they are in a very old format and we cannot find a machine to play them on.

Can anyone help us to locate a machine so we can check them out and transfer them?
An empty reel would be useful as well.

They are all b/w reel to reel videos. 1/2 inch tape on 7 inch reels and i believe the machine they play on is a Sony CV2100.

We believe that there are recordings of the following artists;
Stevie Marriott with guests Joe Brown, Chas & Dave, Ronnie Lane.
Roll-ups
Warm Jets

[rappo]

If you can't find anyone over there in Good Old Blighty to transfer these let me know. There are several outfits on this side of the pond that specialise in digitizing archived video footage..................

[Jeff]

I found some transfer houses over here that said they had the machines to do it, but they want a lot of money to handle such old tapes. Around £80-£100 p/hr.

Not sure if it is worth spending lots on as the tapes may well be ruined.

[rappo]

Jeff, I think that you'll find that the tapes are in the Sony CV 2000 format. There are quite a few major problems in trying to retrieve old footage. The most common being hydrolisation in tapes being made between 1975 and 1985.

Once the tape hydrolises it stretches and small holes appear. The problem then escalates and you find that the tape no longer fits the take up spools or tape heads.

There are a few quick fixes to try and the most common is to lubrication. I have heard that a few people have had success in making the tape more subtle by baking it in a convection oven at 130 degrees for about 8 hours, but that solution has not been proved as far as I can tell.

As I said, if you guys need any more info let me know.

Colin

[TerryMurphy]

Hi Colin we have had no more luck over here,findind the machine for the Sony CV2000. Video tapes. Jeff has made a lot of inquiries,when he was teaching at uni, they had a machine,he went back there, and they had just got ride of it, Another freind of his had one with no spools,so near so close, ,If on you travel you find one lets us no,as they are so old we could rent ,or buy.

[rappo]

Hey, I can do that. There will be a few problems though in as much that everything over here operates on 110v instead of 240v and video playback is returned with fewer lines per inch on the screen resolution.

The voltage can be corrected with a converter. The playback is another headache all together unless you have the equipment to change it.

As I mentioned before there are quite a few transfer houses over here that could transfer the tapes into the format you need but that can cost a lot of money. Then, it's all down to whether the tapes are going to be in playable condition.

If Jeff has found a machine without the spools why don't I try to find a couple of them so at least you can find out if the tapes are playable.

Before you make a decision let me look into it a bit more and try to find out a few more technical details.

In the meantime you could check the tapes for visible damage. Loook at the tape through a magnifying glass while on a light box. Check for any small holes in the tape to check for for hydrolisation. Check the edges of the tape for staggered edges to see if the tape has stretched. Then check the tape emulsion to see if the images are still reasonably sharp as with a lot of old recordings during 75 & 85 the tape quality wasn't that good and after a lengthy storage time in the sealed container the emulsion deteriorated so much that it looked like an old psychedelic poster from the hippie days.

If I had the tapes I could them looked at by a movie editing house down in Los Angeles. But, first off you guys have to decide the monetary value of the material.

I'll find somewhere over here where I could check the tapes out free of charge and let you know from there.

Let me know if Jeff has use of a machine and I'll see if I can get a couple of empty spools. If not let me know if you want to send a tape over to me.[/color]

[rappo]

HEY HEY HEY.......... Not promising anything right away, but, I've found a studio really close to me where I could go and use their equipment for $12 an hour (Not promising anything as I can't speak to them until Monday, but, it's a start). So, it's that old adage, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW BUT WHO YOU KNOW............

Get back to me.

[TerryMurphy]

Hi Colin,
 that sounds like great news, Lets hope it is still great on Monday, thanks for the help, good old freind.

[rappo]

Yeah........ Like Really.......... $12 an hour............ That's around 6 pounds and fifty cents in your FUNNY MONEY.................

[rappo]

OK. Here's an update. I've spoken to te studio and I have arranged to drive down to see them later this week. Let me see what sort of deal that I can work out. They have all of the equipment that is needed to copy the Sony tapes.

The only problem is that the UK has a different file system to the USA. PAL versus NTFS. But I should be able to get over that with a conversion deck.

Let me know how many tapes you have got and the approximate run times. Also check the tapes for deterioration as I mentioned in my earlier post.

Let me know and .......................

KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED

Trust my luck....... I found a recorder, player and monitor for sale at $150 (That's 70 Pounds)............. By the time I got there it had been sold. I'll keep looking.

[lira]

I'm too far away to help you in any of these tapes. But I wish good luck to Colin Rappo as I would love to see what those tapes have.

If you need me to search for anything, please feel free to get in contact! I live in Brazil. 

cheers!

 

[TerryMurphy]

Thank you for your offer, it is very nice of you,
Iwill remember that. Its nice to make new friend,in all parts of the world, and like wise, if we can help you, just ask

[rappo]

OK......... It looks like this could be a go. The studio has all of the equipment that is needed. Just got to finalise the pricing.

Terry, let's talk offline about what you want to do....................

[lira]

<fingers crossed>

[TerryMurphy]

well we hope, that we may have found a company called Moving memories,in Colchester Essex,that will try to transfer the sony cv 2000. videos,he is very busy this side of Christmas, but will get to work on them early in the new year. if he has no luck ,He is even prepared to buy a machine on e.bay to get them converted,So lets hope,Thanks to Brian Belton for finding this company.
Also thanks to Colin Rapp, who offered hes services in America,I would have liked him to do it, but the tapes being old, they can lose a lot of qaulity, in transet to the USA ,So lets hope the new year, brings new DVDs to our web site,
can not wait to see, Chas n Dave with Joe Brown and Stevie Marriott ,Ronnie Lane ,at Stevies blind drunk gig at the Bridge house. this was before Chas nDave made it,into the big time