[peel] Peel shows on VHS

[Stuart]

HI

 

I assume that when you say they are recorded in stereo that they are
recorded in hifi mode (i.e. using the flying video heads rather than the
little linear head used in non-hifi VCR decks).

 

Having had a lot of experience with playing back old recordings that way,
the most critical thing is really to make sure that the tracking is spot on.
If not there will be all sorts of nasty interference (much like on a badly
tuned FM station). A good deck should be able to align the heads
automatically on playback but manual tracking may be required to get it just
right. As long as the recording deck was in good condition at the time (no
creasing of the tape by worn pinch rollers for example) and the deck you
have now is still in good condition, you should have no problem.

 

The old mono soundtrack will not sound very good, in fact much worse than an
audio cassette, but is more robust. I don't think there is a way of altering
a tracking of a mono soundtrack to improve quality. (without taking the deck
apart)

 

Coming to the Mac I have heard that Audacity can be a problem to get
working, but this page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_software_for_audio lists a number
of alternatives.

 

Assuming you do get a sound out of your VCR and into Audacity or such on the
mac, just make sure that there is no clipping on the record levels, and save
to flac and high bit rate mp3. (I use 220-260kbs vbr)

 

Good luck

 

Stuart

 

  _____  

From: peel@yahoogroups.com [mailto:peel@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
vegetablesman
Sent: 02 May 2011 20:44
To: peel@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [peel] Peel shows on VHS

 

  

Hi,

I have a number of John Peel Radio 1 shows from the Nineties recorded onto
VHS video cassettes in LP mode. Almost all are complete programmes taped in
stereo from a good quality Rotel FM tuner receiving a strong signal. 

I would be grateful if anyone can provide some tips on getting the best
quality from these tapes when converting to flac/mp3. I am currently using
an old iMac PPC running OS 10.5.8 and have had some difficulties using
audacity in the past.

Thanks for your help.