User talk:MrServoRetro

Something I noticed when you uploaded the opening and closing to the 1991 VHS reissue of the 1989 Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers volume, “Double Trouble” to YouTube.
I noticed that your opening and closing to that tape has the tape audio in linear instead of hi-fi. Did your copy come that way or did you set the audio track to linear? Because if your copy came that way, what tape speed was it duplicated in? SP or LP?

Another question, was your copy of that tape printed with a vertical sticker-label, or a horizontal ink-label? Or what type of label on the front was it printed out of? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:1598:888D:624D:AD9E 02:13, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * To answer your questions, I think my copy was duplicated in that way, and it uses the horizontal ink-label. --MrServoRetro, 10:18 PM, March 18, 2022 (EST)

Then what tape speed was your copy duplicated in, now that it was duplicated to only have a linear track? SP or LP? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:1598:888D:624D:AD9E 02:29, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * There was nothing on the cassette or its case that said anything about the tape speed, so I can't say for certain. --MrServoRetro, 11:04 PM, March 18, 2022 (EST)

Weird. That probably made most people assume the tape would have been in SP, especially since LP tapes usually had the words “LP Mode” on the back case. Even Paramount tapes that were in EP/SLP would have had the words “Duplicated in EP/SLP” or the Master Sharp logo and Rank Video Services references on the back case. By the way, were the bottom label printings on your copy, including the print date, printed on ink or a yellow or white sticker? Was there a barcode next to them? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:1598:888D:624D:AD9E 03:36, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * There was nothing else on the bottom spine other than the print date. This copy was printed in April 3, 1995. --MrServoRetro, 12:16 AM, March 19, 2022 (EST)

So the print date on your copy was an ink print instead of a sticker? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:1598:888D:624D:AD9E 04:40, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Yes, and it appeared to be duplicated at Technicolor. --MrServoRetro, 12:41 AM, March 19, 2022 (EST)

Do you think you could show a file of what the bottom spine on your "Double Trouble" tape looks like? 69.85.235.231 18:20, 23 March 2022 (UTC)


 * By the way, here's a piece of advice for future edits: Visual aids can help prove a point. You do have a scanner, don't you? --MrServoRetro, March 23, 2022, 03:23 PM (EST)

I wish I did, but I don’t happen to as of right now. In fact, I’m not sure what the best scanner is for VHS tapes and their covers. 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:8D90:E039:32C:409C 20:00, 23 March 2022 (UTC)


 * I'm using an HP Envy 5055 printer for my stuff. Any sort of printer that has a scanner is my recommendation. --MrServoRetro, March 23, 2022, 04:10 PM (EST)

By the way, is "BVHV" engraved on the left, or the right side of the tape? In gold-orange or white? Also, could you scan what the front of the tape looks like (if it's rewound)? 69.85.235.231 15:10, 24 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Here's what the front looks like, and the "BVHV" is engraved on the right side of the tape ion orange-gold. --MrServoRetro, March 25, 2022, 03:45 PM (EST)

Judging by how small the tape filmstrip is, that's probably LP mode. I am also deducing that ink-label variant is from either late 1992 or early 1993. I've seen some copies of the 1990 VHS of "Very Merry Christmas Songs" with an ink-label, and I'm struggling to find an ink-label copy of that one with an October/November 1992 print date; all the October and November 1992 print dates I could come across for that particular version still retain the vertical sticker-label. 69.85.235.224 15:45, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

That ink-label is from late 1992 it seems. 69.85.235.46 14:14, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

About the Neon Mickey VHS release of “Alice in Wonderland”
If you have the Neon Mickey release of “Alice in Wonderland”, is your copy the original 1981 VHS, the 1982 VHS re-release or the 1983 VHS re-release? Is your copy of that tape a Canadian print or a US print? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:5D2:A0B8:1D2A:7906 17:05, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * My copy is apparently a 1982/83 re-release. The title is black on the tape label, and the print date reads June 1, 1983. --MrServoRetro, March 19, 2022, 1:20 PM (EST)

So I’m guessing you have the US print. Is the print date on a blue S/T sticker or white VCA sticker? Is the sticker print date info printed on the bottom spine of the cassette or the tape guard? Is the tape guard colored tan or black? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:5D2:A0B8:1D2A:7906 18:41, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The print date is on a VCA sticker, the tape guard is coloured tan with "For Sale Only Not Intended for Rental" engraved on it in white, and before you ask, this copy has the "Walt Disney and You" promo at the end. --MrServoRetro, March 19, 2022, 3:07 PM (EST)

Is the VCA sticker on the guard or the bottom spine? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:5D2:A0B8:1D2A:7906 19:28, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The sticker is on the tape guard. --MrServoRetro, March 19, 2022, 3:29 PM (EST)

Earliest Walt Disney Mini-Classics tapes with Ink Labels
Are there any pre-1990 Mini-Classics tapes that you have with the 1991-1992 later ink-label as completely opposed to the old oversized Betamax-styled sticker-label? Particularly ones that utilize updated masters? 2600:387:C:7114:0:0:0:B 02:04, 21 March 2022 (UTC)


 * No, none of the pre-1990 Mini-Classics tapes in my collection have ink labels. The only tapes I own that have those labels are "Peter and the Wolf," "The Prince and the Pauper," and the 1993 copies of "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" and "Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore." --MrServoRetro, March 20, 2022, 10:31 PM (EST)

What do the print dates on your copies of “The Prince and the Pauper” and “Peter and the Wolf” read? 2600:387:C:7114:0:0:0:B 02:51, 21 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The print date on my copy of “The Prince and the Pauper” reads April 12, 1991, and my copy of “Peter and the Wolf” is a Canadian copy (please note that I live in Canada), so there's no print date on it. --MrServoRetro, March 20, 2022, 11:05 PM (EST)

I live in the US, and the only Canadian VHS tape I have as of right now is the 1988 Troy Gold (circa 1989/1990 Burbank Video re-print) release of “Old Mother Hubbard”, which contains only 4 public domain cartoons (running time is 30 minutes), 2 of which are Max Fleischer cartoons. It was distributed by HGV Video Productions, the Canadian branch of Handleman Corporation and GoodTimes Home Video Corp. The ink-label on that tape has a copyright date in 1989. It does not have a print date either. On the bottom spine, it just has the tape nominal length, which is H-15 and the country the tape was manufactured in, which is Hong Kong [those printings were made of black ink]. At the end of that tape, after the fourth cartoon, there is half a minute of silence, then the regular 1000 hz pitched looping beep-tone of death playing over the black screen, which lasts for only a minute or so until the tape transitions into the full static screen of death. It originally had the record tab intact when I got it in the mail, however I broke it off when I noticed it, just so I don't accidentally erase anything that was originally on the tape. The tape appeared to be duplicated at GTK Duplicating Co., the video duplication arm of GoodTimes Home Video Corp. 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:DD05:5501:2FB3:C63B 10:56, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

By the way, what do the print dates on your 1993 VHS versions of "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" and "Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore" read? (unless they are Canadian copies) 69.85.235.230 17:47, 21 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Of course they're both Canadian copies. --MrServoRetro, March 21, 2022, 03:20 PM (EST)

So are the print dates replaced by cartridge numbers instead, or no cartridge numbers on those either? Do those two Winnie the Pooh tapes still have the Mini-Classics logo despite being the 1993 releases? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:3C3D:D1AE:9601:541F 23:08, 21 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The tapes were duplicated by AstralTech, which didn't start printing cartridge numbers until 1995. And yes, these two tapes do have the Mini-Classics logo. --MrServoRetro, March 21, 2022, 07:18 PM (EST)

Oh right. But what do the cartridge number printings actually look like on the post-1995 tapes? The same as on the early and mid 2000s tapes, or slightly similar? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:3C3D:D1AE:9601:541F 23:22, 21 March 2022 (UTC)


 * It should look like this. --MrServoRetro, March 23, 2022, 01:10 PM (EST)

Interesting. That tape is cartridge number 89 out of 510 cartridges. 69.85.235.231 18:13, 23 March 2022 (UTC)


 * You know what? Speaking of cartridge numbers, I wrote on the AstralTech page that pre-1995 tapes duplicated by them have a sticker on the tape guard. The numbers on the sticker might have something to do with cartridge production. I have three 1986 Canadian copies of "Sleeping Beauty" and each of them use the same sticker but with different numbers. However, I can't say if this sort of information is accurate. --MrServoRetro, March 25, 2022, 04:05 PM (EST)

I don’t even know if the numbers on 1980-82 VCA/Teletronics tape stickers had anything to do with production of the cartridges, even though they later started doing conventional print dates. 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:91B8:7133:F638:407B 01:41, 26 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Weeks ago, I explained that AstralTech didn't start printing cartridge number information until 1995. But then, there's this kind of printing they did (see picture). It's much similar to the ones duplicated at Technicolor, and as far to my knowledge, it only exists on 1994 copies duplicated by AstralTech.
 * --MrServoRetro, April 20, 2022, 04:10 PM (EST)

Someone on Reddit thinks that their copy of the 1988/1989 VHS of "The Three Caballeros" is a bootleg, because of the sticker on the guard. Proof here: https://www.reddit.com/r/VHS/comments/a5byop/anybody_know_if_this_tape_is_a_bootleg_it_just/ 69.85.235.224 14:17, 29 April 2022 (UTC)


 * Yeah, that's definitely a Canadian copy and not a bootleg. That sticker on the guard indicates it was duplicated at Pathé Video in Toronto.
 * --MrServoRetro, April 29, 2022, 11:33 AM (EST)

If that were a bootleg, it probably would not have a Betamax-style label on the front cassette. Instead it would probably be some sort of crappy quality label, like one that is photocopied off of nowhere. 69.85.235.224 16:09, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

I have seen a rumor on YouTube that 1989 later copies of the 1988 DuckTales VHS volume, “High-Flying Hero”, have the Mini-Classics logo after the Sorcerer Mickey WDHV logo, but sadly I haven’t seen any proof or reference that it’s real. Is there any proof about the later copies of this volume having the Mini-Classics logo, or as I’m suspecting, is it just made up/fake? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:DCBD:27B1:3F0D:1869 00:37, 30 April 2022 (UTC)

I'm convinced now that the numbers on the tape guard must be either lot numbers or SKUs. 69.85.235.49 17:35, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

The Earliest VHS Tape You Have with a Print Date
The earliest VHS tape that I have with a print date as of right now is the rare 1987 VHS [TrueValue exclusive] of “Happy Holidays Sing-Along Vol. 1”, released by Sugar Plum Productions and Baby Take-A-Bow. It was duplicated by Bell & Howell/Columbia/Paramount and printed on 10/12/87 (October 12, 1987). What is the earliest VHS tape that you have with a print date? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:84E8:799D:765F:A4CF 16:45, 26 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The oldest tape I own with a print date is my 1981 rental copy of "Superman II." The print reads September 22, 1981.
 * --MrServoRetro, March 26, 2022, 01:04 PM (EST)

Duplicated by Sony/Teletronics? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:84E8:799D:765F:A4CF 17:22, 26 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Yeah.
 * --MrServoRetro, March 26, 2022, 02:42 PM (EST)

The latest VHS tape I have with a print date, as of right now, is a later pressing of the 2003 VHS release of the 1995 Universal film, "Babe". It was duplicated by Technicolor Video Services and printed on 08/18/05 (August 18, 2005). Oddly enough, my copy of that one is still on a black tape guard and white tape reels, and still utilizes the 2003/2004 print master. The horizontal white sticker-label on the front of the cassette also still appeared to be copyright-dated 2003. What is the latest tape you have with a print date? 69.85.235.231 16:37, 30 March 2022 (UTC)


 * I have two, actually. "DuelMasters: Go Ahead, Make My Duel" and "DuelMasters: Show Me the Mana;" both released by Paramount, both released in 2005, both duplicated by Technicolor, and both with the same print date: June 03, 2005.
 * --MrServoRetro, March 30, 2022, 12:52 PM (EST)

What are the time codes next to the dates on those two tapes? I'd like to know which one was truly printed later. 69.85.235.224 19:13, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

Winnie the Pooh Storybook Classics releases with the Mini-Classics print master
In order for the Storybook Classics re-issues of the WTP featurettes to use the Mini-Classics print master, what date should the copies be printed earlier than? 69.85.235.224 15:19, 4 May 2022 (UTC)


 * My Storybook Classics copy of "Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore" which uses the Mini-Classics master was printed January 12, 1994.
 * --MrServoRetro, May 4, 2022, 11:26 AM (EST)

Does it still use the 1992 or 1993 tape label, or is it the newer 1994 label? 69.85.235.224 15:40, 4 May 2022 (UTC)


 * It's the newer label.
 * --MrServoRetro, May 4, 2022, 12:02 PM (EST)

1986/1987 Disney VHS tapes duplicated at Bell & Howell
Have you seen any 1986/1987 Bell & Howell duplicated Disney tapes with a year-week code, and/or barcode sticker? 69.85.235.224 17:50, 5 May 2022 (UTC)


 * None that I know of. Neither do I have such in my collection.
 * --MrServoRetro, May 6, 2022, 02:21 PM (EST)

The earliest Disney Sing-Along Songs volume to have an ink label
Do you have the Sing-Along Songs program, "I Love to Laugh"? If so, what date was your copy printed on? (unless your copy is Canadian) And what label does yours use? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:6DD2:6258:4372:5761 23:44, 7 May 2022 (UTC)


 * The copy I own was printed February 24, 1992, and has a vertical sticker-label.
 * --MrServoRetro, May 8, 2022, 03:07 PM (EST)

And yours still retains the red-orange FBI warnings, right? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:3810:E5FC:94A9:B1A4 19:11, 8 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Yes.
 * --MrServoRetro, May 8, 2022, 03:19 PM (EST)

Do you have any Sing-Along Songs tapes with the horizontal ink-label? 2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:3810:E5FC:94A9:B1A4 21:34, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

UPDATE: As of currently, I happen to own the same exact copy of that title. The only difference is that my copy was printed June 12, 1992. It was factory-sealed when I got it, w/ the Kmart price/serial no. sticker on the wrapper. 69.85.235.48 12:57, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

"Atlantis: The Lost Empire" - Demo VHS
Does your demo copy of "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" have any print date and time code on it? And by “time code”, I mean the four digit code next to the print date.

Also, what is the side label digit on your copy? I have an early pressing of the 1996 VHS of "Mickey Loves Minnie", printed December 10, 1995 at 10:10 AM (121095-1010) and the side label digit on mine, which is on the left of the bottom spine, appears to read 66. I’m assuming your copy has this sort of oversized digit code besides the print date information?

2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:3810:E5FC:94A9:B1A4 01:47, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

You won’t believe what I just bought today
Earlier today, I got the 1992 VHS release of "So Dear to My Heart". My copy is complete with the purple insert card for the Proof of Purchase, a business reply mail card with green text, and the video booklet.

However, the weird thing about my copy is, my copy was printed November 23, 1992, and came with the video booklet variation that’s on the 1992 release of "The Rescuers", which I have. The back advertises “Beauty and the Beast" as "coming soon".

The reason for this, I don’t know. My only theory would be that Disney is too cheap to update the booklet when releasing later pressings of older releases, and decides to reprint the older variation. Have you seen any copies with the booklet that’s on "Beauty and the Beast"? “BATB” was released on video on 10-30-1992, and "So Dear to My Heart" was released in the permanent availability wave on 09-18-1992, which was also when "The Rescuers" was originally released on video.

2601:4C4:4000:A8C0:C165:9C5B:A173:1AB4 02:58, 12 May 2022 (UTC)

I wouldn't look too deep into it personally - Disney *loved* reusing stuff, and So Dear to My Heart wasn't exactly a high-priority release for them. It also doesn't help that the tape never got an updated master.

- CaptainBZ

Weird. That probably would've jumped off to people expecting the print date of the cassette to be earlier than the actual release date. XD 69.85.235.224 15:29, 12 May 2022 (UTC)

By the way, if you have this tape, what date was your copy printed on, @CaptainBZ? 69.85.235.224 14:43, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

Description Error
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgAh8snmUUQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLZadWaT70

I know this was four years ago, but I have noticed an error on both of your videos' descriptions. It's not supposed to say "Here's the (section) to the [year/format] of "Opening to (title)"". Could you please fix this ASAP? Thank you. 69.85.235.46 18:00, 25 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Done and done.
 * --MrServoRetro, May 25, 2022, 02:39 PM (EST)

VCRs
What VCR(s) do you own? I own a Sharp VC-H870C 4-Head Hi-Fi Stereo VHS VCR - Manufacture Date: June 1991. 69.85.235.48 18:43, 26 January 2023 (UTC)