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The number one reason why people make crappy tapes is because they record the shows in EP(SLP) mode. I hope you are not doing that. Also, if you want to tape and keep your favorite shows, do it on high-quality videotapes! Don’t use cheap generic brands. Also, do not attempt to remove the commercials while recording the show! It almost never works and you wind up missing a few seconds of the show when it resumes after commercial breaks. If you follow these simple rules, you can assist people like me who are looking to digitally re-mastering the shows, cleanly remove the commercials, and someday transfer them to DVDs for permanent storage.
“That’s the fact, Jack.” — Bill Murray from the movie Stripes
I do tape the Lexx episodes and sure do appreciate the tips….Thanx!!
Video Voodoo:
Something bad usually happens when I try to tape Lexx–either the show starts at 2:30 instead of 2, or I tape it with no sound, or hardly any sound (this was all the cable-guy’s fault). I ran out of tape in the last 10 minutes of “Wake the dead” etc.If anyone knows a method of removing this curse (short of throwing a black chicken over my house) please inform.
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Something bad usually happens when I try to tape Lexx–either the show starts at 2:30 instead of 2, or I tape it with no sound, or hardly any sound (this was all the cable-guy’s fault). I ran out of tape in the last 10 minutes of “Wake the dead” etc.
If anyone knows a method of removing this curse (short of throwing a black chicken over my house) please inform.
Yeah, I’ve had the same sort of things happen to me too. The only think I can suggest is to stay up until 2 a.m., constantly checking the “Preview” channel schedule. (It’s called TV Guide Channel where I am– it’s a channel that constantly lists the TV schedule.) But even then that’s not enough because sometimes the schedule that’s listed is wrong! You’ll have to watch the SciFi Channel until the very end of the show that airs right before Lexx. Then start recording during the credits of that show. That way you’ll always get all of the Lexx episode and not miss any of it’s opening. Even if there are a few commercials after the end of the credits and the beginning of Lexx, you’ll still have enough room on your video tape. (The Maxell Hi-Fi Profession T-120 videotapes that I use can record up to 2 hours and 2 or 3 minutes.) This should prevent you from running out of tape too early.
DO NOT RECORD IN EP(SLP) MODE! DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE COMMERCIALS WHILE YOU RECORD! USE HIGH-QUALITY TAPES!
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Originally posted by Flamegrape:
The number one reason why people make crappy tapes is because they record the shows in EP(SLP) mode. I hope you are not doing that. Also, if you want to tape and keep your favorite shows, do it on high-quality videotapes! Don’t use cheap generic brands. Also, do not attempt to remove the commercials while recording the show! It almost never works and you wind up missing a few seconds of the show when it resumes after commercial breaks. If you follow these simple rules, you can assist people like me who are looking to digitally re-mastering the shows, cleanly remove the commercials, and someday transfer them to DVDs for permanent storage.
“That’s the fact, Jack.” — Bill Murray from the movie Stripes[/B]
Hey I’ll have you know I have been recording TV shows for years and recording in SPL mode. I also cut out the commercials and rarely miss anything because I am very good at it. Believe me I have been doing it this way for years and there is little chance I am going to change for you or anyone.
-SM
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“Your wrong this is one hell of a planet!”
-ATF agent in “Texx Lexx”Sound advice. I always check the schedule bot and double check TV Guide. To be on the safe side I buy the 8 hour tapes and record in SP, you get a good 2 and half hours. Xellent Xtra minutes for adding a spill over before and after the show starts and stops. Especially handy for recording 2 hour shows like MST3K. But I reccomend TDK or Sony. Had too much trouble with the MaXell brand.
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“The best defense is a strong offense.. and I intend to start offending right now.”
-James T. KirkSciFi scheduling sucks, especially during the 2 a.m. Showing. the only luck I have had is to start the thing at 1:30, that way even if they start early I catch it, but still have enough tape if they delay the start until 2:30. Of course any later than that and I scewed, but I do try.
Much easier to get the 9pm and midnight showings. 🙂
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thefrey
Creator of the Kai Klone Doll and the Kai Kaption Screensavers http://members.home.net/thefrey/%5B/url%5DI haven’t had very much trouble with Maxell tapes. They seem to work well with my Hi-Fi VCRs. Scotch is also a good brand, I think.
I use Maxell Hi-Fi Professional T-120 tapes for recording Lexx. I’ll always keep these tapes as “master” tapes.
When I get the time, I transfer the Lexx episodes to digital video, cut out the commercials perfectly, and then use Maxell GX-Silver High Quality T-160 tapes to hold three episodes per tape. Granted, the video quality isn’t that great, but the GX-Silver tapes are relatively cheap.
I retain the original Lexx recordings on the Maxell Hi-Fi Professional T-120 just in case I need to re-master the episodes again. Also, someday I might be able to re-record the episodes where the credits got squashed by the SciFi Channel!
With some other shows I record like Babylon 5 or Voyager, I initially record them on GX-Silver tapes, digitally re-master them, and redub them to another GX-Silver, recycling as I go. I don’t see any point in taping and keep high-quality copies of either of those shows.
Voyager will rerun forever; I might tape over those Voyager re-masters someday or just give them away to a good friend. For me, it’s just kind of a hobby, collecting shows like collecting stamps.
Same goes for Babylon 5, although I wonder if it’s rerun days are numbered. Anyway, I managed to tape most of the series when it first aired on PTEN and TNT. I’m hoping all the episodes will be available on DVD in the future.
Lexx, I’m recording and keeping on high-quality tapes until I can get my hands on every last episode on DVD!
Mystery Science Theater 3000[/I} is a different story altogether. I’m taping every broadcast of MST3K, even if I already have a copy of that episode. In the near future, I plan to re-master and transfer the best-quality recordings to DVD-R. I could go on and on about MST3K taping, but that’s sort of a different issue!
(For example, I have THREE different copies of MST3K episode #816 Prince of Space: one recorded several years ago, one recorded early this year, and one recorded recently. One has the SciFi logo on one side of the screen. Another has it on the other side of the screen. Between those two and various other episodes in my archive, it is theoretically possible to completely remove the stupid SciFi Channel logo. And maybe even remove the dumb rating letters at the beginning of the show! But that experiment will have to wait until I have a DVD-R, which may be soon.)
I envy your job, Aleck. I look forward to the day that I can experiment with DVD menu composition. For now, I’m “storyboarding” them using Flash.
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