1969 Memorex 1" videotape with NASA Apollo (?) material

[Dutchsteammachine]

Found these 3 video tapes at an online auction in the USA, they have since been send to me in Europe and should arrive by next month.
1" tape on a 10" spool.
If we have to go by the case identifier (79P-ON-7084B-W3), they are exactly:

Memorex Type 79 Series Designed for helical-scan broadcast and closed circuit television recorders.
Ampex VR-6000 and VR-7000 Series Recorders
79P-ON-7084B-W3
62 minutes 9-4/2" Precision Reel 1" x 3000' in Box 1"

So probably recorded with an NTSC Ampex Type A machine.



[Attachment 59764 - Click to enlarge]


[Attachment 59765 - Click to enlarge]


[Attachment 59766 - Click to enlarge]


The seller did not have a way to play back the tapes, so nothing is known about their content or which format/machine they were recorded with.
Neither do I know the condition of the tapes, if they need special treatment before they can be played back and digitized.
It is a gamble and I am prepared to be disappointed, there could be something different on them entirely!

If the labels are correct however, the tapes likely contain USA television broadcasts of the missions during the written events. Of the NBC, CBS or ABC. So while unlikely to be lost NASA footage, still very cool possibly live recordings off of TV.

Problem, almost certainly NTSC! Does anybody know of Ampex Type A NTSC machines in the netherlands/europe/uk? The closer the better.


Once digitized I can put them on my YT channel, if the TV channel is okay with it.

Thoughts?

[sum_guy]

My knowledge of this format is showing my age, you're best bet would be to have a professional service convert it to a modern format. Otherwise, they are simply obsolete but possibly highly collectable tapes that very very few people or businesses can convert or play.

This company is in the USA

https://greentreeav.com/details/1inch-typea-ivc-videotape/

[TreeTops]

Boy that sure brings back memories. My Ampex recorder was thrown out 27 years ago. and it was at least 25 years old then.

[lingyi]

Check the NASA archives as it's probably there. If not, contact NASA as they may be interested in them.

I know you like preserving and restoring media, but it these have true historical value, best to let the professionals with the proper equipment to do the job. Like all tape, it may have only one play left in them, don't waste/risk it on unknown equipment.

[Cornucopia]

If what you think is on them (NASA) is, YT should have no issues with posting. Non-classified US Gov't footage = paid for by taxpayers = public domain. The very definition.


Scott

[betwixt]

I all else fails try https://batc.org.uk/ and visit the forum.
They are not a commercial organization, the members are mostly technical TV people but among them are people who restore and maintain vintage broadcast and domestic machines. It is quite likely one of them has a working player and transcribing equipment and I'm sure they would help. Please note they are NOT a repair service for old machines and members are enthusiasts working out of love for video technology so please don't treat them as a technical advice service, this forum is far better suited for that kind of thing.

Brian.

[Dutchsteammachine]

If what you think is on them (NASA) is, YT should have no issues with posting. Non-classified US Gov't footage = paid for by taxpayers = public domain. The very definition.


Scott

YouTube hardly cares what is in public domain.

I get copyright claims all the time on NASA footage and audio. Because footage is used in movies/documanteries and audio samples are used in music.

I even got two copyright claims on Challenger footage literally of the scene where it blows up. By some generic company I can not find any details anywhere.

That made me especially mad. ******* rats.

These companies can send millions of hours of footage and audio to YouTube for their automatic copyright scan system and Google checks nothing.

And if these tapes contain studio footage of NBC for example and their commentary they still own whats on the tapes.

[pm-s]

@Dutchsteammachine

Can't you just submit an appeal, stating your footage is in public domain?

[Dutchsteammachine]

@Dutchsteammachine

Can't you just submit an appeal, stating your footage is in public domain?

I can and do.

But it should not be on me. YouTube should get their shit together.

[dvd3500]

Techmoan the YouTube guy might be able to help-...

[Dutchsteammachine]

Did the UK use PAL or NTSC analog TV?

[pm-s]

did the uk use pal or ntsc analog tv?

pal

[Dutchsteammachine]

Techmoan the YouTube guy might be able to help-...

I would be interested in collaborating with him
Problem is going to be finding an NTSC machine around here.

[pm-s]

Techmoan the YouTube guy might be able to help-...

I would be interested in collaborating with him
Problem is going to be finding an NTSC machine around here.

Then you should e-mail him: MAT@techmoan.com

[smrpix]

If those are the actual dates the tapes were recorded, you're going to have a rough time. The common, widely used, 1" type C wasn't introduced until 1976. Before that, 1" type A was used in non-broadcast environments, such as the White House as a low quality archive format. There were never very many machines around. The tapes themselves may be a more historical artifact than the recordings that are on them.

That said, best of luck getting them played.

[Dutchsteammachine]

Time for a delayed update!

The tapes have since arrived at my place. The condition of the tape appears to be good...tape does not fall apart, is clean, does not smell or does not curl/spoke/come off.


[Attachment 60899 - Click to enlarge]

Furthermore, the reels themselves also bear identification numbers, which correspond to the numbers on the boxes. So there are no random tapes put in the boxes.


[Attachment 60900 - Click to enlarge]

More good news... see a piece of tape under my magnetic developer:


[Attachment 60901 - Click to enlarge]

Clearly visible from top to bottom:
1. Mono soundtrack
2. Helical scan video track.
3. Control pulse track.


So there is definitely video on them... and most likely Ampex Type A NTSC, maybe PAL.

I have already found a company in the Netherlands with two Ampex Type A machines. Even if they are NTSC reels, playback on a PAL machine for the sound is possible. Then I can identify if it has NASA material on it, or something else like football or I Love Lucy.


If they do contain Apollo 11 broadcasts, I think I will be able to identify source from the audio aswel. If they were sourced from NASA, a television channel or a tracking station.

[Dutchsteammachine]

If what you think is on them (NASA) is, YT should have no issues with posting. Non-classified US Gov't footage = paid for by taxpayers = public domain. The very definition.


Scott

If they are recordings of BBC/CBS/ABC studio broadcasts that could be problematic.

I am hoping for live recordings of lost channel broadcasts of Apollo 11.

As far as I can tell:
BBC & NBC Broadcasts are almost non-existent.
ABC Key/important moments of broadcasts archived.
CBS Broadcasts archived almost entirely.

[Dutchsteammachine]

What should the archival strategy be for the analog tapes and subsequent digital files? In case there is something interesting on them or even lost broadcasts footage.

When it comes to the tapes, how and where should they be stored?

And for the digital files, what are proper long-term archival choices?

I'm assuming it is best to have one lossless master file and then lossy files for intermediate use and sharing.

Master file possibilities: Raw RGB, huffyuv, lagarith, Utvideo.

Intermediate: ProRes422 HQ

Sharing: Deinterlaced MPEG or H264, at what bitrates?

[sum_guy]

Environment
Store video recordings and playback equipment in an area providing stable low temperatures, low humidity, and protection from flooding, air pollutants, and sunlight. This will help extend their usable life. Temperature and humidity in a home storage environment should ideally not fluctuate and be within the ranges of 55-70 degrees Fahrenheit and 30-55% RH. Avoid storing home collections in places with unregulated climates such as an attic or garage.

A closet or an unused room are often good choices. Generally basements provide darker spaces and more stable and cooler temperatures, but humidity levels can be high unless regulated by A/C or a dehumidifier. Choose another floor If you experience occasional flooding in the basement.

Once you’ve chosen the best spot, ensure that materials are not stored on the floor where they could be exposed to water damage, insects, or rodents. Damp conditions may accelerate conditions such as vinegar syndrome in acetate tapes or encourage mold growth on the materials.

Placement
Magnetic Tapes
Video tapes should be stored vertically and in their boxes. Don’t stack tapes on top of one another.
Store magnetic tapes away from anything that can create an electro-magnetic field. This includes loudspeakers and other articles containing magnets, and also high voltage lines and surge protectors.
Don’t leave a tape inside a VCR when it is not in use.
Optical Media
Store discs vertically in their plastic cases.
Don’t expose to sunlight or other sources of UV light. Recordable optical media are especially sensitive.
Don’t use adhesive labels or solvent-based permanent markers on the discs (markers specifically made for archiving optical discs are available).

Digital File Storage:
is always subjective, I use a combination of storage solutions. External drives, optical media (dvd mostly) and am now starting to trust the cloud services more. So I will be storing my most important (to me) video in the cloud and locally.

[Dutchsteammachine]

Saving the digital files on both magnetic media (HDDs) and optical (Blurays) sounds like a good Idea.

[rrats]

Sharing: Deinterlaced MPEG or H264, at what bitrates?

If you are going to post them onto YouTube, then you should deinterlace them with QTGMC, double-rate, upscaled to at least 1440p with spline36, rendered in a high bitrate. If you were to post the footage onto archive.org, then you should go with lossless interlaced tape masters

[Quint]

Saving the digital files on both magnetic media (HDDs)...

Redundant RAID system recommended.

[rrats]

Sharing: Deinterlaced MPEG or H264, at what bitrates?

If you are going to post them onto YouTube, then you should deinterlace them with QTGMC, double-rate, upscaled to at least 1440p with spline36, rendered in a high bitrate. If you were to post the footage onto archive.org, then you should go with lossless interlaced tape masters

[rrats]

Shit, it got posted twice

[Dutchsteammachine]

Sharing: Deinterlaced MPEG or H264, at what bitrates?

If you are going to post them onto YouTube, then you should deinterlace them with QTGMC, double-rate, upscaled to at least 1440p with spline36, rendered in a high bitrate. If you were to post the footage onto archive.org, then you should go with lossless interlaced tape masters

Posting on YouTube may be problematic if they are recordings of news broadcasts with studio footage and commentary.

But yes, that sounds like a good YT workflow. I just resize in Davini Resolve. I never looked into it but I am sure it has several resize algorithms. But spline36 may be better, never used filters like that.

As for archive.org, maybe? But one quota I got from a company in the Netherlands was 450 euro digitization cost PER 60 minute reel.
That is a lot of money, so I may just put them on YouTube with a watermark.

[Dutchsteammachine]

Saving the digital files on both magnetic media (HDDs)...

Redundant RAID system recommended.

For sure, I got a NAS running offsite in RAID and onsite I keep a copy of every media file on two internal hard drives and one external drive. Then also two copies on BluRay, one onsite and one offsite.

Maybe also cloud storage.
Maybe send the files to few people I know who work in the media bizz/YouTube (Sshhh)

That should then cover all

[rrats]

But yes, that sounds like a good YT workflow. I just resize in Davini Resolve. I never looked into it but I am sure it has several resize algorithms. But spline36 may be better, never used filters like that.

Anything is better than resolves upscaling filter imo. Plus Spline is built into avisynth

[Skaperen]

Saving the digital files on both magnetic media (HDDs) and optical (Blurays) sounds like a good Idea.

if you compress them, definitely use a lossless encoding. otherwise find a way to fit uncompressed digitization somewhere. if you have it professionally done, maybe they can put it straight onto a HDD or SSD to send back to you. be sure that media and format is something you can directly access with the hardware and software you have.

saving multiple copies is a good idea. saving them in different places could be important? save the original analog in a bank if you find out they (could) have big value. what will you lose if your house burns down? then you can save the digital in the cloud and on YT ... if you don't have licensing issues.

[Skaperen]

Saving the digital files on both magnetic media (HDDs)...

Redundant RAID system recommended.

overkill

just make another copy and save it in a different location. that gives you the redundancy protection and more. and you can use cheap USB HDDs.

[Skaperen]

Saving the digital files on both magnetic media (HDDs)...

Redundant RAID system recommended.

For sure, I got a NAS running offsite in RAID and onsite I keep a copy of every media file on two internal hard drives and one external drive. Then also two copies on BluRay, one onsite and one offsite.

Maybe also cloud storage.
Maybe send the files to few people I know who work in the media bizz/YouTube (Sshhh)

That should then cover all

i would do a 2nd external HDD and not bother with the BluRay (or at least stock them as ready to sell if you have no licensing issues).