Dallas and BBG De-Cluttering Poll

[Barbara Fan]

When I first got online late 1999, I was like a kid in a toy shop at finding so much "stuff" on Dallas and BBG - some good, some bad and some indifferent. It was so exciting and i went through ink upon ink cartidge printing it all off

Regardless I printed it off and put it in folders and stuck it on shelves at the top of wardrobes - some of it never to be looked at again and I really wasnt fussy what I printed off.

25 years later and rapidly running out of space I have decided its time to go! 12 big A 4 Ring folders crammed full - its dusty and turning brown

So today was the day, and off to the recycling skip it went.

However I've still got a dilemma

Do I get rid off all my recorded VHS tapes off the TV, all those endless hours of "getting my tape to the right place" to get 4 episodes on a 3 hour tape. They also take up so much space and I havent had a VHS recorder for at least a decade,

I would never get rid off my bought Dallas VHS tapes but think now is the time for the tapes to end up in the skip and create a bit of space in a few cupboards and wardrobes.

Any thoughts gratefully received!

 

[Toni]

Keep them or donate them, along with a vhs player, to some capsule of time initiative. The world will need Dallas!

I do keep my own transferred Catalan recordings onto discs. This version is considered lost and the voice work is great.

 

[Laura Avery-Sumner]

Do I get rid off all my recorded VHS tapes off the TV

They are probably no longer that great quality. They tend to lose data (maybe because of the magnetism?).

 

[Rove]

I understand your dilemma @Barbara Fan. These 'things' hold immense personal attachment to us. When you look at those VHS tapes you're transported back to a period in your life of enjoyment. Sometimes though - despite the painful process - you have to let these things go. Or in my case be clever about it. I've been interested in photography since the mid 70's and have 2 large bookcases filled with photo albums. I rarely look at them but when I receive visitors or relations it's the first thing they walk to. However, I'm the one who has to maintain the albums with regular dusting/cleaning. I'm getting older, my time is valuable.

I'll soon be purchasing a high speed photo scanner and one by one I'll scan all those images and toss the albums into the bin. Each of my brothers and their children will receive a copy of those files. I've spoken about this to my family and some are horrified at the thought but when I've asked who would like the entire collection when I leave Planet Earth no one wishes to raise their hand.

Scanning the photos, adding additional information as to who is in the image will be time consuming but helps the future generation as they look back at my journey. I recently looked in one of my underbed plastic bins and laughed out loud that I kept a couple of exercise books from Primary School. There is one for maths and another for English. I contacted the school I attended and they asked if I would like to donate them for their on-site library. I've been told the kids today are fascinated to see something from the 70's. How some things never change. I informed the Principle I have sport trophy's and certificates of merit when they were introduced. I've donated them to the school library as well. There in a glass cabinet are 4 medals and 2 trophy's with my name engraved on them.

The harsh reality is something dear/close to my heart will be treated as trash by someone else and be discarded accordingly. It's best if I conduct the task for them.

 

[Mustard]

I wouldn't. But then again I'm a hoarder when it comes to archive TV on DVD and (in the past) VHS.

 

[Rove]

But then again I'm a hoarder when it comes to archive TV on DVD and (in the past) VHS.

DVD's I find take up less room. VHS is larger in format and finding hardware (VHS players & televisions) which can accommodate to play them will over time disappear all together. Some thought vinyl was dead and buried but creating a turntable is a much cheaper than building a VHS player.

 

[Richard Channing]

I think if you already have the series on VHS that you bought I would get rid of the ones you taped from the TV. If for some reason you ever wanted to watch Dallas on VHS of course you'd go for the better quality version. So really what's the point of hanging on to the taped ones?

 

[Karin]

My two cents, try to find a friend or someone from work who still has a VHS player that works and ask them if they want your tapes. It's better than to bin them. Then someone else can enjoy them and you'll get more space.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Thanks for all your replies. Not at home right now, but think i will bin all the taped of the tv ones.

@Karin most of my colleagues havent a clue what Dallas was (too young) or forgotten (too old) lol

 

[Rove]

most of my colleagues havent a clue what Dallas was (too young) or forgotten (too old) lol

At my workplace there was a discussion amongst the younglings in the tearoom about Game Of Thrones being the biggest show on the planet. I asked one of the guys to go home and ask his parents about a television series named Dallas. A few days later he conceded that series was huge.

 

[Karin]

I work with mostly young people. I told one of them to go check out Dallas on Amazon Prime.
Young people can still discover Dallas. But they do tend to watch on other platforms than VHS tapes.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Well this was the weekend to do it , 7 huge black bin bags full and 3 trips to the skip/recycling Centre to deposit

I decided to go with the minority of votes - it had to be done!

Many were very fusty and cloudy and doubt they would ever play again

No more Dallas videos on VHS or cast interviews - not really any point in keeping them, but felt rather nostalgic getting rid of them and all my TOTP tapes too = a lot of blood, sweat and tears taping them and patience "getting the tape to the right place"

RIP My Dallas VHS tapes x

 

[Julia's Gun]

Well done, you'll have more space now. I had to do this a while back with my Knots Landing tapes. They took up so much room. I no longer have a VCR and the quality was mostly poor, taped off UK Gold in long play about 20 years ago. But it still felt sad.

I have complete Dallas on DVD, couldn't be without that even though I don't watch it often. Something about physical copies....

 

[Barbara Fan]

Well done, you'll have more space now.

My Dvds have moved into my bed room cupboard where Dallas VHS once graced the shelves - but ive still got another wardrobe 1/2 full of DVds at the back

Im glad i cleared out, whats the point really in keeping them when you cant play them and / or probably wont play as they are 40 years old and have "gone off"

Agree @Julia's Gumdrops about a physical copy, I bought a few things on Amazon Prime but would far rather a copy in my hand

 

[Karin]

No more Dallas videos on VHS or cast interviews - not really any point in keeping them, but felt rather nostalgic getting rid of them and all my TOTP tapes too = a lot of blood, sweat and tears taping them and patience "getting the tape to the right place"

Too bad you didn't mention that there were cast interviews on some of the tapes in the first post you made. I would have gladly helped you digitalize those if you'd sent me the tapes with the interviews. I still have a VHS that works and a capture card. But I thought it was just old BBC recordings of episodes that were now on DVD. But old Cast interviews presumably dating as far back as the 1980s are harder to come by so you might have been able to sell those on ebay if you had tried!

 

[Angela Channing]

I've ripped all my DVDs to mp4 files of the shows so now my complete Dallas collection is on a small memory stick that takes up next to no space, with a backup on a portable hard drive. It's only a matter of time before I get rid of my DVDs too.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Too bad you didn't mention that there were cast interviews on some of the tapes in the first post you made. I would have gladly helped you digitalize those if you'd sent me the tapes with the interviews. I still have a VHS that works and a capture card. But I thought it was just old BBC recordings of episodes that were now on DVD. But old Cast interviews presumably dating as far back as the 1980s are harder to come by so you might have been able to sell those on ebay if you had tried!

I dont know if you can see the above photos Karin but so many tapes had gone "off" - Mouldy, fusty, inside the case and had changed colour - I dont know if damp or moisture got inside the tapes, some were over 40 years old and Id doubt they would play.

 

[Karin]

I took a closer look at the photos. That white stuff didn't look good. I have no idea if they would play or not. We got our first Video player in 1986 and the tapes we recorded back then still plays back just fine. We have stored the tapes rather coldly though in the basement.

Also I don't know if VHS and cassette tape is similar in technology or not. But my mom once washed my sisters ABBA More Gold tape by mistake since it was left in her jacket's pocket and amazingly that cassette tape still played back after that!