A Box of Potential

This is super exciting on a lot of levels for me. Especially the silver toned rectangle item on the right.

I'm not usually one for Facebook market place. But from time to time things show up that are unusual if not unexpected.

A listing came up for factory sealed VHS tapes and a tape rewinder that also could do fast forwarding!

The interaction was a bit odd as the seller stated the meeting time at 6pm sharp, then also stated they were in a hurry and that they had a meeting at 6:20, but upon getting to the meeting place ON TIME, they were not there, and instead had some lady who wasn't the original person selling it, there to give me the items and take my money. 

It was all more than a bit shady, and a bit slim on the interactions, but in this day and age, if you're digging for gold of any kind, you're bound to get dirty.

Okay, that sounded way cooler in my head...

So first of all, it's pretty rare to find a lot this varied in types and all sealed. The rewinder was the main focus and after I get it cleaned up and some pics taken I'll make a post about that.

Advertising and promoting

The next move is to start getting flyers out there at some local businesses I've reached out to, and to focus on doing some more local shows for just the promotion of all of this. I did two shows so far, one in downtown KC at a creative space that had a decent crowd, and then the following day, one at Apex Comics for Free Comic Book day. Vastly different attendees, but I managed to have people at both shows that were interested and took flyers with them.

Now the plan is to figure out more locations further out to market in, and add a playlist of videos to my YouTube channel that will be specifically for Spirit of Legacy.

-Mario, the Artisan Rogue

What's my age again?

The more time passes, the more facts as well as media recorded on VHS becomes more blurry.

Something I've been asked a lot since I started this media archiving effort, is "How long do VHS cassettes last?"

The answer isn't simple, but it is pretty well summed up as "Not long enough." Especially if it's viewed as something to be handed down, viewed often, or expected to be around and playable along with VCRs.

So let's take a look at the age, history, and functionality of the media platform of VHS cassettes.

The late 70s into the early 80s... 

Here in the United States, we got three film releases on VHS in 1977. "Patton", "Sound of Music" and "M*A*S*H" were all simultaneously released from the company Magnetic Video at prices ranging from $50 to $70 each.

As of the posting of this, that means that a lot of VHS cassettes that came out, if they are still around are nearing the 50 year mark. Including some of the original blank videocassettes, which also made their debut in 1977, manufactured by JVC. 

The first affordable stand alone personal video recorders that could use VHS came out around late 1983, which sets the standard for the age of some of the oldest directly recorded family memories on VHS media to be at the most 42 years old.

In 1978, JVC released VCRs with A/V inputs on them, allowing as some families I knew personally did, to set up projectors to play back 8/16/35mm reels and allow the projection to be recorded via video camera and to the VCR, or some years later, directly to the onboard VHS in the videocamera.

Technical difficulties through the 90s...

One of the touted aspects of VHS was it's widespread access to an ever growing catalog of commercial movie releases and the ability to store memories and record anything you wanted that was broadcast or at the other end of your video camera lens. This led to a booming market for audio/video equipment to record and playback whatever you filmed. For a good solid 15 years, the platform of VHS reigned supreme, overtaking others like LaserDisc and the earlier format, BetaMax.

But was it sustainable?

The science behind videocassettes is similar to audio cassettes and the much earlier format size of reel to reel, in that they utilize magnetic tape to capture sound and in the case of VHS, video.

Initial listening and watching of magnetic tape can indeed showcase superior sound and display, but with every replay, with each rewinding, or every over recording in the case of blank tapes, things begin to change.

The magnetic array will begin to lose clarity both in audio and in video presentation. Some of this is from wear and tear, some of this is loss of the magnetic particles from the tape itself leading to a degrading action called "shedding", which can further damage not only the video cassette but your vcrs or old video cameras.

Marketing of the era certainly promoted VHS to be a fantastic product. One that could store and keep investments of moments and movies you loved, nearby and safe in your living room, or to send to others.

I never got this when it originally came out. $60 was a LOT of money.

Whether the makers of VHS knew or not, the simple fact of the matter was that even under the best of circumstances, the nature of the manufacturing process means that even sealed copies of VHS, if opened today, have a fairly high chance of not working correctly. 

Depending on how it was stored, if there are plastic or mechanical part failures, and many other issues that can be problematic for a format that was seen as something that worked for that time as the technological marvel that it was.

A new format and a second chance at life...

In 1997, the DVD format came onto the scene. By 2003 it had overtaken the sales and place of VHS in retail and rental outlets. It also became the next format to inherit the place of keeping data of all kinds, including videos, safe and secure. All on a highly portable and storable medium that seemed far more reliable and longer lasting.

Manufacturing standards and time have shown that DVDs have a very good shot at being a way to save earlier media from films to digital video, music, photos, really almost anything... for anywhere from 30 years to upwards of 100 years. 

I started this effort up because I had a lot of older video and photos I wanted to digitize and save for posterity, for books yet written, and YouTube Channel content I plan to produce. 

Now, I'm offering this out to people as a service to help preserve what memories you have on VHS and VHS-C formats on a far more stable media. 

If you're interested or have further questions, please check out the pricing page!

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue

Hidden Stories

The most 90's I've ever been. I think always looked like I was trying out for a spot in Soundgarden.

Typing this entry out, it was one I didn't anticipate making in regards to the idea of hidden stories.

Originally, I had hoped to just be able to convert old media that had been in storage for some years. I had a vague recollection as to what was possibly on some of these old VHS-C tapes. And quite frankly, the more I learned about what could happen to even the best kept media, I realized the higher the chance was that heavy degradation had more than likely already damaged whatever I had recorded.

Footage from when a group of my friends were working on a Star Wars fan film idea.

All of the images you see here on this post are unedited screenshots from various video clips. These were all filmed on a handheld Panasonic video camera. (I'm actually still searching for it as I believe there is one more cassette that has been sitting in it for years)

I had no idea how to set exposure or use an external light source evidently.

I'm certain any of you that have ever filmed old home movies can relate to the feeling of the closest thing to time travel we will probably ever know. A lot of what I had filmed was fairly random, and I had a family that was fairly adverse to being filmed and didn't understand why I had an obsession with cameras in general. My friends were a little more forgiving, so thankfully I managed to capture sights and sounds from some moments in the late 90s.

I didn't understand the camera settings, so the time stamp and date are on this special moment.

But as you'll notice on a lot of the images, things like resolution and light exposure are not remotely the best. But being able to see an accurate record of even a fleeting moment with the sights and sounds even at least partially intact, is a whole other world of comfort and familiarity that is welcome.

The images above and below are from when my younger brother Marco had just gotten his mail away hologram version of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the mail. I had completely forgotten I had recorded this. I am so very happy it survived and digitized so well.

This is just freaking cool. I recently sent it to him and he was pretty happy to see it.

It's wonderful when we find moments to smile about.

But it can also be a point of a mixed bag of melancholy.

The last three images are from some of the only remaining footage of a band that I was a part of while I was in college. The original members of the band were myself, my friends Tim, and brothers Andy and David. David is the one wearing the Misfits T-shirt.

Filmed in David and Andy's garage, so many moments I miss from these days.

I once had multiple cassettes with practice sessions, songwriting efforts, and other random and ridiculous moments that happen when friends hangs out. I have yet to find any of those and fear that many of those may be lost. I know one in specific had the very first show the band played after I had left, but it was still involved as I filmed that performance. The last time I saw it, it was still in the VHS-C cassette adapter, at somebody's house right around 1999.

The lines at the bottom are either tracking issues or tape damage, and unfortunately something that isn't easy to fix, if at all possible to do so. 

Nonetheless I was happy to find the little bit of footage I now have. Even with its imperfections brought on by time and age, it does my heart good to see these old moments and movement again, and it seems to re invigorate and recolor my memories correctly.

I had completed the conversion about two weeks ago, and they were sitting here on my backup drive waiting to be edited so that I could share it with my friends. I was really excited to send it especially to my friend David, as out of all of us he was the one that was really the energy and backbone of the group. He started out a bassist, became our drummer, and even got behind the microphone more and more to try his hand at singing.

On March 15th 2025, I got a message from another old friend who let me know that David had passed away the night before.

David had been one of the first people I befriended when I came to live in Warrensburg, Missouri. We were both 16 at the time. We found common ground in our love of Star Wars and science fiction. I had asked him about a particular novel he was reading during lunch hour that was part of the Dragonlance series. The very first concert I went to was with David, and it was Megadeth and the newly reformed Misfits. All of that and so many more memories rolled over me as I accepted what I had just been told. To be honest even as I'm writing this out I'm still in some form of denial that he's gone.

1997 seems like yesterday, and yet so far away at the same time.

I have a fair amount of photos of my old friend, and thanks to social media there are images of him on his profile, and many that others have posted over the years.

But I think the few scant minutes of surviving footage that I have, are the last bits of what he looked like moving, singing, and if I'm lucky and find more, him talking and laughing.

As I was grabbing the screenshots for this entry, thing that came to the surface was that I was grateful for being able to have these little segments of video to remember him by.

The next step is to get the clips I have of him and send them out to his family and friends, in honor of his memory and passing. 

There are a lot of hidden stories out there, and if I can, I'll help others to be able to save, see, and share those moments again.

Thanks for reading.

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue

Client work and future formats

Twenty cassettes awaiting digital conversion.

As of the writing of this entry, the website still needs a lot of work done but I've already managed to get few leads on potential clients, and started working on my first official conversion job. It's a total of 5 VHS and 16 VHS-C cassettes.

So far just with the first cassette there's been a nice surprise in that it appears to be recording of either 8 or 16mm film that had been previously converted to that VHS some years ago. And now I'm converting it over to a digital format to send back to them on CD and stored in the cloud. It's a heck of a nice way to know my first paying client really cared about recording the moments of their family way back in 1976. It also in a way reaffirms that what was years ago a passing interest for me, is now a fledgling business effort that will help get newly updated copies to the eyes of younger members of their family.

Future plans and formats

Over the course of this coming year I hope to add lot more equipment to be able to handle additional formats. Currently I am able to handle the two main North American and Japanese formats of video cassette, VHS and VHS-C. I'm currently looking for a machine to do PAL cassette transfers for videos recording in the UK as well.

The next two formats I hope to be able to provide digitization for are 8mm film and 35mm photo negative scanning.

When I do, I'll add the service costs and more information to the price page.

Questions asked

Shipping isn't an option yet, I'm just handling jobs in and around the KC Metro areas, as I do the media pickups/returns personally for an additional fee. I'm also going to offer drop offs at shows I would have a booth at. More information will be available soon on that aspect.

I've had one person inquire about the BetaMax format, and while that is something I'd love to get into, it might be another year before that becomes a viable platform that I can convert.

Another question I've gotten is if I plan on selling any VCRs if I refurbish them. Currently, no, I don't have plans to do so as the studio doesn't have the space for me to add that sort of operation. There would have to be a lot of preparation and on my end more education and experience to do the sort of repairs that a lot of these machines need. In some circumstances the machines can be fairly easy to repair, but the challenge becomes sourcing parts. And of course there is the whole aspect of when dealing with any sort of vintage electronics, offering them at a price that works for both the purchaser and myself. This effort, just like the BetaMax format, will more than likely be something that comes along down the line.

-Mario, the Artisan Rogue

A Lifetime of Aging Tech

Media only lasts as long as the format it is stored on stays clean, usable, and functional platforms are around to be able to view it on.

No matter what generation of technology comes along, the vast majority of it is viewed as being the latest and the greatest, the sleekest and the fastest, with promises of life enhancing aspects bundled with a hefty price tag. But even if you're somebody who doesn't frequent a lot of second hand stores, or has any interest in retro technology, I'm pretty sure you've noticed that a lot of the technology that was even prevalent in your youth is rarely seen to day in any large capacity.

Physical and mechanical ways of storing and creating media have begun to give way to aspects like purely digital media accessible on platforms or so long as your interactive device of choice keeps on running.

Since the earliest cave paintings, humanity has strived to tell our story. Whether it was just the simple handprint statement left behind on many rock walls or someone uploading a vacation video to YouTube, the thought process is still the same.

I was here. I want to leave something behind to be remembered by.

Growing up in the 70s, older members of my family had large collections of 8-tracks, vinyl records, and audio cassettes. I didn't see my first VCR until around 1983. It only enhanced the interest I had in how audio and visual media came into creation. I wondered how television shows could be shown in reruns. I wondered how TV stations were able to broadcast audio and video signals over the air to the television in my parent’s house.

The 1980s were a wild time as many kids myself included were raised on a lot of television and a lot of entertainment devices. My mother's interest as an amateur photographer got me into photography. I was obsessed with the negatives and how her 110 film camera worked.

As time went on with the advent of more advanced equipment and technology, music and video came in smaller and faster packages and methods of delivery. Along the way I kept adding to my collection of recording devices. I loved being able to film and capture moments and relive them in a way. Most of the older people in my family had large photo albums, with names written alongside dates of the photos on the back. It always seemed like such a cool way to capture something permanently. To never forget a birthday, a holiday, a favorite pet, or somewhere amazing that you would visit. It was even better if you had video of any of those.

But sometime in college as I watched computers begin to be adapted to the industries of design and art that I had hoped to work in, I realized that more and more media was being created but that storage and accessibility could someday become a problem. I used to use zip disks, to keep a lot of  artwork on, and many of those things failed. Burning to CD's was an option, but not always the best or more dependable way to do it.

It was at this time that I began to wonder about a lot of the old VHS tapes in my collection. Both commercially made ones as well as many that I had recorded events from my life on. My family still had a working VCR at the time, so I took some of the cassettes out of storage and played them. Much to my disappointment and surprise, many of them were beginning to show signs of degradation. I'd kept them in a box away from the sun, away from heat and moisture. I didn't know why the picture didn't seem so clear or why the audio had issues.

Fast forward many years, and we as a species create more digital media in one day, than anyone could possibly comprehend. To the point of it being so endless an output, that issues of storage or even ever interacting with it again, becomes a truth we face.

This is even more problematic when dealing with legacy media.

Not a lot of it was made with the idea in mind that it would last beyond 20 to 30 years. Even some of the mediums that managed to hold off time such as old photographs that are 70 years and older, can fall victim to the passage of time.

Because of that I decided to learn more and provide a service that helps people get digital versions of a lot of their older media. I'm someone that obsesses over the electronics I own, the media I created, and I am all too aware of what it feels like to lose irreplaceable images and video.

Within the next 10 to 20 years, with the exception of probably a handful of retro enthusiasts, most all the media formats from our youth will be rare and obsolete.

If you feel that something you have recorded is worth saving for future generations, or even your golden years, then I might be able to help in some way.

Nothing lasts forever, but we can make some memories survive a while longer.

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue