I just did a quick check of all sources, including DVDs & torrents. It seems even the DVD is just a copy of the low quality VHS version. If a clear version ever existed, we can assume it was forever lost, erased, or destroyed except for low quality slow-speed VHS versions saved by some, like people did with YCDTOTV, & Tom Baker/Dr. Who episodes.
VHS & Beta usually didn't look this bad when recorded from a clear copy using the high 2 hour recording speed. But before DVRs & recordable DVDs, to save on tape, & shelf or box space to store all those tapes, many recorded or archived everything on 4-8 hour tape speeds, so quality suffered at those slower recording speeds. But watching on a 19" to 26" CRT TV 10 or more feet away, in those days it was watchable.
LOL, I'm typing this on a 32" LED LCD TV/monitor 4 feet away. I got it for almost nothing last year because it needed a new power supply. A 12-15 inch computer monitor was the most common size 20 years ago. Could never get used to that, so most of my web surfing back then was done on a WEBTV plugged into a 19" TV or 48" rear projection TV monstrosity that weighed almost as much as a piano. With a wireless keyboard, I wasn't tied to a desk & tiny screen. I can lift my 32" TV with one finger.
The "Little House" video captures here were from high quality, high speed VHS, because they actually looked better than the DVDs around of the series. Fortunately I had copied those VHS tapes to DVDs before the fire, & they survived. I had a chance to borrow a box set of the series, only to find on my system, my homemade DVDs of the tapes looked better than the store DVDs. However, my VHS machines were news studio quality JVC machines with decent enhancements & line scalers built in, then the tapes were recorded to DVDs on a decent stand alone Sony DVD recorder.
But because my tapes were not 400-480p DVD quality, I put them on the DVDs on the 4 hour speed. By snipping some of the opening & closing credits, without commercials, I was able to fit 5 episodes on each DVD.
The JVC machines also recorded in super VHS at 400p, back in the day when recordable DVDs didn't exist, which was practically DVD quality. Many DVDs are released in only 360-400p anyway - - better than ordinary VHS but not up to it's full potential. Super-VHS at 320-360p at the slow speed is still better than ordinary VHS at 240p. Little House was recorded before Super VHS was around though, but was nicely scaled up with line averaging to 360p by the machines.
I restored the Sony DVD recorder after the fire, & 1 of the super VHS machines survived because it was in my downtown office during the fire. Haven't used them in years, & can't find a buyer for them. Once one could make an AVI, MP4, or MKV video in DVD to HDTV quality at only 250-400mb per hour in file size on any computer, those machines weren't very useful anymore, except for converting & digitizing old tapes directly to DVDs.
Topic: Devil Times Five (Read 16433 times)
