DC Video

11/20/2025

Sony One Inch EV Format Color Videotape

In this short presentation, you will see a very obsolete Sony 1" EV videotape machine working as it recovers a 55 year old color recording. Some facts with visuals will be onscreen to educate and to inform.
If you have tapes such as these in your collection, you need to migrate the content to digital now. Working machines are very rare with zero parts on the shelves to keep them running.
www.dcvideo.com

11/05/2025

The latest delivery to DC Video: Concert videotapes from the mid 80's to be digitized. One-of-a-kind live, on-stage performances from A-list legends.

Our preferred trucking company, Old Dominion, gets the job done with these archival elements.

Old Dominion Freight Line

www.dcvideo.com

10/17/2025

One of the joys of running your own business is routine maintenance. In this case, a broken belt. If one has the experience and a stockpile, then it just takes time. After decades, you know right away which belt it is when a certain machine segment malfunctions.

To the bench: Disassembly, tools, a new belt then put it back together. Test and return to service for another few years.

Background music:

Long John Baldry with Elton John and his signature piano performance on: "Flying".

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/english-singer-songwriter-elton-john-performs-with-long-news-photo/154057886

www.dcvideo.com

10/13/2025

What an ICONIC afternoon of glamour and sophistication at the KWEX TV transmitter, Elmendorf Texas.

(Disclaimer: Photo taken more than a few years ago. One of my first paying jobs twenty-five years earlier was at the KERA TV and FM transmitters in Cedar Hill Texas. I have a respect for these installations!)

09/25/2025

A project consisting of over 50 hours of transfer from the very obsolete Sony 1" helical EV format to MKV files has been completed and delivered. As is standard procedure, we awaited any feedback.

Yesterday, we received a very nice note from the client consisting of the following:

"I have now finished going over the files and we happy with the end result! Thanks so much to the DC video team!"

This really made our day here!

The Sony 1" EV format predated type C by at least ten years. It was color-capable with the CLP-1B adapter which we have. This machine has been modified for external cooling, variable early-stage demod video level out, RF waveform monitoring and external dropout compensation.

If you are in possession of Sony 1" EV videotapes, now is the time to transfer them. These machines and their video heads will not last forever. Typical EV videotape reels include the Sony V-12 product.

These tapes are for the most part 50-55+ years old as are the machines.

www.dcvideo.com

09/16/2025

DC Video has completed the transfer and delivery of a very special videotape.

The occasion: The first broadcast of educational station WCVE channel 23 in Richmond Virginia on November 17, 1964. They are now a P.B.S. affiliate.

This opening ceremony was recorded on 2" Quad videotape in the low-band monochrome standard at 7.5 I.P.S. The recovery was accomplished on the third-generation Ampex AVR-1 using a specially-built 5 mil head.

From the client:
"Wow, these images look really crisp and clear—from a 60 year old tape! Again, wow! They all think it looks amazing".
Those comments made our day.

www.dcvideo.com

09/10/2025

Avid. Premiere. Final Cut. All junk.

Throw them away and get back to the basics: CMX!!!

www.dcvideo.com

08/26/2025

Spot Reels Galore: One more trip down memory lane for you two-inch Quad aficionados.
www.dcvideo.com

08/16/2025

Lets see how many viewers here understand what this is. The show had an enviable network run from April 18, 1989 and ended on August 27, 1996. This is from the very last edit session. Videotape highlights of this momentous afternoon to follow in the coming days.
www.dcvideo.com

08/08/2025

Now vintage NBC Burbank HD MG (Master Grid) Color bars.
Stereo
Source: Sony HDCAM SR
www.dcvideo.com

08/05/2025

This past week, we received a heart-warming "thank you" from a new client who took possession of their completed project back from us several weeks ago.

The Back Story:

The client wished to have a 1" videotape from 1972 transferred but over the course of several months, his recording had been tossed around several facilities back east claiming that they could do the transfer. It turned out that none could. One company stated that it was "type A". Really? How did they come to that conclusion?
Over the summer, a facility in Chicago told this client to talk to us. It looked to be a riveted 8" reel from the client-supplied photo. My bet was that it was an IVC format recording. "Go ahead and send it here and we will take a look at it". And so he did.

The Recovery:

It was indeed a 1972 IVC color recording of a WBBM-TV off-the-air program from the Sunset Ridge Country Club. A full color recovery was made. The files were sent back to the client and the golf-club special event attendees enjoyed the 53 year old coverage of the past tournament.

www.dcvideo.com

07/26/2025

What does William Shatner, a 1960 two-inch Quad videotape and the UCLA Film & Television Archive have in common? Come see for yourself Saturday evening here in Los Angeles.

www.dcvideo.com

Space Age TV Rarity: William Shatner Starring in “The Night of the Auk”

https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/space-age-television-rarity-william-shatner-2025-07-26

Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.