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The Video Lab of South Florida

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Fort Lauderdale, FL
The Video Lab of South Florida

South Florida's premiere concierge broadcast videotape archivists. Formats include 3/4" thru HDCAM/D5

05/28/2024

We received this Scotch 379 1" Video tape from the mid 1980's with "Space Shuttle Landing" written on the label for archiving.

The owner was unsure what was truly on the videotape with only knowledge of the tape coming from the estate of a video engineer from the Central Florida area.

The Scotch (3M) 479 reel/tapes from this era are prone to potential issues due to a foam fl**ge and glue on the front of the tape that could erode over the years and make its way onto the tape.

Fortunately for this tape, damage was non existent and after a good baking played back flawlessly using a Sony BVH 2000 VTR (Video Tape Recorded).

Sure enough, the Space Shuttle Challenger was on the tape!

What do you have stored that The Video Lab can assist to archive?

#1980

04/12/2024

Multi format archive project this week of various content. Source material came in on Digital Beta, D2, 3/4", HDCAM-SR and 1".

What do you have stored we can assist with to professionally archive?

04/12/2024

Nice archive project this week from the late 90's to early 2000's of various projects and tape formats. 1", 3/4", Digital Beta, Beta SP and HDCAM!

Client chose to archive native video using ProRes codec.

03/23/2024

Something a a little different to share: 8 channels of unmixed audio, compared to a final mix with 2 or 4 channels of audio on a HDCAMSR tape.

Archiving HDCAM SR videotapes of HBO promotional content using a Sony SRW-5000 VTR. One of 3 HDCAM VTR’s we have at The Video Lab of South Florida. This particular tape has 8 channels of unmixed audio - various sound on each track as shown in the video.

Final videos that are broadcast or viewed via web/non tv devices are typically mixed down to less channels that are not isolated (I.e., surround/stereo etc) .

This clips shows a bit of both… enjoy!

03/06/2024

It’s D3 videotape capture time using a Panasonic AJ-D350 VTR for our friends at Accord Productions Miami, of the US Golf Association 1999 US Open. Great see a young Tiger Woods!

These are 3 hour tapes! Yes, 3 hours each. We have not seen or captured tapes this long before. Unfortunately, and as expected, these tapes tend to shed and clog the heads, whereby every so often we would need to pause the capture, clean the heads and continue capturing eventually editing together a full three hour clip.

It’s what needs to be done to preserve history!

01/29/2024

Thank you Us Kids for trusting us to digitize and archive your music video from 1987 on 1” video tape with an upres to 1080P!

01/04/2024

Thrilled to be archiving 50+ reels of hand drawn animation cartoons from the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Captured using Ampex VPR-6 and Sony BVH2000 1” video tape recorders, videos were archived as 480i ProRes files, per client request.

What can we help you archive?

12/23/2023

It’s EIAJ tape transfer time! Today we are using a Sony 8600 EIAJ VTR, connected to an DPS 295 TBC, going analog-to-digital through AJA transcoder and upresed to 720p through a Snell & Wilcox Quasar Ph.D.

The tape was baked yet still had issues on playback in certain sections (as seen).

The family was thrilled to see their memories after 40+ years!

How can we help you?

10/05/2023

10/02/2023

There are so many tapes out there with amazing content! Here’s a story of helping a client to capture 3/4” tapes that have not been viewed in 48 years for THE MISS OREGON PAGEANT from 1975 that was not

The story: a bunch of the production team that worked on the yearly pageants are getting together in person, and wanted to show these videos at the event!

From our client “It was the first live remote entertainment broadcast produced for the network of Oregon TV stations.

It required six individual microwave hops over the coast mountain range to get the signal to Telco for transmission to all the stations.

We used a small industrial production truck with four IVC cameras, no VTR playback, and art cards for graphics.

Rudimentary by todays standards, but successful.

We went on to do build a full broadcast production truck and did many more live remote programs over the years “

- - - -
We take for granted how easy it is to stream and share content now… 6 microwave hops to send a feed; a monumental task back then!

Thanks to our client for sharing your story and enjoy watching your work/ the pageants with your friends and former colleagues!

Watching the tapes-it was a much simpler time back then!

09/24/2023

Received this 1” videotape from a client (on a budget) in Mexico. Was not stored in ideal conditions, was very sticky and contained mold.

It needed to be spooled off and put onto another reel. We baked the tape two times, played it back slowly while cleaning it on a non-working Sony BVH-2000 prepping it for playback.

Due to the stickiness there was some damage for first few minutes of the tape, yet salvageable and digitized to a 1080p ProRes file as asked by the client.

What do you have in your possession we can help archive?

09/22/2023

This is a short video. No, literally, this is a 10 second commercial for Q-tips from 1985!

Part of a larger collection of commercials on 1” video tape that we are digitizing on a Ampex VPR6 VTR.

News broadcasts, commercials , music videos, college projects, short films, sports footage…. What do you have that we can assist with capturing?

As the tapes age, it gets harder to guarantee a good archive!

Reach out to discuss at [email protected]

09/21/2023

D5 still alive with ProRes file to a hard drive!

Another successful capture of a D5 HD videotape to a QuickTime ProRes file using a Panasonic AJ-HD3700B VTR.

What do you have in your closet that we can help archive?

09/14/2023

VU meters matter! Capturing this music video on the Sony BVH-2000 1” VTR, that unfortunately had mono audio on channel 1 and no audio on channel 2.

Client was hoping (or thought) it would be stereo.

Obviously, can hear the sound coming out of the left speaker only, however, having the confidence of the VU meters to back it up and visually show there is no audio is always helpful.

What content do you have that we can help archive?

09/09/2023

Yes we digitize 3/4” umatic videotapes!

News broadcasts, music videos, college projects, short films, sports footage…. What do you have that we can assist with capturing?

As the tapes age, it gets harder to guarantee a good archive!

Reach out to discuss at [email protected]

08/30/2023

Life is like a box of chocolates, except this box was a disappointment!

Received unlabeled these 1” videotapes. “No idea if anything is on them”, said the customer.

Glad to scan them for free, only two out of the bunch had content on it.

They were both master tapes of a movie to be used for making copies that would play on an airplane, with the airline name, burnt onto the video. One played fine, the other was in PAL wish we could not view correctly on our equipment.

Of all the boxes and tapes, the red Maxell stood out from the bunch, the as it is a rarity, at least in the United States and the facilities we used to work at. Unfortunately, nothing was on the tape, however, it was cool to see!

Want to know what’s in your tapes? Glad to scan for free. Reach out here or [email protected].

08/28/2023

D3 videotape capture and the case of the clogging heads!

Shown here is a D3 videotape capture using a Panasonic AJ-D350 D3 VTR of a show that aired on SciFi Network in 1997. The ask was to capture the tape in SD native 480i format as a Prores Quicktime file.

Not shown are the heads clogging due to poor storage of the videotape. This required us to stop capture and open the VTR numerous times to clean the heads during the capture process.

The good captured clips were edited together producing a final Quicktime master file of the archived show.

-d350

08/18/2023

Irony of these tapes coming back full circle 26 years later!

You never know what arrives for archiving until boxes are opened.

Received these D1 tapes from our friends at Accord Productions Miami for archiving of commercial campaign from 1997.

Upon opening the boxes seeing the “big boys of NYC” labels (Nice Shoes, Tape House Digital, POP) , came across another box with tapes from PrinczCo NYC of film to tape transfer masters, which was my fathers company I used to work at (he remembered the transfer).

Irony of these tapes coming back full circle 26 years later!

08/12/2023

Some additional still shots of the digitization of “the nutcracker “with Mikhail Baryshnikov that aired on PBS in 1977. Post production was completed EUE/screen gems /NYC.

Shown here is the original 2 inch “quad” video tape, which was copied to, at the time, modern 1” video tape.

08/08/2023

1977 Nutcracker featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov, which ran on PBS for years during Christmas season. Honored to be capturing the 1" dub made from the 2" master as 480i and 1080p prores files.

Shot over a week on a studio stage in Toronto (at Glen Warren) on 5 cameras (do not know which makes), edited in 3 weeks at EUE/Screen Gems NYC utilizing Ampex RA4000 Editor, CDL Switcher, Vidifont CG, 4 Ampex AVR1's, Ampex HS 100 Slo Mo machine.

08/01/2023

The requests for SVHS captures have been growing as we most recently added this Panasonic AG-7750 VTR. With built in Faroudja TBC and noise reduction this unit can be self contained, not needing an external TBC.

By habit (and testing) the s-video signal is routed to the DPS-295 TBC, then out of the DPS using component video into an AJA A->D converter with audio to SDI.

Most recent batch of tapes have been requested as 720p, taking the SDI output of the AJA transcoder into Snell & Wilcox Quasar Ph.C and upres to HD, then fed into AJA device for capture.

Happy with the results thus far. How can we help you?

07/26/2023

Has anyone used Sony IMX in their career? Love to hear the usecase!

This format has had us curious since it came out... Sony IMX is a variant of the Digital/Beta family offering 8 channels of audio with compressed digital video (along the lines of Beta SX?)

We have multiple Sony MSW-M2000 VTR's at The Video Lab of South Florida that play dbeta/betaSX/betaSP and IMX, yet in all the years of prod/post never had a request to use this particular IMX format.

Have you?

07/19/2023

38 broadcast videotapes and no waiting! This was a fun archive to 480i ProRes files, containing a variety of formats. D1, D2, HDCAM and Digital Beta. Needless to say, the customer was thrilled to receive files back within two days of us receiving the tapes.

How can we help you with your archive needs?

07/13/2023

(video taken in 2021)
Many people call this stuff “boat anchors”.

Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, we call it a new home for preserving history!

In 2021, six months after the addiction started to collect, refurbish and rackmount various types of videotape recorders, this was the result of the first five racks.

It has turned into a mission to help people and companies from all over the world professionally archive and digitize their videotapes - at an affordable price - so future generations can access the content.

Currently, we are in the midst of re-organizing this hardware as we have added another five racks of equipment.

Videotape formats we now capture include 3/4” umatic, 1”, D1, D2, D3 (yes, we have 2 working VTRs!) D5 HD/SD, HDCAM/SR, Digital Beta, Beta SX/SP, DVCam HD/SD, HDV, s/vhs, hi8.

Do you have tapes laying around, unsure what’s on them? Glad to do a free scanning!

For more information out here or send an email to [email protected]

07/11/2023

First video digitized in 2020 with the newly acquired Ampex VPR6 / TBC6, still on the test bench prior to mounting in the rack.

This 1" videotape suffered from 'sticky shed syndrome'. After slow baking numerous times the Sony BVH2000 1" VTR still would not play it the tape in its entirety.

This VTR did and client was ecstatic to view their work from 35 years ago.

07/09/2023

SOUND ON TO HEAR THE SQUEAL!

Sticky Tape Syndrome is real. Here is a short clip of a 1" video tape received from a client. Originally on a deteriorating 3M foam fl**ge reel, the tape was split from the reel, baked 2 times at a low heat for 8 hours each and mounted onto a new reel.

It was still was 'sticky' as portions of the tape would play on our Sony BVH2000 yet midway through the reel the tape would squeal and the VTR would stop.

Additional baking helped yet ultimately played back on our Ampex VPR6.

07/07/2023

From 2020 to 2021 we started rearranging a portion of the office as we went from two racks to five racks of equipment. Racks and boxes of equipment were coming in monthly.

Additional Vtr’s were added, including an Ampex VPR6, Sony DNW-A75 for betaSX/SP, Sony DVR-2100 for D1, more scopes and monitors.

Shown below is the Ampex VPR6 1” vtr on the test bench , eventually used to capture a client tape that would not play back on a Sony BVH 2000, followed by the five racks that were in place for that year.

07/07/2023

This was a fun one from 2020. Received an unlabeled 1” reel that was “dirty”; one that we would not mount on our VTR.

We split the reel, cleaned the tape, mounted the tape on a new reel, threaded the machine and… on the tape were highlights from the 1984 Olympics! Brought back memories for this client who we believe was also a camera op.

Captured using a Sony BVH 2000 VTR as 480i and 720p ProRes files.

07/07/2023

What “concierge services” means… taking the time to ensure a proper transfer, splitting apart a 1” reel, cleaning the tape, remounting to another reel so a client can find out simply what is on the tape.

Concierge broadcast videotape preservation, at your service!

07/06/2023

You never know what’s on these tapes! A 1” videotape of a sales video showcasing features of a high end security and building alarm system.

Captured using a Sony BVH2000 VTR to 480i and 720p via Teranex Transcoder as ProRes files.

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2890 W State Road 84 #106
Fort Lauderdale, FL
33312

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Videos

We received this Scotch 379 1" Video tape from the mid 1980's with "Space Shuttle Landing" written on the label for archiving. The owner was unsure what was truly on the videotape with only knowledge of the tape coming from the estate of a video engineer from the Central Florida area. The Scotch (3M) 479 reel/tapes from this era are prone to potential issues due to a foam flange and glue on the front of the tape that could erode over the years and make its way onto the tape. Fortunately for this tape, damage was non existent and after a good baking played back flawlessly using a Sony BVH 2000 VTR (Video Tape Recorded). Sure enough, the Space Shuttle Challenger was on the tape! What do you have stored that The Video Lab can assist to archive? #video #videotape #retro #nasa #spaceshuttle #history #archive #space #historical #1980

This is a 1" spot reel of a music video from the '90's captured using a Sony BVH-2000 to a ProRes video file. Part of a multi format archive project this week of various content. Source material came in on Digital Beta, D2, 3/4", HDCAM-SR and 1". What do you have stored we can assist with to professionally archive? #video #retro #Sony #producer #corporatevideo #musicvideo #tvcommercial #tvshow #history #editor #director #bvh2000

Multi format archive project this week of various content. Source material came in on Digital Beta, D2, 3/4", HDCAM-SR and 1". What do you have stored we can assist with to professionally archive? #video #retro #Sony #producer #corporatevideo #musicvideo #tvcommercial #tvshow #history #editor #director

Something a a little different to share: 8 channels of unmixed audio, compared to a final mix with 2 or 4 channels of audio on a HDCAMSR tape. Archiving HDCAM SR videotapes of HBO promotional content using a Sony SRW-5000 VTR. One of 3 HDCAM VTR’s we have at The Video Lab of South Florida. This particular tape has 8 channels of unmixed audio - various sound on each track as shown in the video. Final videos that are broadcast or viewed via web/non tv devices are typically mixed down to less channels that are not isolated (I.e., surround/stereo etc) . This clips shows a bit of both… enjoy! #video #archives #history #analog #sony #hdcam #producer #retro

It’s EIAJ tape transfer time! Today we are using a Sony 8600 EIAJ VTR, connected to an DPS 295 TBC, going analog-to-digital through AJA transcoder and upresed to 720p through a Snell & Wilcox Quasar Ph.D. The tape was baked yet still had issues on playback in certain sections (as seen). The family was thrilled to see their memories after 40+ years! How can we help you? #video #archives #history #sony #eiaj #retro #miami #retro #videotape #digitization

Fun in the labs this week with a 24 tape transfer that included D2, digital beta, beta SP, HDCAM and HDCAMSR, to ProRes files , completed in one day. Lots of historical b-roll content that was fantastic to watch at it was captured. What tapes do you have in your closet/basement that we can help archive? #retro #preservation #history #commercials #video #umatic #videotape #digitization #archives #videocapture #sony #bvu950 #bvh2000 #producer #film #director #news #television #hdcam #srw5000 #dbeta #betasp #dvwa500

There are so many tapes out there with amazing content! Here’s a story of helping a client to capture 3/4” tapes that have not been viewed in 48 years for THE MISS OREGON PAGEANT from 1975 that was not The story: a bunch of the production team that worked on the yearly pageants are getting together in person, and wanted to show these videos at the event! From our client “It was the first live remote entertainment broadcast produced for the network of Oregon TV stations. It required six individual microwave hops over the coast mountain range to get the signal to Telco for transmission to all the stations. We used a small industrial production truck with four IVC cameras, no VTR playback, and art cards for graphics. Rudimentary by todays standards, but successful. We went on to do build a full broadcast production truck and did many more live remote programs over the years “ - - - - We take for granted how easy it is to stream and share content now… 6 microwave hops to send a feed; a monumental task back then! Thanks to our client for sharing your story and enjoy watching your work/ the pageants with your friends and former colleagues! Watching the tapes-it was a much simpler time back then!

This is a short video. No, literally, this is a 10 second commercial for Q-tips from 1985! Part of a larger collection of commercials on 1” video tape that we are digitizing on a Ampex VPR6 VTR. News broadcasts, commercials , music videos, college projects, short films, sports footage…. What do you have that we can assist with capturing? As the tapes age, it gets harder to guarantee a good archive! Reach out to discuss at [email protected] #retro #preservation #history #commercials #video #umatic #videotape #digitization #archives #videocapture #sony #bvu950 #bvh2000 #producer #film #director #news #television

VU meters matter! Capturing this music video on the Sony BVH-2000 1” VTR, that unfortunately had mono audio on channel 1 and no audio on channel 2. Client was hoping (or thought) it would be stereo. Obviously, can hear the sound coming out of the left speaker only, however, having the confidence of the VU meters to back it up and visually show there is no audio is always helpful. What content do you have that we can help archive? #retro #preservation #history #video #umatic #videotape #digitization #archives #musicvideo #videocapture #sony #bvh2000 #producer #film #director #news

Most of the D5 videotapes we receive were recorded in High Definition... The VTR in this video is a Panasonic AJ-HD3700B, capable of playing HD and SD videotapes. Inserted this particular tape (not labeled HD or SD) into the VTR, set in HD mode by default, and it would not display a picture. Switched it to SD mode and tape played back without issue. When switching from HD <--> SD the machine needs to perform a shutdown and restart. Was a nice surprise to get in a SD tape to capture; for this particular tape, it was captured as 480i Prores file.