I’ve blogged about a few video tape projects such as the guy who built a video store in his basement and Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher aka The VHS Guys but they’ve always been focused on VHS. Well, there’s a guy who calls himself the Betamax King and CBC interviewed him about his immense collection:
For the last 13 years, Stirling has been posting videos ripped from a mountain of old VHS and Betamax tapes he’s acquired and uploading them to YouTube under his moniker, Betamax King.
“This is a treasure hunt first and foremost,” he said on a recent afternoon in the basement where he does this work. “Every time you put in a tape you don’t know what it is.”
He sources the tapes in a few different ways: by cutting deals with some thrift stores, posting ads online, and visiting yard sales. Because of copyright concerns, Stirling doesn’t monetize his channel like many other YouTubers.
I follow a few of these kinds of accounts—mostly UK-focused—and they’re like a salve for the soul. You get to relive some memories and “create” new ones in a different time and space.
You dropped this, king → 📼