farewell, vhs.
old info:
effective 1 january 2008 only people on the below list may send in vhs tapes to sda. if you have a run on vhs you want to submit, please capture it yourself using e.g. a dvd recorder. more information can be found in the kb.
list of people who have an extension to 1 may 2008:
Floogal
Jacob91
rashreflection
gia
neo-tze
JRL
andrewg
Essentia
dj_ultima
Breakdown
WarMech
DLH112
scaryice
Spider-Waffle
spikevegeta
spineshark
scaryice
older info:
i've talked about sda phasing out submissions on vhs for a long time, but today i want to make an official announcement about it.
the prices of dvd recorders are dropping quickly, and a new dvd recorder will soon cost about as much as a decent new video tape recorder (vhs vcr). i believe this will happen no later than this coming christmas etc season.
vhs is a technology that should have died with the 8-track tape. superior alternatives have been available for over 15 years. unfortunately, none of these alternatives had universal support from manufacturers, and so some of us are here in 2007 still recording our runs using 1977 technology. i think it's safe to say that is older than most of us.
handling submissions on vhs requires me to operate no fewer than five additional pieces of equipment with a price range of $100 to $400 per unit. if any of these units breaks (as vhs units are likely to do), i must replace it out of my own pocket. i have zero use for these units outside of sda.
handling submissions on dvd, by contrast, requires only my computer. additionally, you (the runner) don't have to spend any money on shipping with dvd, because you can simply send the .vob files off the dvd to me over the internet (and even if you do decide to mail in the dvds themselves, they are several times lighter than vhs tapes, saving you a lot of money--especially when submitting from outside the united states).
recording using dvd is not without problems of its own, but the alternative, vhs, is far worse. for the reasons outlined above, i will stop accepting submissions on vhs on 1 january 2008.
a twilight period will begin on that date; if you have no other method of submission, or if you are trying to finish a run on vhs by 1 january 2008 and simply cannot make it, notify me of the problem by 1 january 2008, and i will be willing accept the tape on a case by case basis until 1 may 2008. after 1 may 2008 i will accept no vhs tape for any reason.
thank you for your understanding, and long live sda!
FAQ
Q: Does this mean I can't record on VHS anymore?!
A: no, it just means you can't submit on vhs. you can buy a dvd recorder and copy your vhs tapes to dvd, then submit those. however, it's better to just buy a dvd recorder right now and use that instead of vhs.
Q: What about PAL-60 (Europe, Australia, etc)? I've heard you can't record PAL-60 on DVD.
A: it is true that pal-60 is presenting some problems for recording on dvd, just as it did on vhs. however, most (though not all) pal games still have a 50 hz mode, so you're welcome to record in that. otherwise, i will update this topic as i learn more about dvd recorders that might be able to record pal-60.
UPDATE: yautjaelder asserts that his Pioneer DVR-433H is capable of recording pal-60. please use this dvd recorder if you need to record in pal-60.
Q: What about media compatibility? How can I guarantee you will be able to read what's on my DVDs?
A: first of all, you can simply send the .vob files to me over the internet, and i won't have to read your dvds at all. if you must submit physical media, i recommend using taiyo yuden media. this is the highest quality mass produced media in the world, virtually guaranteed to work in any dvd drive ever made. please check out this online store if you are in the us to buy guaranteed ty media at excellent prices. otherwise, please seek out a ty dealer in your region.
Q: Don't DVD recorders introduce lag between button presses and what I see on the TV? Won't getting around this add to the price of recording using DVD?
A: not necessarily (to the second half of the question). runners have come up with all kinds of creative solutions to the lag problem, and remember that if all else fails, you can simply record on vhs first, then transfer to dvd later when the lag won't bother you.
Q: In addition to DVDs, will you continue to accept runs directly captured via a hardware encoder card?
A: yes. just make sure you can capture with it at d1 f2 (that is, at least 640x480 29.97 fps ntsc or at least 704x576 25 fps pal).
old info:
effective 1 january 2008 only people on the below list may send in vhs tapes to sda. if you have a run on vhs you want to submit, please capture it yourself using e.g. a dvd recorder. more information can be found in the kb.
list of people who have an extension to 1 may 2008:
Floogal
Jacob91
rashreflection
gia
neo-tze
JRL
andrewg
Essentia
dj_ultima
Breakdown
WarMech
DLH112
scaryice
Spider-Waffle
spikevegeta
spineshark
scaryice
older info:
i've talked about sda phasing out submissions on vhs for a long time, but today i want to make an official announcement about it.
the prices of dvd recorders are dropping quickly, and a new dvd recorder will soon cost about as much as a decent new video tape recorder (vhs vcr). i believe this will happen no later than this coming christmas etc season.
vhs is a technology that should have died with the 8-track tape. superior alternatives have been available for over 15 years. unfortunately, none of these alternatives had universal support from manufacturers, and so some of us are here in 2007 still recording our runs using 1977 technology. i think it's safe to say that is older than most of us.
handling submissions on vhs requires me to operate no fewer than five additional pieces of equipment with a price range of $100 to $400 per unit. if any of these units breaks (as vhs units are likely to do), i must replace it out of my own pocket. i have zero use for these units outside of sda.
handling submissions on dvd, by contrast, requires only my computer. additionally, you (the runner) don't have to spend any money on shipping with dvd, because you can simply send the .vob files off the dvd to me over the internet (and even if you do decide to mail in the dvds themselves, they are several times lighter than vhs tapes, saving you a lot of money--especially when submitting from outside the united states).
recording using dvd is not without problems of its own, but the alternative, vhs, is far worse. for the reasons outlined above, i will stop accepting submissions on vhs on 1 january 2008.
a twilight period will begin on that date; if you have no other method of submission, or if you are trying to finish a run on vhs by 1 january 2008 and simply cannot make it, notify me of the problem by 1 january 2008, and i will be willing accept the tape on a case by case basis until 1 may 2008. after 1 may 2008 i will accept no vhs tape for any reason.
thank you for your understanding, and long live sda!
FAQ
Q: Does this mean I can't record on VHS anymore?!
A: no, it just means you can't submit on vhs. you can buy a dvd recorder and copy your vhs tapes to dvd, then submit those. however, it's better to just buy a dvd recorder right now and use that instead of vhs.
Q: What about PAL-60 (Europe, Australia, etc)? I've heard you can't record PAL-60 on DVD.
A: it is true that pal-60 is presenting some problems for recording on dvd, just as it did on vhs. however, most (though not all) pal games still have a 50 hz mode, so you're welcome to record in that. otherwise, i will update this topic as i learn more about dvd recorders that might be able to record pal-60.
UPDATE: yautjaelder asserts that his Pioneer DVR-433H is capable of recording pal-60. please use this dvd recorder if you need to record in pal-60.
Q: What about media compatibility? How can I guarantee you will be able to read what's on my DVDs?
A: first of all, you can simply send the .vob files to me over the internet, and i won't have to read your dvds at all. if you must submit physical media, i recommend using taiyo yuden media. this is the highest quality mass produced media in the world, virtually guaranteed to work in any dvd drive ever made. please check out this online store if you are in the us to buy guaranteed ty media at excellent prices. otherwise, please seek out a ty dealer in your region.
Q: Don't DVD recorders introduce lag between button presses and what I see on the TV? Won't getting around this add to the price of recording using DVD?
A: not necessarily (to the second half of the question). runners have come up with all kinds of creative solutions to the lag problem, and remember that if all else fails, you can simply record on vhs first, then transfer to dvd later when the lag won't bother you.
Q: In addition to DVDs, will you continue to accept runs directly captured via a hardware encoder card?
A: yes. just make sure you can capture with it at d1 f2 (that is, at least 640x480 29.97 fps ntsc or at least 704x576 25 fps pal).
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