VHS archive

[Forumadmin]

I have just received a USB device that captures VHS and I have made my ancient video recorder work .
So I am now transposing the 6 x 180 minute original tapes of the 1988 Marathon made with the in-car camera. This was later edited down to a shorter video. Unfortunately there is no sound on these tapes. Presumably because the camera microphone was disabled as it was in a box or in the wind.

I can then re-edit with no loss of quality ( as happened previously) between two VHS recorders and then a third recorder, if you eventually had a copy of the edited version.

This is a low priority exercise but at least the record will be preserved digitally and not suffer from the ravages of time and magnetic influences.

[Forumadmin]

Fixed the sound problem by first servicing the portable VHS recorder used in 1988 which worked well enough to get some sound . Then played the tapes with my slightly younger all singing all dancing recorder with loads of knobs and found one which recovered the sound. Now enjoying the repartie between co drivers and the marshalls as well as the gorgeous engine notes on the stages. Having travelled the same roads last year I can see how they have changed.

Unfortunately the recorder shorted and melted a wire in Italy but I managed to fix on the Autostrada whilst travelling at speed. At some point the microphone died so the latter part of this 'marathon' recording has lost its sound.

I edited these 18 hours down to just over an hour in 1988. Whilst editing may cut out some of the 'boring' bits, you might lose some of the real atmosphere of the event. Even on the motorway sections usually there is something going on and down the country lanes there is always something to see and conversation going on. It is much like an exciting Google virtual drive.

[Keith Clements]

Just got to the bit after the Pirelli test track where we had to race through rush hour traffic. Luckily the evidence of multiple traffic violations was not recorded.

The video does not quite capture the thrill of being flat out around the Monza circuit. What the time marshal said at the end was recorded but I doubt if he will be reprimanded now.

It was just after Monza that the microphone failed and so subsequent video is silent. The camera, now handheld, took some great shots of the tunnels along the lakeside with many other rally cars in picture.

Sound came back whilst ascending one of the passes (yet to be identified until I get the road book from Mike or Geoff). So now enjoying again with me driving following the official TV crew driving along around the hairpins perched on top of a van.

I am multi-tasking--watching the video whilst it is transposing, recording these notes and splitting the transposed video into sections. I think I will put the sections separately into the club's video archive and onto youtube for a wider audience.

When a Healey overtook us we somehow speeded up. Great sound as the air horns warn of us coming around the bends in tunnels down into Cortina and the airfield braking test and Mike touched the barrier on a tight turn. Then onto the Tre Cime 13 km of joy. The best bit of Jowett video ever. Look at that rev counter and speedo!

Geoff wanting some downhill sections at the chat at the top and Mike not remembering some of the bends on the leisurely procession back down. With the Javelin brakes squealing on their rivets some servicing followed in Cortina. Captured most of the cars and competitors in race order in the Cortina High Street.

[Keith Clements]

I announced the first additions to the video database yesterday to those on the UK email list.
Within 12 hours of my email 14 videos had been viewed. I will be adding lots more today as I plough through the 90 so far available.
Members of other JCC clubs can view although I have to update the members lists for those clubs, so if you are told you are not a member just contact me.

Isolated?

Lots of spare time?

Why not have a look at one of the videos on Jowett.net?



I am just loading all the club videos into the system. So while away a few hours remembering what we did and taking notes of anything you do remember so we identify the people, places and cars in the video. Then record them for posterity in the notes section of each video.

I have added this guide to use the new database that makes it easier to view the videos stored in the club archive than using the file access system previously available.

Go to Jowett.net home web page. Click on the Members tab. (top left) and then register to use the system. The system will send you an email, so click on the activation link in it.

The system will display a webpage where you can add a password so you can subsequently log in again. To restart a session you should click on the activation link in the email previously received and then enter the password you previously entered.

You do not need to remember your password as you can register again and get the system to send you a new activation link. You cannot use the activation link previously sent to you unless you added an associated password. If you registered more than once you can only use the latest activation link.

OK. So you have successfully started a session, so the system checks your club membership and displays a list of facilities available to you in a Menu. One of these is called Video choice, so click on the button.

You can then search for a video using one of many criteria. Try putting ‘1966’ into the search field and click the ‘SearchDate’ button. The system displays videos taken in 1966.

Choose the left yellow button with the number and it will load the requested video. Click on the video name link (in blue) at the top of the page . This will open a new tab in your browser and play the video.

Enjoy and remember to take notes as you view of anything you remember. Please also note the elapsed time so that we can put pictures to words. When the video is finished you can add your notes to share with others by clicking on the right yellow button with the video id number in it.

Videos will be added at a rapid rate as I have about 90 to enter!

You may find that the internet or the jowett.net server gets overloaded in the current situation, so just be patient.

Any issues or suggestions please contact me.
Regards
Keith

[alexander]

Thanks for making the VHS archive so easy to use, your time and effort is very much appreciated. I've enjoyed a couple already.
Dave

[Keith Clements]

It is worth compiling your notes in your favourite word processor and then copy and paste into the Notes field in the database for the video. The danger is that the session may timeout whilst you are composing directly on the database. The system does not currently save draft copies. Also it does not tie up a database session and prevent other users from using the system. Some users have reported and I have seen the JowettTalk database run out of connections due to heavy use recently. (You get a General Error).This is temporary and usually goes away in a few seconds. The video database is different from JowettTalk so has some of its resources separate, but if you do get an error please inform me.

You may also comment on JowettTalk in the Archive topic or elsewhere, but it is better to record in the database for future users to see as your note will be directly related to the video to which it pertains.

[Keith Clements]

You can add Video Notes at any time. Just search for the video you watched (or click on the Video ID second button after you watched it). There are two buttons with the same number, the first is to select the file for download, the second is to add Notes . Perhaps I should make that clearer.
Currently all the Notes are displayed in the text window allowing the user to not only append at the end but also to update that which is there. This is potentially dangerous as someone may delete previous notes.  But I thought of that, as the system logs a before and after snapshot, so mistakes can be rectified, if they are noticed. But please take care. I do not want more work!

[Keith Clements]

should help in future

[Forumadmin]

I am trying to do the best I can with the VHS tapes the club has. This link to a forum shows I have to learn yet another language to understand what they are on about.
http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-c ... oject.html

I have previously resurrected two of my VHS recorders.
One because it was the one I recorded the Pirelli Marathon on in 1988 (yes 32 years ago) and the other becuase it has a host of controls to adjust sound track and video track which helps get the best analogue signal.

Then I had to play with all the adjustments available on the capture dongle driver to tweak the picture brightness and sharpness to make up for the abysmal quality of some of the camera work.
Then after a day recording what I thought was good I discovered that Windows 10 also needs to have its audio mixer set up otherwise the audio is not recorded . 10 hours wasted!

It appears that the technical issues are daunting in trying to recover the best out of VHS, probably even worse than cine where all you are really dealing with is colour correction and fragile media. I did that 30 years ago when I put club cine film onto VHS. But with tape you have tracking, synchronsation of the time base, colour bleed and a whole host of things I am just now learning about.

Just did a quick search on my JVC Recorder

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You're absolutely right - they don't make VCRs like they used to, and haven't done so for a long time.

I still have a JVC HR-D725EK VCR.

It's a Stereo HiFi deck, probably one of the first and weighs 9.4 Kg :eek:.

It was and still is a quality deck. Auto dubbing and the whole range of editing facilities and going strong to this day. No Scart sockets mind you but BNC connections instead :).

I think it was about £800 back in 1984 - £800 very well spent though 

Code: Select all

It was indeed the very first Hi-Fi VCR released in the UK. To this day it is the only one with both stereo Hi-Fi and linear soundtracks. I have one too.

[Forumadmin]

I am just completing transposing the last of the VHS tapes from the club to the website .
Viewing them has raised many questions in my mind.

People.
How many people do I recognise in each video?
Are those people still members of the club?
There are many children in the videos , so how many of them are still interested in Jowetts?
Who appears most in the videos, on how many different videos or over how many years?

Cars .
Very similar questions, but also how have the vehicles changed over the years?
On the last video transposed (1995 Woburn), I was particularly interested to see my Jup in winter rally garb having done the LeJog, with Amy, Jen and my parents. Oh I had a bucket on my head with Amy navigating, and telling me what to do! Has not changed.

It really would help when you view a video to record your thoughts and then put these into the notes on the video record or just here. It might help to jog our memories.

[Keith Clements]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YNCJ19dOlK8
Trevor managed to find our exploits on youtube about 21 mins in. Great action with the Jup spinning in front of the camera and picking up part of the bank in the rear bumper.
So finding the VHS is now not so critical.

[Keith Clements]

The 1966 to 2003 Jowett Annual Weekend https://youtu.be/bQ8APp3_HG0