What to do with boxes of used DV tapes

[Steven Davis]

I know there was a thread somewhere on here but can't find it. I have four boxes of wedding and some commercial tapes. I haven't a clue what to do with them.

I'm not sure if I want to go through the trouble of trying to sell them to my prior clients. I'm all digital now so all of these tapes have only been used once.

Thoughts? Oh and yea, I have a stash of old tech as well, computer components, cables, power cords, no idea what to do with that either.

[Boyd Ostroff]

I have around 300 DV tapes stored in 6 plastic bins. Have gradually been capturing them, probably less than 100 left to do, but not in any rush. Then there are maybe 100 more tapes stored at a place I used to work, and my friend who still works there is supposed to get them to me eventually.

But these are all tapes that have personal value to me, and I'd like to get them all onto a hard drive eventually. So I'll just hold onto the tapes indefinitely, doesn't take up much storage space. If they were tapes of someone else's weddings and the clients weren't interested, they would go into the trash. I see no value in the media itself, I stopped using tape in 2011.

A bigger issue for me is a big floor to ceiling bookcase with about 1200 commercial DVD's. I have ripped them all to my media server and don't need the disks anymore. Not into the eBay or yard sale thing, Could give them to friends, but I don't think I have any that still use DVD's. So they will probably end up in boxes in the attic because I'm getting tired of the sight of that bookcase!

[Jim Feeley]

Get a glue gun and make small versions of these projects:

15 New Uses for Old VHS Tapes
15 New Uses for Old VHS Tapes | Mental Floss

Pom-poms, rope, foosball table, planters.... lots of cool ideas.


As for the other electronics, maybe there's a local fundraising electronics recycler or recycling event?

I am reminded of the lede anecdote of a column I wrote a dozen years ago, back in the paper age:

$40,000 Worth of Nothing
By Jim Feeley / September 1, 2006

Last weekend my town offered free recycling of electronic equipment. Great, I thought, a cheap and convenient chance to unload the old computers, NLE hardware, VCRs and other equipment I wasn’t using and haven’t sold or donated. I filled the minivan and headed over to City Hall. I waited in line for 80 minutes to dump my stuff. My neighbors and I filled 12 tractor-trailer trucks full of electronics. When I got back home, I wondered how much the equipment I’d recycled was worth when new. The total reached $40,000. But last week it was worthless. These days, everything is an expendable.

Rest of the column (that says stuff most of us know) here:
$40,000 Worth of Nothing - Studio Daily

Sigh.

[Boyd Ostroff]

I agree with the sentiment of your article, but would like to see your math for this part. ;-)

Originally Posted by Jim Feeley

My neighbors and I filled 12 tractor-trailer trucks full of electronics. When I got back home, I wondered how much the equipment I’d recycled was worth when new. The total reached $40,000..

That must have been a lot of cheap junk... only $3,300 for a tractor trailer load of electronics at new prices? That's only about $1/cu ft (a trailer is ~3,000 cubic feet).

Even if you didn't really "fill" the truck and just had one layer of stuff on the deck it would be almost 300 square feet. $10/sq ft still seems too cheap if you're talking original price of something like a vintage TV, VCR or desktop computer.

[Jim Feeley]

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

That must have been a lot of cheap junk...

Old NLE systems, VTR too expensive to repair, good CRT monitors. For my neighbors, consumer stereos, TVs, all sorts of stuff It was cheap junk now, but wasn't when it was new.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Jim, looks like I mis-read your article - sorry. I thought you were saying that the new cost of all the gear in 12 trucks was $40,000. Looking at it again, I think you meant that the stuff you put in the truck was worth $40,000. That makes more sense. :-)

[Jim Feeley]

Ah. No worries!

[Steven Davis]

So I've brown bagged over 100 weddings on tapes. I thought I may approach my tape clients to see if they'd like to purchase their original tapes. I'm not sure if this would open a can of worms for me, or what.

Anyone have any thoughts on approaching old clients with their original tapes. I set up an order form on my blog, but not sure if this is something I should do. The tapes you know represent over 1000 hours or so of capture work... sigh.

[Andrew Smith]

Probably lesser work if you only have to capture for the clients who have somehow lost their copy and would like to make use of the last chance opportunity.

Andrew

[Steven Davis]

Oh Sorry Andrew,

I just want to sell them the tapes, I'm not looking to capture. Granted, I do pay attention to what I say when I shoot, but there might be a comment or two about some photog that took my shot out or that I'm annoyed because I'm not getting fed. :P

[Andrew Smith]

Oh. You might have a bit of an uphill battle. Even with the DV tape format let alone VHS, I doubt that they would have something that could play back those tapes.

Andrew

[David Banner]

I've got loads of tapes as well dating back two decades (mini dv, hi8, d-8) used once for capture.
I expect probably none of my clients have the ability to use the tapes. I haven't decided what to do yet. Not worth selling on eBay. Maybe set them up in an explosion and shoot it in slow motion

[Donald McPherson]

Funny this post pops up. I have to find my firewire cable so I can hook up my A/V adaptor. Hope I can still get the firmware to work. If I remember right I used the legacy firmware last time I used but have done a clean Windows install since then.