It was a bit beyond that in many cases. BBC would send out expensive video tapes for international broadcast, and they expected them back so they could be wiped and reused, as tape was very expensive at the time.
Employees instead stole the tapes in some cases. That’s why they are afraid of the BBC. This was literally BBC property, not just taping off air.
In this particular instance that doesn’t seem to be the case. First off, the article states it is film that was recovered from bins/skips. Until at least the 90s it was extremely common for TV programs to be recorded to film and then processed onto tape for airing (hence why we were able to get star trek TNG and The West Wing in HD). The implication is that it’s the film that was discarded (which couldn’t have been reused).
The other implication, is that if it is the original film reels it will potentially be unedited footage.
The missing episodes are largely from the 60s, before home video recording was really was a thing. I believe the master tapes were destroyed in 1974, a year before Betamax came out and 2 before VHS.
I understand there were magnetic recording systems before home use. But I’m saying the story specifically says film reels. Now, journalistic accuracy is a bit of a meme I know. But, I was taking that on face value.
I looked into it a bit further. Doctor Who was initially recorded on tape, specifically 2" Quadruplex videotape. That is all the BBC saved (and ultimately chose to erase and reuse). They did transfer to 16mm film for sending elsewhere.
But the point is that these are people who actually stole BBC property, not merely people who recorded off-air. Not that I fault them for that, but that is why people are reluctant to turn it over. BBC would keep it and they very well can be charged with a crime. Really, the BBC should offer full amnesty, a guarantee that they will return videotape and/or film once they have had it copied to a more modern medium, and a significant payment per episode recovered. There is no commercial reason to go after such old cases, especially when there is so much value in getting the episodes back.
Thanks for checking it up. So actually most of the story is probably incorrect since it says they took film reels from bins/skips. When in reality it seems they stole reusable magnetic tape.
Agree on everything else though. If they want it back they need to have it down in writing they will not pursue them in any way, civil or criminal.
The BBC developed its own videotape system in the 1950s.
But they had to record it in one take, since there was no way to edit the tapes. There was no cartridge like VHS, they were on long reels of film.
They reused the tapes, thats why many episodes of the first two doctors are missing.
When Sony U-Matic and Philips LP2000 came out in the late 1960s, they discarded the old tapes, the new formats were cheaper and had editing machines.
I think it’s also that in some cases the BBC promised to send the tapes back and never did, but at this point you would expect the scene to create digital copies for these old collectors…
It was a bit beyond that in many cases. BBC would send out expensive video tapes for international broadcast, and they expected them back so they could be wiped and reused, as tape was very expensive at the time.
Employees instead stole the tapes in some cases. That’s why they are afraid of the BBC. This was literally BBC property, not just taping off air.
In this particular instance that doesn’t seem to be the case. First off, the article states it is film that was recovered from bins/skips. Until at least the 90s it was extremely common for TV programs to be recorded to film and then processed onto tape for airing (hence why we were able to get star trek TNG and The West Wing in HD). The implication is that it’s the film that was discarded (which couldn’t have been reused).
The other implication, is that if it is the original film reels it will potentially be unedited footage.
The missing episodes are largely from the 60s, before home video recording was really was a thing. I believe the master tapes were destroyed in 1974, a year before Betamax came out and 2 before VHS.
I understand there were magnetic recording systems before home use. But I’m saying the story specifically says film reels. Now, journalistic accuracy is a bit of a meme I know. But, I was taking that on face value.
I looked into it a bit further. Doctor Who was initially recorded on tape, specifically 2" Quadruplex videotape. That is all the BBC saved (and ultimately chose to erase and reuse). They did transfer to 16mm film for sending elsewhere.
But the point is that these are people who actually stole BBC property, not merely people who recorded off-air. Not that I fault them for that, but that is why people are reluctant to turn it over. BBC would keep it and they very well can be charged with a crime. Really, the BBC should offer full amnesty, a guarantee that they will return videotape and/or film once they have had it copied to a more modern medium, and a significant payment per episode recovered. There is no commercial reason to go after such old cases, especially when there is so much value in getting the episodes back.
Thanks for checking it up. So actually most of the story is probably incorrect since it says they took film reels from bins/skips. When in reality it seems they stole reusable magnetic tape.
Agree on everything else though. If they want it back they need to have it down in writing they will not pursue them in any way, civil or criminal.
The BBC developed its own videotape system in the 1950s. But they had to record it in one take, since there was no way to edit the tapes. There was no cartridge like VHS, they were on long reels of film.
They reused the tapes, thats why many episodes of the first two doctors are missing.
When Sony U-Matic and Philips LP2000 came out in the late 1960s, they discarded the old tapes, the new formats were cheaper and had editing machines.
I think it’s also that in some cases the BBC promised to send the tapes back and never did, but at this point you would expect the scene to create digital copies for these old collectors…