dmm@calmasd.UUCP (David M. MacMillan) (07/03/85)
Though I am new to this forum, I have for some time
had a thought in the "wouldn't it be nice if ..." category.
Perhaps it is an absurd thought (given the economics), but
anyway, here it is.
Wouldn't it be nice if all of the old PHCs were available
on cassette? Certainly it would, but is it practical? With
something like 500 shows, at two cassettes each, few people
could afford an entire set (I couldn't). Nonetheless, I would
like to have selected back issues; Jean Redpath shows, for
instance, or the 1984 christmas show. Now, if enough people
wanted a few back issues, it just might be possible to convince
Minnessota Public Radio to make them all available. A computer
network forum might be the ideal place to evaluate such an idea.
As I (simplistically?) see it, the costs for MPR would be
(1) preparing a cursory listing of the tapes, (2) mailing it to
Wireless subscribers, and (3) reproducing the tapes manually on
a high-speed recorder. They could realize no economy of scale.
The packaging needn't be fancy - just a plain tape case with an
item number and a copyright notice.
The advantages to MPR would be (1) satisfaction of many
devoted PHC listeners, (2) consequent further plugging of the
program by same listeners, (3) preservation of the programs in
the case of a fire at the MPR vault, and (4) a chance for
literature students such as myself to do some "research" into
PHC and try to make the stuffy academic community take note.
Additionally, public radio stations might be persuaded to
buy fairly complete sets, as enticing material for on-the-air
pledge drives if nothing else.
MPR's disadvantages would be (1) only marginal profitability,
and (2) increased pirating and other copyright violations.
Another problem, I suppose, is that I have neither the time
nor the political expertise to coordinate any attempt to persuade
MPR. As I said, this is an idea in the "wouldn't it be nice ..."
category.
Also, I don't know my copyright law well enough to know
if MPR would have difficulty in reproducing the work of guest
performers.
Is this idea ahead of, behind, or just plain beside its
time? I welcome your comments. arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Ken Arnold%CGL) (07/04/85)
In article <475@calmasd.UUCP> dmm@ra.UUCP (David M. MacMillan) writes: > Wouldn't it be nice if all of the old PHCs were available >on cassette? Of course, this isn't on the scale you are asking, but you might be interested to know that there is a four-cassette collection of the news from Lake Woebegon, divided by season, which is very nice. My father got his copy through a catalog he picked up from the local PBS station (KPBS, San Diego). I can get the ordering info later in July when he gets back from vacation; maybe somebody else can provide it sooner. Ken
day@kovacs.UUCP (Dave Yost) (07/05/85)
I too would like to get back programs. I wish they would rent them or something. For about a year starting in June 82, I got Garrison's parts of most programs on cassette. I'd like to listen to programs befoe and after that time if someone wants to trade. I think the thing to do is to get a Beta HiFi deck and set the timer to tape the program. Two-hour audio cassettes are notoriously jam-prone, and besides, yo uhave to turn them over, so you can't tape the program unattended. --dave
cb@hlwpc.UUCP (Carl Blesch) (07/08/85)
> Wouldn't it be nice if all of the old PHCs were available > on cassette? Certainly it would, but is it practical? . . . > Is this idea ahead of, behind, or just plain beside its > time? I welcome your comments. At first reading, I thought the idea was great. I just started listening to PHC a few months ago (friends had told me about it for years, but I always forgot to tune in when 5 p.m. (CT) Saturday rolled around). After the first time I tuned in, however, I was hooked. Now I would love to hear the better shows that I've missed, but that's where the catch comes in. How would I know what the better shows are? Even if I had unlimited amounts of money to buy all the tapes, I wouldn't have the time to audit them all. Of course, we would get a net.wobegon discussion going on what the best shows of all time were, and then I could buy those tapes . . . Carl Blesch
mgh@cuuxb.UUCP (Mike Hall) (07/09/85)
[ there is no line here ] > Of course, we would get a net.wobegon discussion going on > what the best shows of all time were, > and then I could buy those tapes . . . Me, too: is anyone out there cataloging the shows? Hmm, let's see, there was one good show this past winter, in February I believe, where Garrison was talking about his childhood and the winter snow. There were some great stories and imagery about the Midwest blizzards and winds, and the infamous snow leopards that he always managed to escape from. And again, more recently, he had Bobby McFerrin on the show. Bobby did "Blackbird" with a fantastic electric-guitar-echo- fade out at the end - all with just his voice. (But discussions of Bobby McFerrin belong in net.music.....sorry.)
wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (07/11/85)
In article <244@kovacs.UUCP> day@kovacs.UUCP (Dave Yost) writes: >I think the thing to do is to get a Beta HiFi >deck and set the timer to tape the program. >Two-hour audio cassettes are notoriously jam-prone, >and besides, you have to turn them over, so >you can't tape the program unattended. > >--dave While the Beta (or VHS) HiFi idea is fine, there is a cheaper alternative. Use an auto-reverse reel-to-reel tape recorder. No, not a new one -- they would cost more than the VCR -- and don't use new tape since new R-t-R tape is insanely priced. I have a Teac 4070G auto-reverse reel-to-reel which I did buy new, but from the PX many years ago, so it was cheap. You should be able to find used auto-reverse reel-to-reel machines for decent prices, as cassettes have driven them out of the market. As for tape, several mail-order places sell used Ampex (and some other brand) 1800-ft. and 2400-ft. reels of tape for prices that come well under $1.00 per reel. I use the 1800-ft. stuff myself, at 3 3/4 IPS spped, which gives you three hours of taping per reel (with usually a little extra time, because the tapes run long, normally), and put each week's PHC on it, with a half-hour or so in front and behind, which I then use to put half-hour NPR radio drama programs on. (Look at the ads in the back of Audio, Stereo Review, or High Fidelity for the places selling this tape. The one I usually buy from is called, unoriginally enough, "Audio Tape, Inc." in Virginia [Alexandria, I think].) With the 2400-ft. reels, you could get a full 2-hour PHC on each side, and wouldn't even need an auto-reverse deck. However, I haven't used that, so I don't know if the thinner tape is sturdy enough to be good after being used. The 1800-ft. stuff is somewhat thicker and seems to be fine. Fidelity is adequate at 3 3/4 IPS for taping something like PHC; there is some flutter on piano and the like, but big deal... Taping it this way frees you from having to pay attention to it or tie you up for two hours when there are other things needing your attention. Of course, then you have the problem of finding time later to listen to the tape... :-) This is why you buy the tape in 100-reel lots, so you can have lots of unlistened-to tapes piled around awaiting that magic moment sometime in the indefinite future when you will finally get time...:-) (Maybe when you retire...) Of course, you can also use an auto-reverse cassette machine, and use the C-120s, but as you mentioned, they are jam-prone. I have never had a tape-handling problem with the reel-to-reel Teac. Will