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At my local radio station at the end of the 90s they used the longest length VHS tapes to record the shows on long play to 'prove' to the musicians rights organ
by roywashere 6y ago
At my local radio station at the end of the 90s they used the longest length VHS tapes to record the shows on long play to 'prove' to the musicians rights organisation which songs were played how often. The choice of medium had not much to do with the audio quality but mostly with the length of the tapes.
- ljf 6y agoI was going to post the same - I worked at a community station briefly in the 90s and they used a standard home VHS recorder that had audio (and video) component in on the front. A 4 hour tape and long play mode you could cover 24 hours with just 3 tapes. It was all a bit diy and remembering to change the tape if it fell in my show was pretty stressful, at least for a 17 year old. I also understood that it was a term of our (short) license that we had proof of what was said in air, should anyone make a complaint etc. since all our shows were played live.
- zbuf 6y agoYeah this was hugely common in the UK, as you could fit 8 hours of Nicam digital stereo on a VHS tape at long play, for your license obligations. And as a bonus the security cameras as well if you need it. All using readily available consumer gear with built-in timer. It would wear out every year or so. Some stations used the same VHS trick as a play out system to cover overnights as well. I recall one of the problems is the fire hazard of keeping 8 weeks or so of tapes.