As I understand it, some of the older fansubbers went "legit" as well (ADV, perhaps?). The basic distribution model is as you described, starting with an Amiga

As I understand it, some of the older fansubbers went "legit" as well (ADV, perhaps?). The basic distribution model is as you described, starting with an Amiga Video Toaster or other titler. Then, local anime clubs and other distributors would send them blank tapes, which the fansubber would dub with the latest episodes. Finally, people would send blank tapes to that distributor, who would dub a copy for them. After a few generations of this, the quality was quite bad in some cases.