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The burden(?) of an enormous old-school fansub collection...
My backing of of computer files over the past couple of days reminded me of my abandoned VHS--> DVD conversion project. Namely of my beloved ancient fansubs tapes. Beginning with my most highly treasured fansub set: my Fushigi Yuugi VHS tapes, which I obtained in 1996 and 1997 from the magnificent Tomodachi anime fansubbing couple, the Duffys. These ancient fansubs played a very very important part in my life, and I cannot risk losing them. (And yes, I do have the legal licensed FY anime sets from Pioneer. If I truly love a series, I WILL go legal. :P~~~~~)
I originally started this in summer '06, not too long after my family bought the DVD recorder. Naturally, my father noticed all the anime that suddenly appeared on the DVD recorder's hard drive, and I showed him how I had read the Engrish manual (that isn't a typo) and figured out how to make DVD menus and the best way to burn and whatnot. I could fit 10 eps to a disc! My dad thought converting my beloved tapes to DVD using our new gizmo was a great idea!!!! So guess what happened.
Oh yes. He decided to do the same thing with his Star Trek: Deep Space 9 tapes that he'd recorded off Spike TV. So now all of a sudden, I'm competing with my father for recording-from-VHS time, editing time, and for DVD recorder hard drive space. I'd wake up, and he'd be recording Star Trek. I'd start recording FY once it was done, only to have to have him complain when he came home from work and my stuff was still going. Finally, I'd managed to record all 54 eps of FY, and was in the process of cutting them into individual episode files and watching/listening to each one to make sure there were no errors and the tracking didn't need adjusting. Unfortunately that last one meant I had to re-record quite a few eps. These tapes are quite old...and I began to suffer from FY burnout. <:P Not to mention still dancing around my dad's use of the recorder, since he was doing the same thing with his Star Trek eps. Thanks to work, I could only mess with my project during my breaks and meals (spend 2 or 3 hours fooling around with anime? Not possible.) but if my parents were home, odds were Dad would be doing the same, or recording, or burning.
So I gave up. I left the remaining eps to record on the DVD burner hard drive and backed off. Dad could finish his Star Trek project, and I could get over FY burnout. Then last year, Dad was in a hurry and not paying attention, and he wiped the recorder's hard drive. I still had 24 FY eps waiting for me to verify and burn.
Truth be told, i wasn't too upset. Annoyed and irked, yes, but not really angry. He did apologize, and I could tell he honestly felt bad. The files had been on there for a year, after all. I'd had plenty of time to work with them, I just didn't have the impetus to do it. And my dad did finish his Star Trek project, though now he's busy recording every episode of How It's Made and the Universe, for the same reason. :P
I do still intend to move to Portland this summer (if my work schedule will let me...) and time is running out for me to back up my many precious VHS fansubs using this equipment. Once I'm out, I'll have to buy my own VCR (do they even still make good ones??) and my own DVD recorder to do this. Best get going, huh?
So now I'm trying to decide which series I love and am attached to enough to bother doing this. Finish FY? Oh yes. My various BL/shounenai/yaoi tapes? Most definitely. (Though I need to check for torrents first...Ai no Kusabi is probably available, at the very least.) At least I no longer have to worry about Hameln!
At the moment, finishing FY and my various BL stuff are the only ones that come to mind as must-do's. I need to take a long look at my massive collection and see what I can live with out. HYD will be a tough call. I had the whole thing fansubbed on VHS three years before it was licensed, and I've been buying the DVDs piecemeal. Maybe there's a set out of them by now.
So yes, I have much thinking to do. I'll likely end up pulling everything off my shelves, reorganizing them, and making the tough call of definitely yes, maybe, and no. And what about my licensed VHS collection? Ooog....that will depend on how much I love a title, and if the DVDs are available. Then there's the ones I have half fansubbed, half licensed DVDs, like YYH, and Wedding Peach. Just buy the licensed versions? Or convert my VHS? (But I can't stand how Funimation subtitles YYH....*sulks*) And then there's the fansubbed stuff that will never be licensed, that I sort-of-like but am not sure if I want to devote the time to digitize it. Like all 54 eps of Hime-chan no Ribon. *makes frustrated noise*
OMG, I just remembered my massive Sailormoon VHS fansub sets. O.o Are the commercial DVDs availbale anywhere still?? I do have the import Japanese LDs of the first three seasons, only those aren't subtitled. Why didn't I buy the DVD sets when they were readily available??? (Oh yes, b/c I didn't have enough money back then....) Woe.
Oh yes, and the final kicker: Utena can't read the burned DVDs. She CAN tell they're DVDs, but she can't load the menu or play the actual files. The real kicker??? My Pioneer DVD player, which I bought in 1999, can read them nooooo problem. HAHAHAHA!!!