Oddity Archive
  • Home
  • Episode Guide
    • Season 1 >
      • Ep. 1: The Max Headroom Incident of 1987
      • Ep. 2: Emergency Broadcast Salute
      • Ep. 2.5: Donny Osmond - Soldier Of Love (Michael Bay Salute)
      • Ep. 3: TV Sign-Offs
      • Ep. 4: Local TV Special
      • Ep. 4.5: National Anthem Conspiracy Theory
      • Ep. 5: American EXXXtasy (and other C-band Nastiness)
      • Ep. 6: Conservative Folk Music
      • Ep. 6.5: Everlasting Love
      • Ep. 7: Format Wars
      • Ep. 8: 1-900 ARCHIVE
      • Ep. 8.5: The Max Headroom Incident of 1987 (COMMENTARY)
      • Ep. 9: Halloween Special 2012 (Strange VHS Endings)
      • Ep. 9.5: Sounds To Make You Shiver
      • Ep. 10: Captain Midnight/Vrillon
      • Ep. 11: Pay TV (but not Cable or Satellite)
      • Ep. 12: Top (Thanksgiving) Turkeys of the (19)90's
      • Ep. 13: Local TV Vol. 2 (Kiddie Show Hosts)
      • Ep. 13.5: TV Sign-Offs (COMMENTARY)
      • Ep. 14: Christmas Special 2012 (A Fair Use Christmas)
      • Ep. 15: Teletext Heaven (or Hell)
      • Ep. 16: Intermission
      • Ep. 17: Prehistoric Television
      • Ep. 18: gniksaM sdrawkcaB (Backwards Masking)
      • Ep. 18.5: Emergency Broadcast Salute (COMMENTARY)
      • Ep. 19: Valentine's Day Special (Dating Services)
      • Ep. 20: Local TV Vol. 3 (Public Access)
      • Ep. 20.5: Freedom Is A Hammer (Album Review)
      • Ep. 21: Protect & Survive
      • Ep. 22: Duck & Cover
      • Ep. 22.5: American EXXXtasy (COMMENTARY)
      • Ep. 23: Scary Logos (and other Nostalgic Video Terrors)
      • Ep. 24: Hell's Bells (The Dangers Of Rock And Roll)
      • Ep. 24.5: Greetings From The Stars (sort of)
      • Ep. 25: Employee Training Videos
      • Ep. 26: VHS Vault Vol. 1 (Amvest Video)
    • Season 1.5 >
      • Ep. 26.1: Ask The Archive
      • Ep. 26.2: Archive Riffs: Petaluma Chicken
      • Ep. 26.3: Local TV Special (COMMENTARY)
      • Ep. 26.4: Archive Riffs: Greedy Humpty Dumpty
      • Ep. 26.5: VHS Vault Vol. 1 (Amvest Video) (COMMENTARY)
    • Season 2 >
      • Ep. 27: Bicentennial Fever
      • Ep. 28: Record Rip-Offs
      • Ep. 28.5: Archive Riffs: Say No To Strangers
      • Ep. 29: VHS Vault Vol. 2 (Fashion Videos)
      • Ep. 30: LaserKaraoke (Archive LaserKaraoke Party!)
      • Ep. 30.5: National Anthem Conspiracy Theory (REDUX)
      • Ep. 31: Number Stations (and other Radio Oddities)
      • Ep. 32: The EAS Zombie Hoax of 2013
      • Ep. 33: 8-Tracks (or, The Care & Feeding Of Your 8-Track)
      • Ep. 34: VHS Vault Vol. 3 (Gambling Videos)
      • Ep. 35: Kiddie Disco Records
      • Ep. 35.5: Halloween Special 2012 (COMMENTARY)
      • Ep. 36: Halloween Special (Italian Dance Party/The Son Of Halloween Riffs)
      • Ep. 36.5: Hallmark Presents: Spooky Sounds
      • Ep. 37: Format Wars Vol. 2 (Pre-Betamax)
      • Ep. 38: VHS Vault Vol. 4 (VCR Games)
      • Ep. 38.5: Archive Riffs: Dining Together
      • Ep. 39: QUBE Interactive TV
      • Ep. 39.5: Christmas Special 2012 (COMMENTARY)
      • Ep. 40: A Bargain Bin Christmas (or, Ben's Holiday Hits!)
      • Ep. 40.5: Archive Riffs: A Christmas Fantasy
      • Ep. 41: Infomercials
      • Ep. 41.5: TV DX-ing
      • Ep. 42: Industrial Musicals (or, The Archive Sells Out!)
      • Ep. 43: Educational Film Salute (The Stock Footage Special!)
      • Ep. 43.5: Archive Riffs: Live & Learn
      • Ep. 44: Teknikel Diffikultees (Technical Difficulties)
      • Ep. 45: PSA's (or, The More You Know, The Less You Understand)
      • Ep. 45.5: Archive Riffs: Cigarette Commercials
      • Ep. 46: Interstitials
      • Ep. 47: A Tour of the Archive (or, Roll Up For The Magical, Myserious Archive Tour)
      • Ep. 47.5: Backwards Masking (Commentary)
      • Ep. 48: More Record Rip-Offs
      • Ep. 49: Test Cards (and Patterns)
      • Ep. 49.5: A Nice Pair (of early, European VCR's)
      • Ep. 50: Going Analog
      • Ep. 51: Weather Warnings
      • Ep. 51.5: Blooper Reel
      • Ep. 52: VHS Vault Vol. 5 (Y2K Apocalypse Party!)
    • Season 2.5 >
      • Ep. 52.1: VHS Vault Vol. 5 (Y2K Apocalypse Party!) (Commentary)
      • Ep. 52.2: Archive Riffs: Atomic Alert (Elementary Edition)
      • Ep. 52.3: Ben's Junk: Sony Super Betamax
      • Ep. 52.4: Ben's Junk: The Rejected Pilot (VideoNow PVD Player)
      • Ep. 52.5: Format Wars 2 (Commentary)
    • Season 3 >
      • Ep. 53: U-Matic (or, How I Spent My Summer)
      • Ep. 54: The Great Archive Treasure Hunt
      • Ep. 54.5: Ben's Junk: VHS Camcorder (RCA CC285)
      • Ep. 55: Return of the Son of Record Rip-Offs (or, Record Rip-Offs, Vol. 3)
      • Ep. 56: Macrovision (and one other nostalgic copy-protection hassle)
      • Ep. 56.5: The Great Archive Treasure Hunt (Commentary)
      • Ep. 57: LaserKaraoke Vol. 2 (Aqua Net Edition)
      • Ep. 58: Laserdiscs (and their children)
      • Ep. 58.5: Ben's Junk: Tascam Cassette Portastudio
      • Ep 59: Copy-Protection Vol. 2 (Odds and Ends)
      • Ep. 59.5: Halloween Special 2013 (Commentary)
      • Ep. 60: Shortwave DX-ing (or, Shortwave for Rank Amateurs)
      • Ep. 61: Hallmark Presents: The Sounds of Halloween
      • Ep. 62: Halloween Special 2014 (Archive Wares: Rejuvenique Facial System)
      • Ep. 63: Local TV Vol. 4 (Local Commercials)
      • Ep. 63.5: Ben's Junk: 8-Track/Cassette "Adaptor"
      • Ep. 64: Oddity Archive's Greatest Misses
      • Ep. 64.5: Ben's Junk: Multi-System VHS VCR (Hitachi VT-M768EM)
      • Ep. 65: Public Domain VHS Distributors (An Incomplete Overview)
      • Ep. 65.5: Ben's Junk: JVC S-VHS VCR (S7600U)
      • Ep. 66: Christmas Special 2014 (Santa Claus IS Watching You!)
      • Ep. 67: Future Oddities (Benny-boy Predicts)
      • Ep. 67.5: Ben's Junk: LaserKaraoke/Laserdisc Player (Pioneer CLD-S304)
      • Ep. 68: 1-900 ARCHIVE Vol. 2 (Operators Aren't Standing By!)
      • Ep. 68.5: 1-900 ARCHIVE Vol. 2 (Commentary)
      • Ep. 70: The DuMont Network
      • Ep. 70.5: The DuMont Network (Deleted Game Show Segment)
      • Ep. 69: VHS Vault Vol. 6 - How's Your Sex Life? (Valentine's Day Special)
      • Ep. 71: Video Games (A Non-Gamer's Perspective)
      • Ep. 71.5: Ben's Junk: Handheld Electronic Games
      • Ep. 72: Audiocassette-based Board Games
      • Ep. 73: Electronic Talking Oddity Archive! (Electronic Talking Board Games)
      • Ep. 73.5: Ben's Junk: B-Movies & Cult Classics
      • Ep. 74: Record Ripoffs Vol. 4 (For Vinyl Fetishists Only!)
      • Ep. 75: 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
      • Ep. 75.5: Ben Tries Finnish Candy
      • Ep. 76: Philips CD-I (Comapct Disc Interactive)
      • Ep. 77: WebTV (and one other early Internet/TV crossover)
      • Ep. 77.5: Ben's Junk: WebTV Box
      • Ep. 78: The Death of Analog TV
    • Season 3.5 >
      • Ep. 78.1: The Death of Analog TV (Commentary)
      • Ep. 78.2: Ben's Junk: Super 8 Sound Projector (Sears Sound II - Model 9258)
      • Ep. 78.3: Archive Riffs: Self-Conscious Guy
      • Ep. 78.4: VHS Vault Vol. 6 (Valentine's Day Special 2015) (Commentary)
      • Ep. 78.5: (Unofficial) Ben's Junk: Philips CD-I (Model 220)
    • Season 4 >
      • Ep. 79: Microbroadcasting (or, Oddity Archive Goes Part 15!)
      • Ep. 80: Stereo Test Records (or, The Official Oddity Archive Stereo Test!)
      • Ep. 80.5: Ben's Junk: 8-Track (and related) Oddities)
      • Ep. 81: Nanny Boxes (TV Content Filters)
      • Ep. 82: LaserKaraoke Vol. 3 (& VCD Karaoke Vol. 1)
      • Ep. 82.5: Ben's Junk: Sony DT-30 (External VCR Timer)
      • Ep. 83: CB Radio (or, Breaker, Breaker 1-9! Mercy Sakes! Gonna Blow Your Doors In, Chicken Inspector!)
      • Ep. 83.5: Ben Tries Bonomo's Turkish Taffy
      • Ep. 84: VHS Vault Vol. 7 (It's My Party--And I'll Sigh If I Want To)
      • Ep. 84.5: Ben's Junk: Rejuvenique Revisited
      • Ep. 85: Record Ripoffs Vol. 5 (Pickwick: Picked Over)
      • Ep. 85.5: Halloween Special 2014 (Archive Wares: Rejuvenique) (Commentary)
      • Ep. 86: Fisher-Price PXL 2000 Camcorder
      • Ep. 86.5: An Overly Nostalgic Halloween (or, For The Want Of A Pail)
      • Ep. 86.6: For The Want Of A Pail (Conclusion)
      • Ep. 87: VCR Ephemera
      • Ep. 87.5: Ben's Junk: Fisher-Price PXL 2000 Camcorder
      • Ep. 88: Action Max (VHS Video Game Console)
      • Ep. 88.5: Ben Tries (Thanksgiving Edition) (or, Ben Tries Australian Stuff)
      • Ep. 89: Prehistoric Pay-Per-View
      • Ep. 89.5: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
      • Ep. 90: Ben's Holiday Grab Bag (Christmas Special 2015)
      • Ep. 90.5: Archive Riffs: A Christmas Dream
      • Ep. 91: VCR Rabbit (or, Microbroadcasting Vol. 2)
      • Ep. 92: Capacitance Electronic Discs (or, CED's)
      • Ep. 92.5: Ben's CED Collection (Deleted Segment from CED Episode)
      • Ep. 93: VHS Vault Vol. 8 (More VCR Games)
      • Ep. 93.5: Ben's Junk: Guitars! Guitars!! Guitars!!!
      • Ep. 94: Prevue Channel(s)
      • Ep. 94.5: Ben's Junk: Ben's Philips CD-I Collection
      • Ep. 95: Airline Safety Videos
      • Ep. 96: Ham Radio (A Beginner's Perspective)
      • Ep. 96.5: Ben's Junk: Philips CD-I Peacekeeper Revolver
      • Ep. 97: Calibration & Test Laserdiscs
      • Ep. 97.5: Ben's Junk: Ben's (Incomplete) Comedy LP Collection
      • Ep. 98: Adult Party Albums
      • Ep. 98.5: Ben's Junk: Fisher-Price Movie Viewer
      • Ep. 99: Disposable DVD's (DIVX & Flexplay)
      • Ep. 100: Commodore 64
      • Ep. 100.5: Ben's Junk: Commodore 64 (& Peripherals)
      • Ep. 101: VHS Vault Vol. 9 (Your New Computer & You)
      • Ep. 101.5: Ben's Junk: Sony TT-100 Tuner/Timer
      • Ep. 102: VHS Game Consoles Vol. 2 (Captain Power & View Master Interactive Vision)
    • Season 4.5 >
      • Ep. 102.1: Commodore 64 (Commentary)
      • Ep. 102.2: Ben's Junk:VCR Co-Pilot
      • Ep. 102.3: Archive Riffs: Fox Hour Promotional Reel
      • Ep. 102.4: Record Ripoffs (Commentary)
      • Ep. 102.5: Magnavox Odyssey 2 (Video Game Console)
    • Season 5 >
      • Ep. 103: How I Spent My Summer III (Super Betamax/Software-Defined Radio (SDR)/Talking House Transmitter)
      • Ep. 103.5: Ben's Junk: Colecovision Video Game Console
      • Ep. 104: Record Ripoffs Vol. 6 (98% 70's-Free!)
      • Ep. 105: Home Shopping Channels
      • Ep. 105.5: Ben's Junk: (Some of) Ben's Vinyl Collection
      • Ep. 106: LaserKaraoke Vol. 4 (+ VHS Karaoke Vol. 1)
      • Ep. 106.5: Ben's Junk: "The Voice" Module (for Magnavox Odyssey 2)
      • Ep. 107: Ben's Random Audiocassette Haul
      • Ep. 107.5: Flexplay Disposable DVD Update
      • Ep. 108: Talking House Transmitter Redux (or, Part 15 Microbroadcasting: The Final Chapter?)
      • Ep. 108.5: Ben's Junk: Fisher-Price Star Station Sing-Along Machine
      • Ep. 109: The Official Oddity Archive Guide To Retro A/V
      • Ep. 110: Betamax
      • Ep. 110.5: Fisher-Price PXL-2000 Camcorder (Commentary)
      • Ep. 111: Conelrad (Halloween Special 2016)
      • Ep. 111.5: Ben's Junk: bob (Another Nanny Box)
      • Ep. 112: VHS Vault Vol. 10 (Learning With The Stars)
      • Ep. 112.5: Ben's Junk: DVD Recorder (Panasonic DMR-E55)
      • Ep. 113: Top 10 Gaming Turkeys (of the 80's & 90's)
      • Ep. 114: The Official Oddity Archive® Idiot’s Guide To A/V Transfer
      • Ep. 114.5: Ben's Junk: Gemmy Douglas Fir Talking Christmas Tree
      • Ep. 115: Christmas Special 2016 (A Musical Masochist's Christmas)
      • Ep. 116: VideoGuide (+2 other early Interactive Program Guides)
      • Ep. 116.5: Ben's Junk: Ben's Comic Book Collection
      • Ep. 117: Local TV Vol. 5 (More Local Commercials)
      • Ep. 118: VHS Vault Vol. 11 (D-I-V-O-R-C-E)
      • Ep. 119: Random Kiddie Records
      • Ep. 119.5: Ben's Junk: Learn To Solder Kit
      • Ep. 120: Minidisc
      • Ep. 120.5: Ben's Junk: MD Walkman (Minidisc Addendum)
      • Ep. 121: Ben Vs. The Reel-To-Reel
      • Ep. 121.5: Ben's Junk: RCA Selectavision (SGT 250)
      • Ep. 122: DBX Noise Reduction System
      • Ep. 122.5: Ben's Junk: Ben's Audiophile Albums
      • Ep. 123: Ben's Random Reel-To-Reel Haul
      • Ep. 124: Useless VHS Tapes
      • Ep. 124.5: Ben's Junk: VTech Socrates Educational Video System
      • Ep. 125: Going (Proto-)Mobile! (Sony Data Discman & Apple Newton)
      • Ep. 125.5: Ben's Junk: Videocipher II Plus/Manhattan Cable TV Box
      • Ep. 126: Video Magazines (or, Oddity Archive: Issue #126)
    • Season 5.5 >
      • Ep. 126.1: Ben's Junk: go reader (Audiobook Device)
      • Ep. 126.2: Archive Riffs: Dear Miss Gloria
      • Ep. 126.3: DBX Noise Reduction System (Commentary)
      • Ep. 126.4: Ben's Junk: Las Vegas Vacation (1997)
    • Season 6 >
      • Ep. 127: How I Spent My Summer IV (Ben Vs. Laserdisc Audio & Turntable Tune-up)
      • Ep. 127.5: Ben's 10 Favorite Albums (Part 1)
      • Ep. 128: Record Ripoffs Vol. 7 (Revenge of the 70's!)
      • Ep. 128.5: Ben's 10 Favorite Albums (Part 2)
      • Ep. 129: Elvis Has(n't) Left The Building (Elvisploitation)
      • Ep. 129.5: Ben's Junk: MFSL Geo-Tape (Azimuth Alignment Cassette)
      • Ep. 130: Tape Baking (A Quasi-Documentary on Sticky-Shed Syndrome)
      • Ep. 130.5: Ben's Junk: DBX Cassettes (DBX Addendum)
      • Ep. 131: LaserKaraoke Vol. 5 (+ Assorted VHS & VCD Karaoke)
      • Ep. 131.5: Ben's Junk: MFSL Geo-Disc (Turntable Cartridge Alignment Tool)
      • Ep. 132: Playtape & Aroma Disc (or, The Anti-Audiophile Files)
      • Ep. 132.5: Ben’s Junk: (New) Speed Calibration Cassette
      • Ep. 133: As Seen On TV! (Mail-Order & Infomercial-Style Commercials)
      • Ep. 133.5: Ben's Junk: CVS One-Time-Use Camcorder
      • Ep. 134: Ben's Palm PDA's (& Camera "Spy" Glasses)
      • Ep. 134.5: Conelrad (Halloween Special 2016) (Commentary)
      • Ep. 135: "Telecine" Film Transfer (A Nightmare In Celluloid) (Halloween Special 2017)
      • Ep. 135.5: Ben’s Junk: The World of Yesterday (& other Classic Hollywood Fanzines)
      • Ep. 136: VHS Vault Vol. 12 (Child Safety Videos)
      • 136.5: Ben's Junk: Realistic Phono Pre-Amp (Model 42-2109)
      • Ep. 137: The Max Headroom Incident Revisited (30 Years On)
      • Ep. 137.5: Ben's Junk: Vidicraft Vidimate Video Enhancer (Model VDM300S)
      • Ep. 138: Dynagroove & Friends (Vinyl Oddities)
      • Ep. 138.5: Ben's Junk: Star Shower Laser Light
      • Ep. 139: Christmas Special 2017 (Ben's Christmas Clunkers)
      • Ep. 139.5: Ben's Junk: Sankyo Dualux Dual8 Projector (Model 2000H)
      • Ep. 140: Phoney Nostalgia
      • Ep. 140.5: Ben's Junk: Allsop 3 Orbitrac Record Cleaning System
      • Ep. 141: Ben's Random Audiocassette Haul #2
      • Ep. 141.5: Ben’s Junk: JVC KD-A6 Cassette Deck
      • Ep. 142: Ben's Music Career, Vol. 1 (The Outsider Years, Pt. 1)
      • Ep. 142.5: Ben's Junk: Discwasher Compact Disc Cleaner
      • Ep. 143: Dolby Noise Reduction (The Hard Way)
      • Ep. 143.5: Ben's Junk: Royal Disc Repair System
      • Ep. 144: Laserdisc, Vinyl & Cassette Computer Programs
      • Ep. 144.5: Ben's Junk: The Archive HQ Bookshelf
      • Ep. 145: VHS Vault Vol. 13 (Movin' Out)
      • Ep. 145.5: Ben’s Junk: MP32C64 Adapter (Commodore Datasette Substitute)
      • Ep. 146: Silent-Era Talking Pictures
      • Ep. 146.5: Archive Thrifting #1: Impromptu Investigations
      • Ep. 147: Vinyl Potpourri
      • Ep. 147.5: Archive Thrifting #2: Arc Of A (Dumpster) Diver
      • Ep. 148: Loudness Wars
      • Ep. 148.5: Ben's Junk: K-Tel Record Selector
      • Ep. 149: Ben Vs. The Reel-To-Reel (Round 2)
      • Ep. 149.5: Ben's Junk: Teac V-770 Cassette Deck
      • Ep. 150: Local Flavor (Part 1: Nostalgia)
      • Ep. 150.5: Discovision Dead Sides
      • Ep. 151: Local Flavor (Part 2: Anti-Nostalgia)
    • Season 6.5 >
      • Ep. 151.1: Ben's Junk: ABC Talking Monday Might Football
      • Ep. 151.2: Archive Riffs: Selling Your Home?
      • Ep. 151.3: Archive Thrifting #3 (Beautiful Downtown Aurora's Last Stand)
    • Season 7 >
      • Ep. 152: How I Spent My Summer V: The New Frontier
      • Ep. 152.5: Ben's Junk: Rocketfish Wireless Rear Speaker Kit
      • Ep. 153: Record Ripoffs Vol. 8 ('80's & '90's Hits!)
      • Ep. 153.5: Ben's Junk: Audio Technica AT-LP120 Turntable (Early Thoughts)
      • Ep. 154: Ben's Music "Career" Vol. 2 (The Outsider Years: Pt. 2)
      • Ep. 154.5: Ben's Junk: Ben's Makeshift Bedroom Stereo System
      • Ep. 155: The Archive Drive-In Movie Theater (or, more fun with Part 15 microbroadcasting)
      • Ep. 155.5: Ben's Junk: Ramsey FM Transmitter (Further Experiments)
      • Ep. 156: VHS Vault Vol. 14 (Be Cruel About Fire Safety)
      • Ep. 156.5: Archive Thrifting #4: Elvis Sightings
      • Ep. 157: LaserKaraoke Vol. 6 (Repeat Offenders)
      • Ep. 157.5: Archive Thrifting #5: Low Money Hu$tla
      • Ep. 158: Pioneer CLD-D605 (or, Laserdiscs, Vol. 2)
      • Ep. 158.5: Sounds of Terror! (Halloween Album Review)
      • Ep. 159: Emergency Broadcast Salute, Vol. 2 (Halloween Special 2018)
      • Ep. 159.5: Ben's Junk: Pac-Man Fever (Pac-Man Tiny Arcades)
      • Ep. 160: Philips DCC (Digital Compact Cassette)
      • Ep. 160.5: Archive Riffs: Thanksgiving Commercials
      • Ep. 161: Vinyl Potpourri Vol. 2 (Deeper Cuts)
      • Ep. 161.5: Ben's Junk: NES Classic Edition (The Last Word?)
      • Ep. 162: Ben Vs. The Mo(u)ldy Mystery PAL VHS Tapes
      • Ep. 163: Christmas Special 2018 (Ben's Christmas Crackers)
      • Ep. 163.25: Christmas LaserKaraoke (Deleted Segment)
      • Ep. 163.5: Ben's Junk: Nagaoka MP-110H Phono Cartridge
      • Ep. 163.75: Ben's Junk: Sega Pico ("Edutainment" Console)
      • Ep. 164: DBX Noise Reduction Revisited
      • Ep. 164.5: Ben's Junk: SNES Classic Edition ((Belated) First Impressions)
      • Ep. 164.75: Ben's Junk: Tyco VideoCam
      • Ep. 165: Local TV Vol. 6 (More Public Access)
      • Ep. 165.5: Archive Riffs: Valentine’s Day Commercials (A Semi-Romantic Tale)
      • Ep. 166: Ben's ONTV Box/Non-Cable Pay TV Vol. 2
      • Ep. 166.5: Archive Thrifting #6: Frostbite Falls
      • Ep. 167: The Care & Feeding of Audiocassettes
      • Ep. 167.5: Ben's Junk: Ronco Mr. Microphone
      • Ep. 168: Cult VHS Distributors Vol. 1 (Something Weird & Rhino)
      • Ep. 168.5: Ben's Junk: GAF Super 8 Sound Film Projector
      • Ep. 169: Laserdisc Games (but not LaserActive or Arcade)
      • Ep. 169.5: Ben's Junk: The Big Reel (Film Collector's Magazine)
      • Ep. 170: Ben's Music "Career", Vol. 3 (The Transitional Years)
      • Ep. 170.5: Discovision/Laserdisc Quirks (An Informal Discussion)
      • Ep. 171: Mystery 8mm Films/The Ballad of Ben & 8mm
      • Ep. 171.5: Discovision Dead Sides Vol. 2
      • Ep. 172: VHS Vault Vol. 15 (Potty All The Time)
      • Ep. 172.5: Ben’s Junk: VGA Converters/Public Domain CD-ROMs
      • Ep. 173: The Branson Tapes
    • Season 7.5 >
      • Ep. 173.1: Ben's Junk: Innovative Technologies ITNS-500 Slide "Scanner"
      • Ep. 173.2: Archive Riffs: Clutch Cargo (Big "X", Pts. 4 & 5)
      • Ep. 173.3: Mystery 8mm Films/The Ballad of Ben & 8mm (Commentary)
      • Ep. 173.4: Archive Thrifting #7: Wii, Wii, All The Way Home
    • Season 8 >
      • Ep. 174: How I Spent My Summer VI (The Great A/V Overhaul of 2019)
      • Ep. 175: Record Ripoffs Vol. 9 (HITS on the '60's!)
      • Ep. 175.5: Ben's Junk: Video Action Magazine (Issue #1: December, 1980)
      • Ep. 176: The Right Way To Tape Record (1965-Style)
      • Ep. 176.5: Ben's Junk: Ben's Laserdisc Collection (2019 Edition)
      • Ep. 177: Scanimate
      • Ep. 177.5: Fostex X-14 Cassette Multitracker/Ben's Music "Career": The Gear
      • Ep. 178: Local TV Vol. 7: Dialing For Dollars (& other Franchised Game Shows)
      • Ep. 178.5: Ben's Junk: Whippany Rhythm Master (Circa 1972 Drum Machine)
      • Ep. 179: LaserKaraoke Vol. 7 (Golden Moldies)
      • Ep. 179.5: Ben's Junk: Burns Theremin
      • Ep. 180: Employee Training Videos Vol. 2 (Loss Prevention)
      • Ep. 180.5: Archive Thrifting #8: Break IT You Pay For IT
      • Ep. 181: Random Reel-To-Reel Vol. 2 (featuring "The Ballad of Tom")
      • Ep. 181.5: Haunted House (Halloween SFX Album Review)
      • Ep. 182: After Hours (Transmitter Maintenance) (Halloween Special 2019)
      • Ep. 182.5: Ben's Junk: Realistic Concertmate (Moog) MG-1 Synthesizer
      • Ep. 183: Video8 (8mm video) (and its children)
      • Ep. 183.5: Ben's Junk: Sony DCR-TRV320 Digital8 Handycam (Video8 Addendum)
      • Ep. 184: Top 10 Earworms (to date)
      • Ep. 184.1: Ben's Junk: Archer Video Processor/Stabilizer (Model 15-1272A)
    • Ben's Junk
    • VHS Vault
    • Record Ripoffs
    • LaserKaraoke
    • Archive Riffs
    • Episode Commentaries
    • Archive Thrifting
    • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics >
      • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics (9/13/2016)
      • Sergei’s Catacomb of Classics (Halloween Edition!) (KLAK-AM 10/31/2016 – 9-10 A.M.)
      • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics (Christmas Edition) (12/24/2016)
      • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics (Valentine's Day(-ish) Edition) (2/9/2017)
      • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics (6/1/2017)
      • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics (12/22/2017 - Christmas Special 2017)
      • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics (6/14/2018 - Sergei Lovin')
      • Sergei's Catacomb of Classics #8: Hot Sergei In The Summertime (6/6/2019)
    • Specials >
      • Ask The Archive (LIVE - Sept. 5, 2013)
      • Ask The Archive (LIVE - June 27, 2014)
      • Ask The Archive Live (9/14/2018)
      • Impromptu Review: Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas
      • Rejuvenique Contest Winner Announcement (10/20/2015)
      • Record Ripoffs Commercial Parodies (Vol. 1-9)
      • Pavanned (Oddity Archive Theme)
      • Ben Vs. The Storage Unit (A Mini-Documentary)
  • About The Archive
    • FAQ's
  • Forum
  • Blog
  • Store

Nat'l Anthem Conspiracy Theory REDUX (x2 - Electric Boogaloo)

6/11/2014

2 Comments

 
I don't consider myself to be a conspiracy connoisseur, but this has really been bugging me for a little while now.  For reasons I haven’t figured out yet (something on reddit, perhaps?), Episode 30.5 of Oddity Archive (Nat’l Anthem Conspiracy Theory REDUX) has:

1.     Jumped from about 800 views to 3,300+ views in under 48 hours (Ok, that part doesn't bother me).

2.     Become the tin-foil hat crowd’s flavor of the hour (again).

3.     Stuffed my inbox with no answers, just more conspiracies.

As you may or may not know, this video is a remake of an early Archive minisode.  The reason I remade it was so that I could have a 5-minute (or less) video to submit to the 2013 ConBravo Indie Video Showcase.  Well, that, and to submit a pre-written video to show off the (meager) rise in Archive’s production values.

The video was submitted in May (if memory serves), rejected, and reposted to (at the time) blip.tv and (to this day) YouTube after the Con wrapped that July (full disclosure: it was uploaded to YT in May, but remained unlisted until late August).  When the video was finally publicly released, it was met with a resounding thud, netting only about 800 views in its first 10 months.

            To recap:  The episode revolves around debunking the theory that the U.S. Government had created a film of the Star Spangled Banner (henceforth, “SSB”) littered with subliminal messages, imploring the American people to “trust the government” and that “rebellion is not tolerated”, etc, etc.  The film in question was sent to TV stations nationwide and was broadcast at sign-off and sign-on for years to come, thereby brainwashing the (places tongue-in-cheek) practically hundreds of viewers that actively watched their local stations sign on and off.  A copy of the “subliminal” sign-off appeared on YouTube in 2009.  An amateur, off-air recording (from 1984) of this film (minus any signs of tampering) surfaced on fuzzymemories.tv in 2010.

Anyway, finally getting to the point, I hope to get as close as I can to putting this one to bed.  In the last day-and-half, this pic has been popping up in my inbox, asking for my input.  The image in question:
Picture
(The image I keep receiving.  Not sure where it originated.)

In a nutshell, over the last couple of days, a new conspiracy theory revolving around this film has surfaced.  It states that the government went back and subtly redid the film in the 80’s to compensate for the rise of the VCR (nevermind that the first consumer videotape device was introduced and released in 1965).

The concept that this theory is missing is a little A/V quirk known as “overscanning”, the idea of something being intentionally overshot for broadcast (and later, home video) use, knowing that about 5-10% of the image’s perimeter area will be lost to broadcast equipment and (further lost to) consumer TV’s. 

Contrary to what the above image tries to sell, a bigger picture area does not equal a completely different version of the film.  Indeed, the picture of what appeared on the embattled 1984 WMAQ Sign-Off was likely cropped a bit further when viewed on an old CRT-TV.  Depending on FuzzyMemories’ analog-to-digital transfer process, the image has been presumably restored to the “size” broadcast via WMAQ.  Either way, it is not at the full size provided by the original 16mm film.


Some other points that are being missed here (and that were already noted in both versions of my Oddity Archive episode) are:

1.     This Star-Spangled Banner film was (apparently) produced by a branch of the U.S. Government sometime in the first half of the 1960’s and was distributed via 16mm film.

2.     16mm has a tendency to fade to red over time (as shown above).

3.     By 1984, most stations had long since gone over to other versions of the SSB for sign-off and sign-on.

4.     Though I’ve no concrete proof, I think it would be safe to guess that the February 1984 amateur off-air recording of this SSB is one of the last times it was ever broadcast.  WMAQ (again, speculation) may have been the last in the country to use this film as part of their sign-off.  Barring the discovery of any further off-air recordings and 16mm copies of this film, the point is moot.




Some further points:

1.     The technology of the ‘60’s and ‘80’s were quite a bit different.  The text on any copy of this film were done by hand (as opposed to computer-generated) and superimposed via green-screen (or some similar means).  The idea that this would’ve (or could’ve) been accurately reproduced is unlikely.  Taking the overscanning into account, the lyric text lines up the same on both copies of the film. 

2.     This conspiracy theory assumes that not only did the government still have access to the exact same equipment by the ‘80’s, but also the means/time/budget/patience to exactly reproduce the old print minus the transition between lyric lines.  A lot of work for a very little potential payoff.

3.     Computer technology in the first half of the ‘80’s
(standard in production use by this time) would NOT have allowed for such a perfect reproduction.  Any new text at the time would’ve been noticeably “digital” by comparison (plus, the same font on a Circa, early-‘80’s Chyron system is unlikely).  Any digital-flavored artifacting on the WMAQ sign-off is more likely the work of the broadcast and/or the VCR used to record it.

4.     The “film effect” that spells out the messages on the (allegedly) government-approved “subliminal” copy of the film would’ve been tough to pull off at all in the ‘60’s.

5.     The subliminal messages proper, while in the same font, don’t seem to match the main words (i.e. – the SSB lyrics).  Indeed, the “subliminal” copy of the film reeks of digital scrubbing on the transition between lyrics, exacerbated by the poor, compressed image quality of the transfer of said film.

6.     As of 2014, the 1984 WMAQ footage seen and referred to here is the only available hard proof of this particular sign-off being broadcast.  Ever.

7.     The conspiracy theorists have WAY too much faith in the U.S. Government.

It’s far from perfect, but here is a screenshot of the two films side-by-side, the “subliminal” version roughly cropped to match the (uncropped) version from WMAQ.
Picture

Somehow I sense I haven't heard or seen the last of this one yet, but hopefully this clears up my personal stance on the matter.

Links:

Oddity Archive: Episode 30.5 – Nat’l Anthem Conspiracy Theory (REDUX)

Oddity Archive: Episode 4.5 – National Anthem Conspiracy Theory (or, Sign-Offs, Vol. 2)

WMAQ Sign-Off (2/16/
1984) (SSB starts at 3:53)


From YouTube, the "subliminal" edition:

User-added addendum:
2 Comments
DiRT link
6/11/2014 06:34:55 am

Here's your addendum. The font is NOT the same in the subliminal message. It was obviously added in later.

<a href="http://imgur.com/CzyaINb"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/CzyaINb.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a>

Reply
government god
8/1/2014 02:34:17 pm

Besides the "OBEY CONSUME OBEY CONSUME" thing, a dead giveaway is the line (at about 0:45) "BUY ULTRA BUY NAOMI." Obvious references to CIA codenames MKULTRA (mind control) and MKNAOMI (biological warfare). If this was supposed to have been made by the government, why the hell would they disclose codenames for top-secret CIA projects?!

(And notice the user who uploaded this is named Naomi...)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Ben

    Because Ben really needs another outlet to senselessly blab about dumb things.

    Archives

    June 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

The Oddity Archive assumes no liability with regard to lost wages, productivity and/or social standing.

© 2014-2019, Ben (That Schmuck With The Cardboard Box) Minnotte

The Site

Episode Guide

About the Archive

FAQ's

Forum
Stuff That Probably Won't Interest You

Other Links

Our (old and defunct) Blog

Picture