Video Bootleg FAQ

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1.  What's available now?

    THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS:
    "TMBG Video Bootleg - Vol. 3" (120 min)
    "TMBG Video Bootleg - Vol. 4" (120 min)
    "TMBG Celebrate Brooklyn Concert 7/9/95" (87 min + BONUS)
    "TMBG Hatch Shell Concerts:  9/6/96 & 9/6/97" (120 min)
    "TMBG Hatch Shell Concert 7/30/98" (56 min + BONUS)
    "TMBG Fairfax, VA Concert 6/11/99" (56 min + BONUS)
    "TMBG Denver Lodo Concert 7/16/99" (87 min + BONUS)
    "TMBG webcast from the House Of Blues 1999" (96 min + BONUS)
    "TMBG Denver Lodo Concert 7/12/02" (85 min + BONUS)

    JOE JACKSON:
    "Joe Jackson Video Bootleg - Vol. 1" (120 min)
    "1980 Cologne/1981 Florentine Gardens (115 min)
    "Joe Jackson Rockpalast Hamburg Concert 21 Feb, 1983 (112 min)
    "Joe Jackson Rockpalast Essen Concert 16 Apr, 1983 (95 min + BONUS)
    "Joe Jackson Book Readings London 1999/Denver 2000 (115 min)

2.  What is the Video Bootleg Volume 2.5?

A guy named Larry Santiago did this tape, consisting of several
live and instore appearances.  He didn't want be involved in the 
duplication and distribution, though, so  Bob Gonsalves 
volunteered to do it.

3.  Is this for profit?

I don't think it's proper (or legal) to get a profit from this project,
It is a labor of love, and could not happen without the contributions
of many persons.  In other words, my time is free.

4.  Can I make a trade for the bootleg videos?

Contact me to ask about trades.  
If you have any video material that I don't have (and want) 
I will trade with you.  
I always insist on trading with SP speed and on High Grade tapes.  
(That means Maxell HiFi or Gold, not Silver.)
Since I dub with VHS-HI-FI stereo machines, I want especially 
to get HI-FI stereo recordings in trade.
If you have audio material to trade, my rule of thumb is asking
three audio tapes for one video tape. 
(Video is _much_ harder to come by and duplicate, and the mailing 
cost for one video tape is about the same as for three audio tapes!)
I insist on high bias audio cassettes.  (That means Type-IV
or Type-II, not Type-I audio cassettes.)

5.  Do you trade for blanks?

I don't like the idea of people sending me blank tapes and postage
in trade, because it's kind of a waste of postage to send the tapes
twice through the mail.
I can easily buy the materials myself, and stock up when they are on
sale.  If I can get a better price, I use the extra funds to repair and
enhance my dubbing equipment.  I keep a separate account for my tape
trading, and therefore ensure that I never realize a profit.
I think the reason people trade for blanks is that they feel it
is "more legal" if no money changes hands.  But then some people ask
for two blanks for each one they send, which means that they make
a profit anyway.  

6.  What if I don't have anything to trade?

Just send me the following amount per tape in USA dollars:
    USA/Canada:         $ 7.00
    Other Countries:    $10.00

That should cover my cost for tape, mailer, and postage.

7.  What kind of video tapes do you use?  

I always use High Grade tapes.  Since video degrades so much with each
generation of copying, the slightly extra cost is well worth it.
Right now I'm using TDK E-HG.

I put the following chart together to show my experience with
various brands and grades of tapes:

                !!!! Don't Use !!!!     !!!!! These Are Good !!!!!
Brand Name      Cheap       Regular     High-Grade      Audiophile
==========      =====       =======     ==========      ==========
Maxell                      GX-Silver   HGX-Gold        XL-HIFI
TDK             STD/AQ/QS   HG/HS       SHG/EHG         HiFi
BASF                        EQ          PHG HiFi        M-HiFi PRO
Fuji                        HQ          PRO             Master
Sony                        V           V-Premium Grade V-High Grade
Kodak                       Highgrade   Extra-Highgrade
RCA                         Premium                     
Scotch          HS                                      PHG
JVC (worst brand I tried)   SX          EHG             PRO-HiFi
Avg Cost/Tape   $1.00       $2.00       $3.00           $4.00

8.  What's up with TMBG Video Bootleg Volume 1 and Volume 2?

Well, the master tape wore out, and I haven't had the free time to
make a new one.  It took a full day of hard work to make each master,
since they are made up from multiple source tapes from many trades,
and the clips are generally very short.

My plan now is to make a digital master on my computer, and burn it 
onto a DVD-R disc.  This will also take a lot of time, but it should
preserve the video quality of my original source tape, and it won't
degrade over time.  Also the editing will be better, and I can add
a nifty menu to the DVD version.

9.  Okay, I want the tapes already.  What's the address?

 
6923 Blackwatch Ln
Colorado Springs, CO  80922-3136
United States of America

10. Are checks and money orders okay for payment?

My service is based on trust.  If the draft is for US funds, and
it will be paid by the bank, it's fine with me.  I _hate_ the big
service charges that my greedy bank adds to bounced checks!

I also accept online PayPal non-credit-card funded payments.



NOTE:  Paypal's new rules prevent me from receiving payments funded with
a credit card, unless I upgrade to a "business account" (fee 2.9% + $0.30).  
With my free "personal" account I can only receive Paypal payments funded 
with your own PayPal account balance or with your bank account. 

11. Where I live, we don't use NTSC video.  Can you send other formats?

Yes!  I can now make copies and accept trades in the following video formats:
------- ----- ------------- ---------------------------------------------------
NTSC    1.000 525-l, 60-f   North and South America, Japan, Korea, Philippines
M-PAL   1.000 525-l, 60-f   Brazil
N-PAL   1.425 625-l, 50-f   Argentina
PAL     1.425 625-l, 50-f   Western Europe, Australia, China, Southeast Asia
SECAM   1.425 625-l, 50-f   France
MESECAM 1.425 625-l, 50-f   Eastern Europe, Middle East



12. Is this legal?

I believe that it is legal use under the "fair use" provisions of copyright
law.  However, the law defines fair use so vaguely that courts are given broad
liberty to interpret the law on a case-by-case basis.  Often one court will
completely overturn existing precedent, and use completely different
reasoning.

Primary considerations in determining fair use 
(from 17 U.S.C. Section 107, 1982 ed.) are:
    (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use
        is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
    (2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
    (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to
        the copyrighted work as a whole; and
    (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of
        the copyrighted work

    We have often  recognized  the  monopoly  privileges  that  Congress  has
authorized,  while "intended to motivate the creative activity of authors and
inventors  by the provision of  a special reward," are  limited in nature and
must ultimately  serve the public good.   (Fogerty v.   Fantasy, Inc., 114 S.
Ct.  1023, 1029 (1994) (quoting Sony, supra note 22, at 429).)

    The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors,
but "[t]o promote  the Progress of  Science and useful  Arts." (United States
Constitution, Article I, Paragraph  8,  Clause  8)  To  this  end,  copyright
assures authors the right in their original expression, but encourages others
to build  freely upon the ideas  and information conveyed by  a work.  (Feist
Publication, Inc.   v.   Rural Telephone Service  Co., 499 U.S.   340, 349-50
(1991))

The copyright law attempts to strike a delicate balance between the benefit
to society of easy access to ideas and the incentives to the author
for his creative effort.
A copyright owner has several remedies against an infringer of his work,
including:  an injunction to restrain the infringer from violating his
rights, impoundment and destruction of all reproductions of his work made
in violation of his rights, a recovery of his actual damages and any 
additional profits realized by the infringer or a recovery of statuatory
damages an attorney's fees.


Visit The Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC) web page for more
information

13. Why did you reduce the price?

Too many people were sending quarters through the mail.
I also have a better idea of my actual cost, which turned out to
be lower due to stocking up on tapes when they are on sale.
In order to keep from making a profit.
Also to encourage people to order Highgrade tapes.  I think
they really are worth the cost, now that I have a better idea of
which tapes are worth the extra cost.

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