Television Appearances
Since the winter of 1986-87, when the Beastie Boys first started appearing
on television with some regularity, fans have made an effort to record and
preserve these interviews and performances. Ten years later (1996-97), fans
began trading VHS video cassettes thanks to the burgeoning use of the
internet. Compiling various clips was a challenge because in the USA video
cassette recorders are NTSC formatted, whereas in Europe they are set to
either the PAL or SECAM formats. This difference in formats required
footage acquired from overseas to be converted with expensive international
VCRs.
Around the turn of the century (1999), there was a great deal of talk
regarding VCR to DVD recording possibilities. However, many DVD recorders
were not compatible with other DVD players. Therefore a DVD+R or DVD-R that
had been recorded on one machine may not be recognized when play was
attempted in another DVD player. This opened the door for VCDs (video
compact discs) to briefly be the media of choice among Beastie Boys video
collectors/traders. It was not long though until DVD recorders came down in
price and manufacturers ironed out the compatibility issues. In 2003, fans
began to digitalized and archive their old clips either with stand alone DVD
recorders or with computer software and in-tower CD/DVD burners. With high
speed internet connections in most homes, trading digitalized footage became
as simple as the click of a mouse. File sharing had largely replaced the old
days of buying blank VHS tapes or DVDs, packaging the media up, and standing
in line at the post office for hours.
In 2006, everything changed again. With the advent of YouTube, fans could
upload digital footage of the Beastie Boys for others to see, but not
necessarily download. In the past, only a select few had access to these old
television interviews and performances. The popularity of YouTube and
similar video streaming sites has had fans questioning the context: the who,
what, where, when, and why of when a particular Beastie Boys interview was
conducted. Even during the old days of VHS tape trading, footage was often
labeled inaccurately or not labeled at all. So the challenge for us at
Beastiemania.com was to find a way to organize these television clips
chronologically and when possible provide as much information as we can
about them. If you have footage which he have not yet included or more
information about an appearance please email us here at the following
address staff at Beastiemania dot com.
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