LGR Oddware - Danmere Backer VHS Hard Drive Backup System

LGR · 1M views · 2017-08-11 · 16:02

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

LGR reviews the Danmere Backer16, a 1996 backup system that stored a PC's data on ordinary VHS tapes through a VCR. He shows the hardware and software on Windows 3.1 and 95.

On Hacker News

HN links it whenever data-on-video-tape or YouTube-as-storage schemes come up, as the real precedent for storing digital data on VHS.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2018–2023

Topics

Demoscene & retrocomputing Hardware (other)

What people said

LocalH · 2023-02 · Reference
Literally the modern equivalent of the old video-based backup systems. I remember they existed for both the PC and the Amiga. You would load a blank VHS tape into a VCR, connect the output of the computer to that VCR's input, and then tell the program which data you'd like to backup to the tape. It would generate this flashing "mess" of black and white pixels that you'd record to the tape. To restore, you'd connect the VCR output to a little box that came with the product, it would convert the black and white data in the video signal to a data stream that the program would use to restore your data. A portion of the signal would be used for timing, metadata and error correction, so the program could tell you if the data was sufficiently damaged upon restore. LGR has a video on the PC version from Danmere: [VIDEO] Here's a video example of the Amiga industry's take on the idea: [LINK] Sony even did this in 1980 to record CD-quality PCM audio onto VHS tape. [LINK]
Read the original HN comment ↗

Bluecobra · 2022-12 · Reference
There was also a hokey VHS tape backup card for the PC around the same time that used standard VHS tapes: [VIDEO]
Read the original HN comment ↗

gattilorenz · 2022-05 · Reference
Yes! There were many such systems, LGR made a video for one of them, also showing the interface (as in: hardware and GUI) for the backup: [VIDEO]
Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by LGR, played through YouTube.

HN Library · Source license

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks

SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources