VHS Coding System
The VHS Coding System is a system of organizing VHS tapes developed by movie buff Gregg Turkington for his collection of movies. Created between April and July 2013, the system was designed both to allow for fast and easy tape storage, and doubled as an anti-theft measure.
To implement the system, red tape was applied to the bottom edge of a standard VHS tape cover. If a tape was loaned to a non-collector, or stolen by a burglar, the distinct red tape would be an immediate sign that the tape was originally from Gregg's collection, and could be retrieved. Additionally, the tape would have a unique catalogue number written on it, allowing Gregg to easily locate where the tape was stored in his collection.[1] This coding system was implemented in the successor to Gregg's personal collection, the Victorville Film Archives.
The anti-theft measure was quickly proven effective after it was discovered that a copy of Airheads brought onto the movie review show On Cinema at the Cinema by Ayaka Ohwaki was originally from Gregg's collection. The red tape, while damaged, was still present and visible on the tape cover, allowing Gregg to immediately prove that it was originally his tape.[2]
Film producer and professor Larry Turman was impressed by the system, calling Gregg an expert in filing.[3]
Coding system explanation
The unique number on each tape was generated through a sophisticated algorithm, based on the film itself and its storage position in a collection:
- The first digit is the first letter in the film's title
- The second digit is the popcorn rating of the film
- The third digit is the decade of the film's release
- The fourth digit is the first letter in the director's last name
- The fifth and sixth digits are the shelf number of the specific shelf the tape is stored on
- The seventh and eight digits are the tape's position on that shelf
For the film Two Weeks Notice, the tape used by Gregg to demonstrate the system on S03E01, the code would therefore be T50L3548: T for Two Weeks Notice, 5 as the film was given a 5 bag rating, 0 for the film's release year of 2002, L for director Marc Lawrence, 35 for shelf 35, and 48 for position 48 on shelf 35.