Since 2002, I have built one of the largest collections of Sesame Street episodes taped from PBS between 1969-1998, and I am always on the hunt for more. All of my episodes are the best quality they could possibly be; anyone who has what's listed on my site either got it from me (or a multi-gen copy of it from someone else), or sent it to me on DVDs made from 1st-gen VHS recordings.
If you taped the show regularly (or occasionally) during 1969-1998, and your VHS tapes (or Betamax, or U-matic tapes) are still in tact, I would very much like to hear from you (especially if your episodes are pre-1992). Sending your shows to me is a way of ensuring that they will be well taken care of -- preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Sharing these old episodes is important to me because Sesame Workshop wants to limit the release of its classic library to the Old School DVD sets and the micro-screen video player at sesamestreet.org. Some of my other reasons are:
1) I believe this show was meant to be seen on a regular TV screen.
2) The Old School DVD sets, while still worth buying, are not enough to satisfy those who grew up in the 70s and 80s. Fans deserve the freedom to see the segments they personally remember, which are sometimes impossible to find in VHS/DVD format, unless people were smart enough to record these gems back then.
3) It is my understanding that, for some unknown reason, Sesame Workshop will not accept requests for copies of their archive of old episodes (even though they're probably all digitally backed up by now and would be easy for them to dub). On the other hand, they have not taken any legal action against anyone who trades episodes (or uploads videos on YouTube) because they are a non-profit organization. You gotta give 'em credit for that -- if they did, websites like this wouldn't exist.
Now, on to the list!
Intro
Page 1: Episodes that are complete
Page 2: Episodes that are missing < 5 minutes
Page 3: Episodes that are missing > 5 minutes
Page 4: Noggin episodes