1. Retro Man Cave
Computer restoration videos are some of my favourites on YouTube and Retro Man Cave’s are amongst the most engaging and informative. His videos are always well shot with a narrative style that draws you in and keeps you watching.
2. Nostalgia Nerd
The title of this one says it all really. A fun and diverse channel with well-researched content. Everything from the Spectrum to MS-DOS is covered with in-depth system reviews and a focus on classic gaming from the 80s and 90s.
3. Terry Stewart
New Zealander Terry Stewart has an amazing collection of vintage computers which he presents to us in a series of videos that charts the history of each machine in comprehensive detail. Well worth a look.
4. Dan Wood
Another excellent channel that I’ve been following for a while. Dan features some great Amiga content including an up-close look at the rarer-than-rare Amiga CD1200 prototype. Also be sure to check out The Retro Hour podcast he presents with Ravi Abbott. Essential listening for all retro fans.
5. Adrian Black
More repair and tear-down videos of classic computers, often featuring some rather rare and unique systems. A great resource for those of us who enjoy poking around ‘the insides’ of our old machines.
6. Jan Beta
Jan is another tinkerer whose videos cover the C64, VIC 20, Amiga and many more. He generously shares his knowledge as he goes about exploring and repairing vintage hardware.
7. 8-Bit Guy
8-Bit Guy’s channel features some very thorough restoration videos of classic computers and retro oddities. There’s always something interesting to have a look at, including his recent experiments with retro-brighting. I have to admit I’m still a little wary of doing this to my precious hardware just yet!
8. Lazy Game Reviews
Plenty of 90s computer gaming nostalgia here, particularly of the MS-DOS and early Windows variety. If you loved all those big box PC games of the era, then this is the channel for you.
9. The Guru Meditation
This is an Amiga-based channel (who would’ve guessed with that title!) that covers all things Amiga from an American perspective. I always found the early US Amiga scene really interesting, particularly with its focus on professional graphics and desktop video. My only real window into this world was a couple of issues of Amiga World magazine I’d acquired from the late 80s. Anyway, this channel has some great instructional content including digitizing an image with Newtek’s Digiview and converting a modern photograph to the Amiga’s HAM mode. Also featured are some interesting interviews with prominent figures in the Amiga scene.
10. Luke Morse
Luke is an American living in Japan and his channel focuses on collecting and repairing vintage consoles, games and arcade boards. However what I love most about his channel are his frequent trips to ‘Hard Off’, a chain of second-hand electronics stores in Japan that feature row upon row of vintage Japanese consoles, computer equipment and video games. These stores seem to be something of an Aladdin’s cave for hard-to-find retro gear, or at least they were until recent years, when word has gotten out and stock seems to have been drying up.
Well that’s it for now. Hopefully there’s something in there worth watching while you’re sipping egg nog or wrapping presents these holidays. Happy retro computing!
