VHS tapes

[POPEYE]

[QUOTE=BUSHWHACKER]

On mine, I can record up to 6 hours on one disc, but the quality isn't as good as if it is set for 2 hours, obviously, but as you're copying VHS tapes I guess the quality issue won't matter that much.

Picture quality would'nt matter too much, it's pretty rubbish on the VHS tapes for a start, also i recorded many of em on long play so i was getting three films on one tape, Big mistake, it stretches the tape, i'd have to sort through em and see what plays OK,
In answer to my question though, you can pause recording while you put the "next" film on right? i'd have to get the ones to be recorded all ready to go so i dont leave the DVD recorder on pause too long, This sound right?

[BUSHWHACKER]

[QUOTE=ian619]

Picture quality would'nt matter too much, it's pretty rubbish on the VHS tapes for a start, also i recorded many of em on long play so i was getting three films on one tape, Big mistake, it stretches the tape, i'd have to sort through em and see what plays OK,
In answer to my question though, you can pause recording while you put the "next" film on right? i'd have to get the ones to be recorded all ready to go so i dont leave the DVD recorder on pause too long, This sound right?

Yep. With mine, I press the pause button while it's recording, then press the record button again when I want it to carry on.

[Sancho]

[QUOTE=ian619]

Picture quality would'nt matter too much, it's pretty rubbish on the VHS tapes for a start, also i recorded many of em on long play so i was getting three films on one tape, Big mistake, it stretches the tape, i'd have to sort through em and see what plays OK,
In answer to my question though, you can pause recording while you put the "next" film on right? i'd have to get the ones to be recorded all ready to go so i dont leave the DVD recorder on pause too long, This sound right?

Long play doesn't stretch the tape, it just records twice as much at half the quality on the same length of tape. It should play back fine (albeit at a diabolical quality) on a long play VCR.

I know your missus will join me in this Ian......Don't bother recording them, you'll never watch them. Just throw them in the bin.

[MattF]

[QUOTE=ian619]

Big mistake, it stretches the tape, i'd have to sort through em and see what plays OK

Main problem with it was that it tensioned the tapes, unless the vcr was faulty, so you should be able to use them if you just loosen the tape on the spools. Just pop the tape in and fast forward right to the end of the tape, then rewind all the way back to the start of the tape. Do that a couple of times and it'll loosen it off nicely.

[BUSHWHACKER]

[QUOTE=MattF]

Main problem with it was that it tensioned the tapes, unless the vcr was faulty, so you should be able to use them if you just loosen the tape on the spools. Just pop the tape in and fast forward right to the end of the tape, then rewind all the way back to the start of the tape. Do that a couple of times and it'll loosen it off nicely.

I used to have to do that in cars with the cassette tapes before CD players came out.

[MattF]

I used to have to do that in cars with the cassette tapes before CD players came out.

Works a treat, doesn't it.

Some brands of vcr equipment were terrible for doing it, whilst others rarely did. Philips was usually the worst one. A lot of them made the tape so taut over time that they couldn't even play the tape themselves. Just used to keep cutting off when you tried playing it back.

[POPEYE]

Cheer's Vince, even i can manage that, pause/ record
Thats my wife exactly Sancho, chuck em out, you never watch em and their takeing up space, her bears and dolls are OK though, sodding dust magnets,
Someone told me it stretches the tape, must admit i could'nt understand how,
I'll run through em Matt few at a time as you say,

[Sancho]

Cheer's Vince, even i can manage that, pause/ record
Thats my wife exactly Sancho, chuck em out, you never watch em and their takeing up space, her bears and dolls are OK though, sodding dust magnets,
Someone told me it stretches the tape, must admit i could'nt understand how,
I'll run through em Matt few at a time as you say,

Bears? Dolls? I have a regular cull of cushions and candles. Bears and dolls wouldn't even make it through the door.

Presumably the tape gets stretched (or rather tensioned) by some kind of brake being applied to make it move at half speed.

[POPEYE]

[QUOTE=Sancho]Bears? Dolls? I have a regular cull of cushions and candles. Bears and dolls wouldn't even make it through the door.

With her its bears and dolls, with me its ships, looking for ways of sneaking in a 9ft battleship, think she might spot it though!!!

[MattF]

Someone told me it stretches the tape, must admit i could'nt understand how,

Stretching can actually happen, but it wasn't commonplace. Usually, there were few videos that had a powerful enough capstan motor to do it. Most vcr's, however, would cut out because they couldn't pull the tape through.

Presumably the tape gets stretched (or rather tensioned) by some kind of brake being applied to make it move at half speed.

Capstan motor runs at reduced speed. A brake band is used on the supply spool, but it's generally self regulating via the tape tension. Less tension, more brake and vice versa. The reason it tended to happen is due to the fact that very few people record all the way to the end of a tape, and very few rewind the tape to the start after recording. Certain sections of tape would be used more, and only partially rewound or fast forwarded, so the vcr could never actually retension the tape as it never had the opportunity.

Prime example are the computer DAT drives. They use the same mechanism technology as a vcr, and they specifically have an option to retension the tapes, which basically does the ff/rw bit. Doing retensioning with a DAT tape is a basic fundamental part of it's use. Backup admins know what happens after a few backups to a tape.

[POPEYE]

Had to nip out and do a job, bl00dy cheque, dam, why do people leave a tap dripping for twenty years then suddenly class it as an emergancy!
must have cut 2mm off the seat, anyway, see what you mean Matt, most of my tapes are u/s for the first 15-30 minuits then play OK, i've always had Sony equ as i was told ages ago it was the best, (used in MOD test equipment etc,) i do have a Phillips (twin scart) linked in so i could do tape to tape, gonna dump that now as i never use it,