🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Sep24.031152.20380@nmsu.edu> Joseph Good writes:

> My room-mate and I are arguing over a very silly matter here.
> He refuses to let anybody rewind on his VCR because he insists
> that the tape head never retracts from the tape.  Because of this,
> when you are rewinding, the tape is wearing down the head all the time.

This sounds like a marketing gimmick used by people making dedicated tape
rewinders.  Reminds me of a Woody joke on `Cheers', where he buys through
mail order, a VCR that doesn't play tapes.

> But, I insist that the tape DOES retract from the tape surface when not 
> in play (i.e. the wait and noise when play is activated), and that
> no company would market a VCR that allows itself to get head wear that
> easily.  Plus, the VCR head is spinning anyway during play at very high
> speeds, so tape friction shouldn't cause that much wear at all.
> The noise when you first put a tape into the player is in fact the tape
> being moved so that the head can have access to it, but not yet in 
> contact with the head.

> Who is correct??

The point worrying engineers was not so much tape-head wear but stress on
the tape.  The more angles a tape has to pass through on the tape path, the
more likely something nasty is going to happen, like
VCR-eats-favourite-Twin-Peaks-episode.

Because of the M-load tape path used by VHS, rewinding or fast
forwarding with the tape engaged placed too much stress on the tape, so it is
generally retracted partially or fully.  The tape counter does not need to be
engaged to the tape, it can work off the tape spool, although I guess this
might differ between makes.

BTW, the very much superior Betamax system uses the much gentler U-load, so
fast forwarding or rewind can take place with the tape in contact with the
head, with no adverse tape or head wear.  Also it has the benefit of the
picture playing after << or >> almost immediately.

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|  Derby Chang			|"Cathy, I said, I have no sympathy,     |
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