Books, Movies, Music & Entertainment - can video tapes be repaired.
Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.
cyclezealot
03-12-07, 04:07 AM
I am wanting to eventually have my favorite video's recorded on dvds. But, three of some of my very favorite movies are on one tape, and that tape has become unattached at one end. Can we get into a vhs tape and reattach the tape, without destroying the tape . If I can accomplish that, I will soon afterwards have some of my favorite movies recorded on dvd.
I checked to see if those movies could be purchased on dvd. Can't do that very economically. One movie is no longer available and to purchase such rare films on ebay was like over 100 dollars.
classic1
03-12-07, 04:14 AM
Contact your local public library. A family friend who is a librarian could do all sorts of funky things to fix VHS tapes - she often had to repair them as part of her job. Can't hurt to ask.
They way I did it was: Carefully unscrew/remove the bottom half of the tape case. Making sure to keep everything in i'ts original place. Using invisible (scotch) tape, secure the broken end back on the wheel. I put tape on both the top side as well as the bottom side of the wheel and tape. It works well enough to get the infomation transferred.
Hope this helps.
the royal 'we'
03-12-07, 03:03 PM
Yeah, just make sure all the tape is wound onto the other reel, then take the end, slip it into the little slot on the disconnected reel and tape it down. I usually use a couple inches of double-stick tape extending about halfway around the circumference of the reel, just to make sure the videotape stays secure... I have one tape that's lasted 10 years since doing that.
cyclezealot
03-12-07, 05:35 PM
Is it true that video tapes loose their magnetic charge, causing video quality to become poor. I have a tape of a favorite movie, like twenty years old. Last look it seemed ok.
DannoXYZ
03-19-07, 02:10 PM
Over time the magnetic charge can weaken. But not dramatically. What typically happens much faster is wear on the tape. When you play it constantly, the sliding tape across the head scrapes off some of the magnetic material. Also the metal in the head will also demagnetize the tape slightly. So repeated playing will wear out a tape.
With the standalone DVD-recorders on the market, it's pretty simple to play the VCR into the DVD-recorder and make a DVD of your favorite tapes. :)