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Get the Most from Your Videotapes Following these few simple suggestions will greatly increase the life of your favorite draft-animal videotapes so you can enjoy them time and time again. | |
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Store your videocassettes with the tape fully rewound. |
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Always put the cassette back in its case before storage. |
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Store tapes in a vertical position with the left reel (the reel holding the rewound tape) toward the bottom. |
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Keep tapes in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat or humidity. |
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Never place a recorded cassette on or near anything that produces a magnetic field, such as an electric motor, a power transformer, audio loudspeakers, or a television set; the magnetic field may erase portions of your tape. |
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Do not drop a cassette or otherwise subject it to impact. |
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If a tape rewinds unevenly, fast-forward to the end and then again rewind the tape to the beginning. |
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Do not attempt to repair a videotape; the tape in a VHS cassette should not be cut and spliced (it's not good for your video heads). |
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Handle only the cassette body. Do not open and touch the tape surface inside the cassette. Dirt and oil from your skin may deteriorate the tape coating and distort playback. |
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Your tape or recorder may be accidentally damaged by moisture from condensation if the tape is played soon after it is brought in from a cold environment. To avoid damage, leave the cold videocassette at room temperature for at least one hour before playing it. |
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To optimize the life of a stored videotape, fast-forward all the way to the end and then rewind back to the beginning (known as "exercising") once a year to prevent stretching from long-term storage. |
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To prevent accidental erasure of valuable videotapes, break off the record tab. You'll find the record tab just to the left of the long, narrow title label on the back of the cassette. You can break off the tab with a small screwdriver. If you wish to later record on that video, cover the tab hole with a piece of tape. |
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Andy Gallun is the owner of Video Makers Unlimited and producer of the early titles in the Rural Heritage Video Series. | |
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PO Box 2067, Cedar Rapids IA 52406-2067
Phone: 319-362-3027 Fax: 319-362-3046 E-Mail: |
30 October 2011 last revision
