Sometimes head clog problems that develop earlier in a recording will clear Spot checks are done by stopping the tape at the end of the recording, rewinding a meter or two (five or so feet) and checking the last seconds of the tape then rewinding the tape to about the midpoint and checking again and, finally, rewinding the tape to the beginning and checking the first five or ten seconds of the recording.Īlthough some people will only check the end of the recording, Problems, which brings us to - Spot-Checking a Tapeĭropouts or head clog may not be discovered until the tape is playedīack, tapes should be spot checked (checked at various spots) after

This gives no indication of possible recording

Without confidence heads the operator can only monitor the Signal a fraction of a second after it has been recorded. These machines are able to play back the recorded Machines have confidence heads with the pre-readįunction. This will generally take care of minor head clog problems. Some machines have self-cleaning heads, which routinely (and somewhat superficially) clean the heads during normal VCR operations. If it doesn't, you may have to get a technician to clean the heads 'Playing' a head cleaning tape for about five seconds may solve the problem. If things get even worse, you will see a full-blown 'snowstorm' take over and the picture will roll, break up, and disappear. You will see a snowy picture (photo on right). To help avoid this problem, most of today's VCRs will automatically shut down after being left in pause for a few minutes. The microscopic gap in the video heads of an analog machine is clogged with foreign matter. This can damage the tape resulting in video noise and the dropouts we illustrated at the end of the last module. If left in pause too long, the video heads will wear away the recording surface of the tape. The spinning video heads, ready for an instant start in either the record Pause button generally allows the tape to stay in contact with In either case you will probably see a red light come on a kind of universal indicator that the machine is in the record mode.Īlthough the stop mode disengages the tape from the head, the On others you simply press the record buttons. To record on some machines the record button has to be held down before pressing the play button. Video recorders have five basic functions: play, record, stop, rewind, fast-forward, and pause. Until tape is phased out completely, it seems prudent toīriefly cover some key factors in using videotape machines.

Heads will roll sync points