Old school VHS question here. I'm not sure where is belongs, so I'm posting in random.
I got a whim to check out the Breakdown - IYH last night, mostly for the triple threat cage match but I also wanted to give Edge VS Owen a look again. Anyway, the tape is one of those that the then WWF released: taped cheaply on SLP and ready to go off track if you sneeze too hard. I popped in the tape, and it started playing fine, but it slowed down and stopped about 40 minutes in. I'm currently rewinding and fast forwarding the cassette a few times in hopes that I can loosen up the tape to play. Is there a better solution for this? I'm hoping the tape is just sticking to itself, am I'm fooling myself?
Also, I know I could buy the original tape off the net (I'm not talking bootleg copies), but would a tape like this hold up after eight years if it hasn't been viewed? Or would I just have the same problems as I have right now?
Originally posted by chazworthingtonI popped in the tape, and it started playing fine, but it slowed down and stopped about 40 minutes in. I'm currently rewinding and fast forwarding the cassette a few times in hopes that I can loosen up the tape to play. Is there a better solution for this? I'm hoping the tape is just sticking to itself, am I'm fooling myself?
This is a good idea, but you might also want to try it in a different VCR and make sure it's the tape that is the problem.
I still use my VCR more than the DVDs, and when I play older tapes the VCR heads get dirty too quickly. Its a good idea to clean the VCR heads routinely.
One of these days I will spring a few bucks to convert my "library" to DVD, as it definitely holds up better over the long haul.
VCR cassettes should last a long time if properly stored, I have several of family gatherings, weddings, etc. from the early and mid-80's that have held up very very well. We recently dug out the footage of a then newborn niece, to play it at her graduation party. A LOT of us were much thinner, and definitely healthier, then. While the tape had deteriorated some, it was mostly the sound that was slightly off, the picture was only a little grainier than it had been.
I tried the tape in a second VCR, and got the same result. So I went with the fast forwarding: first time the tape got about an hour and 40 minutes into the tape according to the counter. So I rewound it and hit fast forward again. Got it to about 2 hours 15 minutes. One more cycle got me to the end of the tape, but I did one more run to make sure before watching it.
It played fine for me after that. Watched the whole show after all that work. Thanks for help.