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LAN_403

Part Scavenger

Wed Jul 12 2006, 08:20PM

Registered Member #79 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 11:35AM
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 673

I hope this is the right place for this. My work has some VCR tapes that they would like to convert to DVD, but some of them have problems due to a slight wrinkling in the media. Is there any way to get around this? Certain VCRs work much better for playback, but none do perfect. Everything I can find on Google is how to turn your VCR into a TiVo, which is just stupid. I was thinking about modding a VCR because I've got some home movies that are dying too. It'd be okay if it was a one-shot deal too. I just need some way to get the video off.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Alex

Wed Jul 12 2006, 09:00PM

Geometrically Frustrated
Registered Member #6 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 04:18AM
Location: Bowdoin, Maine
Posts: 373

I've heard of 'tape baking' to fix problems where the magnetic particles fall off the tape. I'm not sure if that could help you any.

Could you describe the 'crinkling' problem a little more?

dan

Wed Jul 12 2006, 09:02PM

Registered Member #223 Joined: Mon Feb 20 2006, 06:42PM
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 125

If the tape is wrinkled there really isn't much you can do. I guess you could somehow mod the VCR to apply more tension to the tape which should reduce the wrinkles but that may just distort the video. Any process that would remove the wrinkles would damage the magnetic strip. I would just record the tape onto a computer using a TV tunner card then burn it as is onto a DVD. You may be able to fix up the video a little bit using video editing software but once the tape is physically dammaged there really isn't anything you can do to recover it to it's original state.

Part Scavenger

Thu Jul 13 2006, 02:17PM

Registered Member #79 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 11:35AM
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 673

Hmm. That's what I was afraid of.

More tension is what I had in mind, for the most part, I think it would work. Some of them have the tiny ripples across the bottom which I don't think I can fix, but others have bigger ripples which I think I can get against the head. I was looking to see if anyone had done it before.

Thanks

Electroholic

Thu Jul 13 2006, 04:28PM

Registered Member #191 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 02:01AM
Location: Esbjerg Denmark
Posts: 720

on my sony dtc-750 it has a sponge roller that pushes the tape against the head/drum. Its not a vcr but a dat, tho.

benbradley

Fri Jul 14 2006, 09:29PM

Registered Member #312 Joined: Mon Mar 13 2006, 01:50AM
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 27

<i>I've heard of 'tape baking' to fix problems where the magnetic particles fall off the tape. I'm not sure if that could help you any.</i>

This was for a binder (the glue between the tape and the magnetic particles) problem in tape made in the 1970's, where they changed the formulation in manufacturing, and the tape turned to goo in a few years. Baking the tape makes it temporarily playable. I've only heard about this for audio tape, not video, and if it did affect videotape, there are relatively few VHS's and Beta's from that time period.

I can only suggest experimenting with a videotape you don't mind destroying, or record a 'scratch' videotape with a constant picture, then make the same wrinkles in this tape as in the 'real' tape. Perhaps clamp it wrinkled for a few days to make it closer to the same state. Play this scratch tape to see what it looks like. Then try to fix the wrinkles in the scratch tape, and see what its playback looks like (with or without extra playback tension). This will tell you a lot about what you can reasonably do to the real tape, and whether trying to "iron out" the wrinkles will help or hurt.

Pete

Sun Jul 16 2006, 12:16PM

Registered Member #106 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 09:39PM
Location: Portland, OR and Istanbul, Turkey
Posts: 47

There is an idea there. Perhaps actually ironing the tape? Use 2 thin peices of clothing and a flat, flat board. Set the iron to a low setting with some steam and see if that unwrinkles it a bit. I don't think it would hurt the magnetized information. :)

Of course there was an episode of CSI NY where they seemed to have a nice Rube Goldberg device to make the tape look like new and play about perfect. But I don't hold so much truthfullness to that shows science. ;)

After looking around a bit on the net, it seems that there are a few alternatives. One person says to use a COLD iron and 2 peices of thin cloth. One person says you can use a HOT iron, but only if you can regulate the temperature down to a very low temperature.

Have you though about actually being really careful, taking the cassette slightly apart and placing the damaged length of tape between 2 very smooth plastic sheets, then placing some very heavy, flat weight on it for a day or 2? That would be the least destructive way I think I would try first.

Pete

Pete

Gunboat

Sun Jul 16 2006, 12:40PM

Registered Member #338 Joined: Thu Mar 23 2006, 12:28PM
Location:
Posts: 41

You 'might' try putting scotch tape to the back of the VCR tape while it is under a slight amount of tension...that may be enuf' to get some of the wrinkles out of it,other than that i haven't found anything that will get them out....also,heat will destroy anythng that you ahve recorded on the tape,remeber that it is magnetic medis after all..and heat and schok will destroy it..

FastMHz

Sun Jul 16 2006, 05:41PM

Registered Member #179 Joined: Thu Feb 16 2006, 02:08AM
Location: Hagerstown, Maryland - Close to Prime Outlets
Posts: 287

Be aware that when you stretch the tape, the frame rate will be less than 29.97 fps, and if captured to a digital device, the audio and video may be out of sync. You may need a Time Base Corrector to fix this, or some tricky video editing work once digitized to resample the audio to the same length as the video.

I like the sound of the sponge idea mentioned above...a tiny bit of pressure against the tape on the tape head might do it without stretching it.

Steve Conner

Sun Jul 16 2006, 06:15PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

I'm not at all sure about the scotch tape, ironing and pressing methods mentioned here. Even if you did have the patience to treat a few thousand feet of tape, it'd probably not work. If it was me trying, I'd get an old VCR and mess with the mechanism to increase the take-up reel tension and pinch roller pressure, in an attempt to stretch the wrinkles out as the tape played.

I'd also try heating or cooling the tapes before playing to see if it made a difference, although I'd be wary of cooling, since dew forming on the tape would cause major shreddage.

As regards the stretching problem, I think VCRs have their capstan and drum motors servo controlled to lock the frame rate to a crystal oscillator. So they should compensate for tape stretch. If the tape speed jitters around though, it could confuse a video capture dongle.

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