Talk:VHS tape rewinder

Have you never rewinded a VHS tape before? It was pretty much THE machine to rewind tapes so you could play them again. The speedy here is pretty farfetched, to say the least. Pandacomics 21:30, 31 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm old enough to remember when VHS was new, and yes, I've rewound (not "rewinded") many a tape — all using the standard rewind function on my VCR. Rewinding machines were not that terribly widespread, nor are they notable now. Besides, you have no sources cited to back up anything you say, just a link to an image on Amazon. This article should be speedy deleted. Realkyhick 22:17, 31 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've only used tape rewinders because using the VCR to rewind would damage the tape. I'll look for sources, because, again, I shall reiterate that your leaving a speedy notice just leaves me speechless. Pandacomics 22:33, 31 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed the speedy tag and references to amazon / ebay. Beyond that, not having sources is not a speedy reason. Marasmusine 08:54, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Neutrality

I feel this article is rather biased toward the use of VHS rewinders. I've read as many cautions against their use as I have alleged benefits. I've heard many accounts of cheaply-made rewinders causing damage to tapes. Also, the claim that rewinders save heads seems quite faulty: Some units, especially in the earlier VHS years, completely disengaged the tape from the video heads during fast wind, so there was no chance of contamination reaching them during rewind. There is some truth in this regarding full-loading units (as in many of the latest machines produced), but even so, just playing the tape would be enough to contaminate the heads, regardless of whether a dedicated rewinder was used. Another criticism I've read regards the abrupt stops and starts some (cheaper?) rewinder units produce; many VCRs (particularly later ones) seem to have a much smoother stop/start cycle.

Finally, I've heard more than one account of rewinders ripping the tape right off the reel in some cases due to not having a proper optical end-of-tape detection mechanism. Also, I've read books warn about units sometimes causing damage to the edge of the tapes.

The article really needs complete coverage of both negative and positive points of view, though I'm admittedly not of much use providing actual citations.… Travis Evans (talk) 04:11, 27 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]