In a recent survey of electronics repair people, a video magazine editor asked the question, "What is the worst thing you can do to your VCR?"
Their answer: regularly rewinding rented videotapes through it.That makes sense if you believe, as I do, that the sensitive recording and playback heads on a VCR should be treated with the same respect as one's teeth.
Would you brush your teeth every morning with somebody else's tooth brush? More to the point, would you brush them with a used piece of sandpaper?
Then why would you willingly allow a rental movie that has been in and out of who knows how many VCRs to be rewound at breakneck speed over your video cassette recorder's sensitive heads?
The obvious answer: You wouldn't, if you could avoid it.
Well, you can avoid it. The alternative to allowing a dirty VHS or Beta tape to gum up your VCR by dropping oily dirt and oxide particles along the tape path is a device called a tape rewinder.
There are many models on the market, ranging in price from $20 to $45. Getting one of these is probably the wisest purchase a video movie buff can make.
Several electronics accessories manufacturers make video cassette rewinders: Solidex, Vanguard, BP Electronics, Recoton, Uniden, Tandy (Realistic) and Panasonic are just a few.
There is nothing tricky about selecting one. They are designed to rewind or fast-forward any VHS tape, some of them doing the job a bit quieter and perhaps quicker than others. A few, such as Radio Shack's Model 44-1141, at $41.95, can handle VHS and Beta tape within the same chassis. Simply depress the VHS or Beta switch and it knows what to do.
One of the rewinders, the Solidex V1957A for $27, is cast in the shape of a 1957 Chevy - a nice touch for people tired of looking at another black box.
My personal favorite is a model made by Recoton (V-177A2 at $35), which comes with a low-torque DC motor that aids tape handling and provides tension release for the end of the tape as it prepares to shut off.
Recoton also makes a rewinder for the 8-millimeter format, allowing owners of expensive cam-corders to protect and preserve their camera's recording and playback heads against dirt and tape oxide particles.
The rewinders won't guarantee trouble-free life for VCRs. They cannot prevent your child from ramming a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into the tape slot. But they can reduce wear and tear on both the machine and the tape.