How to increase the lifetime of a VCR?
 

I feel very lucky now that I've gotten myself a "Panasonic NV-HS960" VCR that seems to be in very good condition... so I really want to treat it as good as possible, making it last as long as possible :)

Questions running through my head:
- How does heat affect the lifetime of my VCR?
- Will fast forwarding and rewinding tapes on another low quality VCR increase the lifetime of this Hi quality VCR (or will unnecessary ejecting and inserting of tapes wear it out even faster)?

I notice there is no vent holes on top or on the sides of this VCR, even though it produces quite a lot of heat. Will it be smart to try keeping it as cool as possible, maybe by putting a fan up in front of it while playing tapes?

All advices on how to increase the lifetime of a VCR are welcome :)

Putting a fan in front would not be a good thing, I think.

The problem with this is that you would effectively be blowing the always present dust and other particles into the unit. Sure they'll get there anyway but pushing them in is never helpfull. Also, the heat inside the machine would hardly change since you rely on radiotion heat transfer from the inside, stale air to the metal housing which you would be cooling slightly better with a fan on top, but normal steel is not as good a heat conductor as aluminium for example.

If your unit does have vents on the bottom I think your best bet would be to take a high presure PC fan (like a noctua) en place a filter either before or after the fan, as long as it is before the VCR and effectively push air into the unit. The airflow would be minimal but the added benefit of doing this is that you effectively create over presure inside the VCR which means that dust cannot get in :)

This is how they do it on industrial computers and machines in dirty environments. I have been thinking about doing the same with my JVC but for it to be really effective the fan would have to run 24/7 since it would otherwise defeat the purpose.

I have wondered myself about the winding/rewinding. At this moment I use an old POS VCR but I am worried that the lesser qualitiy of that unit actually affects the quality of my tapes! :hmm:

I do know that my first JVC S-VHS purchased over ebay had a worn loading mechanism so they can wear out!

High temperatures will shorten life of components, especially capacitors. Extremes of humidity and dusty environments are also bad. Comfortable room temperatures on the order of 20-25 C should be fine, temperatures above 30 C should be avoided. Just be sure there is clear space around the unit for unobstructed air flow, something like 6 CM or more on the sides, back, and above. Check the manual for specifics.

Using the VCR to wind/rewind tapes does add some wear. If it takes 5 minutes to rewind a 100 minute tape, figure it would be very roughly the same total wear as playing a 105 minute tape plus the additional exercise of the mechanism. So using another machine to rewind can save some wear. Just be sure the other machine is equally gentle on tapes. I would not swap machines for wind/rewind mid editing or capture session - just at the start/end of a session. I believe that if a machine is going to eat a tape, it will most likely be during the loading process.

Forced air cooling makes sense if you have a concentration of heat producing gear in close proximity with limited natural air flow, as in equipment racks and current PC cases. (Does it ever get truely HOT in Norway?). A VCR sitting a foot or two away from other gear should not be an issue.

Yeah, don't blow a fan on it -- dust is NOT your friend!

Honestly, heat has never been an issue for a VCR. They can get hot as hell, yet still work fine. The bigger issue is the heat hitting the tapes. That's not good. If the temp inside the unit is too hot, stop using it for a while.

Good rule of thumb: Let a VCR/TBC/etc cool off 1 hour per 6 hours.

I've used video gear in the summer in Texas. A Norway summer is probably like Texas in the winter! :laugh:

Thank you very much, guys :)