for all you audio/video technology buffs out there ...

[Boober_Gorg]

Charmed, I'm sure.

A new question: would anyone recommend this kind of machine?

 

[anathema]

Not really. Unless you're watching your tapes several times a day, 365 days a year, they're not going to build up the kind of damage this machine claims to be able to repair. While the machine isn't chemical, it is abrasive, which is not a good thing

VHS - and other helical scan formats - are designed to be self-cleaning. Simply playing the tape is normally enough to keep both it and the player clean, unless the actual tape has become contaminated through misuse.

The best way to preserve your videotapes is to keep them in suitable conditions, and ensure that they're fully rewound before putting them back on the shelf. Tapes should always be stored in a box (a proper closable box, not the cardboard slipcases that seem to be common in the US , and like all magnetic cassettes, should be stored on edge, not flat.

It's probably worth running a cleaning tape through your VCR once every few months if you're seeing serious picture degradation. My own preferred method for VCR head cleaning is isopropyl alcohol, but this is definitely not a job for the nervous!

In fifteen years of home video archiving, I've had exactly one tape that was dirty enough to require me to clean it, and that was because it had just been spliced (also not recommended and thus had greasy fingermarks all over the repaired area...

Hope this helps.