Video Splicing

[Scottie]

Alright, I am faced with a dilemma. This question goes out to all of you who are familiar with VHS repair. I have a tape which broke. The actual tape snapped in half. What do I need to do to fix it and make it work again? I went to the independent video store, and they can do it, but they said it would take over a week to do since it is such a small task, and only the manager of the store knows how to do it. My question is what tools do I need to fix it, and what steps do I need to follow? The tape is pretty old; it's from the 80's, and the recorded stuff is almost impossible to find. If it were a common video, believe me, I would have replaced it a long time ago, but this is a dubbed VHS. Somebody out there help me! I can't lose this tape!

Scottie

[TC]

Hmmm...I work at Blockbuster and they supplied the store with video splicing kits all the time, when VHS was the big thing.  I never learned how to do it, but it looked like a pretty easy task.  I'm pretty sure you could find a video splicing kit on the Internet somewhere.

[raj]

I spliced audio tapes back in college, there were kits around with splicing tape.  Basically you pull enough of the two ends out from the case as you need to work with, and cut some spicing tape, and put it on the BACKSIDE of the tape.*  That should hold for a while, but you may want to hook up a second VCR and dub the movie to a fresh tape.

*You could tape the front as well, but then you will lose a frame or two from the movie.

[Funk, E.]

In film school we used splicing tape on the back of Super 8mm and a contact cement on 16mm. The cement was a lot like modeling glue that would melt the two edges together so that you didn't have to overlap frames to get sufficient surface area. I don't know if that helps at all, but thats all I've worked with.

[Scottie]

What kind of tape is splicing tape? Is it much different than Scotch Tape? I wouldn't mind waiting around for the store to fix it, but they said it might take a couple of weeks to do it, and I need it by Monday. The tape is a compilation of physics experiments performed by this really weird and eccentric guy, and copies of these experiments are extremely hard to find, so it's important that I keep as much of the tape intact as possible. Thanks for your help so far.

Scottie

[Funk, E.]

For film It's specialized because it needs to take into account the holes the film uses to be pulled through the projector. I don't know about video tape, but I imagine it's designed to be extra thin to avoid jamming the machine, but like I said I don't know much about video.

[raj]

I don't think it's teh same as scotch tape.  My memory of those days is very hazy, I think it is white in color.  I had found it next to where they were selling audio tapes.  It might have been at Radio Shack.  But this was back in the mid 1980s; I don't know if the tape is that common anymore.  I don't think scotch tape is strong enough for the job, beyond one or two viewings, as you do want tension on the videotape.

[AndyC]

Yeah, I remember Radio Shack having splicing kits back in the 80s, but their merchandise has changed a lot since then. Might be worth a look though.

[Andrew]

I have used scotch tape before.  It can last for a very short time or for a long time.  As was said, it goes on the backside of the tape.

[Scott0]

I found some splicing tape!! Apparently handyman dad has some left over from his Radio Shack days, back when his audio cassette tapes would jam and break. The day is saved! Thanks for all your advice. This is some really useful information.

Scottie

[mr. henry]

if you need to take the actual cassette apart, i'd suggest first opening a worthless tape...there are a handful of tiny pieces that need to be put back just so and practice will help. anytime i've spliced a tape, the hardest part was getting the actual cassette back together correctly.

cool that you found splicing tape. if you're ever in a pinch, regular scotch tape usually works. just use the tape on the backside of the ends you are joining.

good luck,

-mr. henry

[JohnL]

My grandfather had a splicing kit for cassettes, but I've never seen one for video tapes. I did pick up a few ideas from it though;

Get a couple rulers or something else thin and straight and tape them down so that the tape fits perfectly between them. This will help you align the tape, otherwise, it's hard to get it prefectly straight. Don't overlap the video tape or the overlapped part can stick up when it goes around a roller and get caught. If you can sacrifice a tiny bit of the tape at the break, cut the ends in a matching 45 degree angle or even a little steeper, like this;
______   ______
_____/ /______

 But make sure they match exactly. The best way is probably to overlap the ends, and cut both at the same time using a razor blade. Then butt the cut ends against each other between the rulers and tape them together. The reason for this is that if the ends are a straight up/down cut, the tape will bend back on the sticky tape like a hinge. By making it a slanted cut, it makes the joint stronger.

As for what type of tape to use, I'd recommend clear package sealing tape. I've never used it myself, but it's thin and the glue is like 4 times stronger than Scotch tape.

[kriegerg69]

DO NOT USE Scotch tape! Splicing tape is designed to hold indefinitely....the problem with Scotch tape or any similar type of tape is that it will BLEED the adhesive after a period of time, and REALLY f**k the tape up beyond ANY repair....Not to mention the adhesive can get into your vcr, onto the video heads, and REALLY cause problems!

You didn't say....What is the movie you're trying to save? Let us know so someone here can possibly suggest where you could get a replacement vhs.

[Funk, E.]

Yeah, there's a good idea... after you repair the tape make a duplicate IMMEDIATELY!

[The Burgomaster]

Be careful when splicing. If you do it wrong, you might end up with the adhesive from the splicing tape all over your VCR's heads. This will damage more tapes and maybe even mess up your VCR.