Has this ever happened to you? You insert a videotape into your VCR or camcorder. You press play…and hear a sickening sound. Nervous, you quickly press eject. The cassette begins to come out, but both ends of the plastic videotape remain snarled inside the machine. It can be quite scary when your precious videotape gets caught–or worse, shredded!
While the reasons for VCR tape consumption varies, the most common cause is a defective pinch roller inside the VCR or camcorder. As shown in the diagram at right, a pinch roller presses up against the plastic tape as it exits the cassette shell, feeding it into a rotating capstan. All video recorders, from the earliest Betamax and VHS units to recent MiniDV cams, use a pinch roller as part of the tape-feed mechanism.
A pinch roller made of rubber, which means the part can change shape as it ages. As the rubber hardens and deforms over time, it naturally does not do so in an even fashion–resulting in a slightly misshapen pinch roller. This is exacerbated in the smaller tape formats (MiniDV and 8mm), where even the slightest distortion in the rubber can create problems.
If the pinch roller in your VCR or camera is beginning to deform, you may first notice a tape fluttering upon playback. As the problem becomes worse, the roller can damage the physical edge of a tape, since the roller is now skewering the feed slightly higher or lower through the tape path. In serious situations, the tape will be forced out of the feed altogether–and that’s when your tape can become physically creased or “eaten” by the machine.
Of all the parts in a VCR or video camera, the pinch roller is usually the first to require replacement. A quick look at the pinch roller in your unit may indicate the level of age: If the pinch roller appears shiny or glossy, that is a bad sign. New or fresh pinch rollers are dull and lack sheen. They only become shiny because of wear–and this is not a coating that can be wiped away. Only a new, replacement pinch roller will fix the problem.
So don’t immediately trash your VCR if it eats a tape! All it may require is a new pinch roller. Have your VCR serviced by a professional repair shop, and your unit should be good to go for many years.
