Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/jaredowen It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee! Just because it's old technology doesn't mean that it's not super cool. I hope this video was fun to watch because I had a lot of fun making it😎
As a kid who looked inside of VCR from a slot and tried to understand what’s going on there, I had many unsolved questions on VCR decades ago. But all questions are now solved by the video. Great explanation, smooth animation, your video is really amazing! Thank you!!
kana exactly. I remember looking inside the VCR and just thinking it's a bunch of random extra stuff that has no point and weird purposeless metal things. now with an adult brain it's like of course, everything is there for a reason and it generally works flawlessly.
@@Arcexey principles and ideas used in these technologies are mind bogglingly genius. Now, consider the math behind these.. I don't wanna talk about it.
@@omniyambot9876 oh I know! It's really just all math behind the scenes. The thing that is most interesting is the reliability. For me a vcr just always worked, could throw that fucker around and it'd work. I remember opening the door all the time to look in there, and open the cassettes as well.
I repaired those things for about 20 years and I can tell you did a masterpiece of the explanation… The video was perfect from the graphics to the narration… They really are an interesting mechanical device I enjoyed working on them… Hey thanks for the memories I kind of miss them… Well not really. I'm never going back to that resolution again but they still are amazing mechanical devices. Have a great day and stay well big thumbs up
The wonders of electromagnetism 🙂🙌 Do these things work the same way with variations in gravitational field? Like...would a VCR pick up anomalies at different altitudes from the ground?
@@noreigaoconnorspecialk6771 To my surprise there is a good comparison. I would suggest having a look at Gravitoelectromagnetism. Now it's practically unusable in electronics but it's still cool to know. Variations in gravitational fields in time are inexistent to our scale and they affect mass in general, compared to charges which are sensible to magnetic fields variating in time. I'm pretty sure detecting an induced gravitational current would take more than a coil and an amplifier, the first machine to directly record gravitational waves was pretty large..
My grandfather was a TV and VCR repairman. I remember almost every time I went to his house, he had a VCR opened up on his kitchen table for repair and I might as well have been looking at the inside of a space shuttle.
I can't believe how detailed your 3d models are of these items. Working for a TV station for 35 years I can attest your animations are crazy perfect and dead on exact. Bravo!
As an 80s/90s child who's always been fascinated by how machines do what they do this was fantastic. I've enjoyed every piece of content you've created that I've watched but this one was particularly fascinating. As always thank you for taking the effort to make it.
After repairing VCRs for many years, I was searching for a good video to explain the technology to a friend in German. I was lucky to find your animation. This is by far the best in this field I have ever seen since many decades. I will tell my friend to train his English!
Small correction, the capstan moves the tape, not the pinch roller, the pinch roller only “pinches” the tape between itself and the capstan. Fantastic work. Subscribed!
I noticed that too, Capstan motor and drum motor and their synchronization together is not covered but I think that's beyond the scope of this video, hopefully a second part will follow that covers the technical details on how frames and scan lines are stored on the tape and played back.
Just consider the imagination and ingenuity that went into designing this incredible machine. Amazing! N.B.: I have a 21-year-old Sony VCR that I just tried using for the first time in many years. It worked perfectly. Some of the tapes I watched I recorded off of TV in 1990, and they were just as clear as they were 33 years ago. 🙂
@@spingleboygle Yes! What's all this nonsense about "experts" who claim that tapes degrade over time? I have some 50+-year-old Type 1 audio cassette tapes that sound as good as the day they were recorded.
I had always watched my dad mess around with his 1970s jvc hi end when i was 4 it crapped out after i put legos in it and a tape, he was like heres this, heres that, you scratched the head up, now I gotta replace it and put all my media stuff behind a locked cabinet apparently
Sou do Brasil, realmente você é um Gênio na animação. Usei muito o VCR na minha infância, no tempo dos Video Clipes da MTV, passava horas gravando os clipes das bandas que eu adorava nos anos 90. Tenho até hoje um VCR da Philips de 6 Cabeças. Abraço e vida longa.
Yes, speaking as a technician who did his apprenticeship during the time that VCR's were the in-thing, this is really an excellent video. I'm gonna share this video with some of my technician chums. Something not mentioned(about the only thing!) is that the tiny circular grooves on the video drum that you can see at time index 10:33, are not there just to make the video drum look sexy, they actually allow for a microscopic air-cushion to form between the spinning drum, and the tape. This drastically helps prevent the tape sticking to the drum, which CAN happen if you put a very cold tape in the machine, or bring a cold machine into a warm room. It's not a nice result, and is usually terminal for the tape, and in extreme situations, can fracture the heads on the drum so you have a dead tape AND a dead VCR! Not nice. ;-) I still have a stack of old VCR's that I have kept. Every now and again, someone wants one to play back their old tapes or copy their home-movies to DVD etc as mentioned in the video. I only keep the 6-head stereo VCR's. The mono ones are pretty useless and pointless to keep. The stereo ones can also playback the mono-only sound tapes with no issue, and back in the day before computers did EVERYTHING, radio stations used to use stereo HiFI VCR's on LP either for a complete 6-hour block of pre-recorded programming, or for recording live shows as evidence, should someone complain about a song or something the DJ said etc, then they could go through the tape and decide if action needed to be taken or not. These machines never recorded any video, they were basically a cheap way to provide 6 or 8 hours of HiFi radio material, with the stereo VCR being much cheaper then a large reel-to-reel machine to do the same thing. Memories.....
This was very unexpectedly fascinating. When I was a kid opening up things out of curiosity or sometimes necessity (if a tape got stuck inside) I was always curious why that drum was slanted. I had no idea that the data was written in a slanted fashion or that the audio was placed at the top. Very cool stuff.
I have a Panasonic NV-SD3 VCR, purchased brand new in 1994... AND today, it still works like the very first day of use... AND it really still looks brand new after 28 years ! 🙂
When affordable VCRs came out, I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. I had no idea how great, and technologically involved, they really were/are! Incredibly intricate; so many moving parts perfectly synchronized! Fantastic stuff, Jared...thank you!
I am 22 and I have been obsessed with VHS since I am probably 16. This video blew my mind. I still don't know how it works exactly but it was truly a feat to watch.
@@treystephens6166I think they could already be extinct? Are new VHS machines still sold in 2022? I own a quality Panasonic VCR bought in 1996. One day it just wouldn’t work anymore. I’ve also got archive boxes full of VHS tapes containing interesting, rare content. I guess it’d be more economic to pay a commercial service to transfer the tapes to digital media.
I paid over $800 for my VHS back in the early 90s and you can now buy them for $20! Amazing! I never knew how they worked so thank you for this incredibly detailed and accurate video. Stunning job!
@@robertkat It should be possible to take in the VCR head / audio head data right into an ADC and process everything by a computer. (To extract the most quality possible from a tape.) I'd wonder if such a device exists. You might even be able to double playback those precious home videos to make sure that you got it 100% correct the first time. This sounds like a fun project for some RUclipsr. The best part is, you get the raw analog feed, then you can decide what lossy MPEG4/etc to put it through after that.
This is an incredible video. You've created the definitive video for the question being asked. No one ever again has to make another video to answer this question until the end of time. Incredible.
I remember back when I first started out as an electronics technician in the 80s. I was astounded by the way the engineers came up with a way to put so much video data on a slow moving tape via the tilted drum. This was a great explanation of the way it works. Thanks for the memories, Jared...and the fantastic way you explained it in this video!
Fantastic video Jared!! It 100% satisfied my curiosity from when I was a kid as well, and I never would have thought there were just sooo many mechanisms inside. However- one issue. At 0:52- you said "The VCR is becoming a thing of the past." It's not 2006- DVDs and CDs are becoming a thing of the past, and the VCR is a dinosaur.
I still use my VCR from time to time. Some movies just aren't on streaming services, and I don't see a reason to go out and buy an old movie on Blu-Ray if I already have a working copy on VHS.
@@Molton11 Sound waves have vibrations so that's how I rectify that for my own sanity. How a picture is recorded and played back is still mind boggling for me...
1:05 by using dvd and bluray we become owner of the movie Unlike streaming where we loose access to content & platforms can just remove the movie anytime when their contact ends
Just discovered this amazing channel. I grew up in the 1980s with VCRs. Only until your video in 2022 am I learning how this day to day technology actually worked through your super amazing videos. Hats off to you, man
For what it's worth, I was born in 2004 and VHS tapes were very much a thing in my youth. Though mostly delegated to old recordings of live TV, educational videos in school, etc.
Yeah, in a way, same. I was born in 2003 and my childhood had a black and white tv and vhs tapes. The tv died and we eventually started using dvds more often than vhs but only for watching store bought movies. But it can't be denied that I did indeed grow up with those kinds of technologies. At least DVDs and vhs tapes are better than having to pay a monthly fee just to never own the product.
This is incredible Bro ... even I was so much curious about functioning of VCR & VHS from my childhood. You nailed it.. you quenched my thirst for GK Bro. I am a Graphic designer & I really appreciate your tremendous efforts to make this 3D animation video
Exceptional video, full of perfect technical details. The graphics are beautiful and precise. Truly congratulations. I say this as a technician who knows everything that has been said, I hope that my compliment is more appreciated for this reason.
This is probably the only old technology I miss. It was so easy and commonplace to record TV shows back then, for example. I used to have many news programs on tape.
It was a fantastic system and I had a SVHS model that did record in full Hi-Fi stereo in PAL and NTSC here in Australia and I had SVHS tapes and when recording it SVHS it was in broadcast quality and my tape were E60, E120, E180 and I never used long play mode.
I grew up with VHS and recorded shows regularly and I don't miss it at all. The quality would worsen each time you taped over a program, so by the 4th or 5th use of a cassette it would look truly awful, even in SP mode. Nowadays you can just record the exact digital stream coming through the cable, and store it on a hard drive. That's all DVRs do, and I even built my own so I have terabytes of TV recordings dating back 12 years that have never been reduced in quality.
it's just crazy, because 2 days ago I dismantled out of curiosity a VHS player that no longer worked. I was trying to figure out how it worked but couldn't find it. Now that you release this video, everything is clearer to me. Thank you for investing so much in your videos so well explained 🙏
Wow, quite fascinating stuff Jared! Always wondered how these worked, and what all the little mechanisms were doing inside. You always explain in such an easy to understand way. So much talent man! 🔥🔥🔥
I have a VCR and around 55 VHS video tapes bought by my mother in 2005 when I was just 8 years old. It took me a while to learn how to use the VCR, especially since I was born in 1997 and VCR technology is outdated for my generation. Even now, at 26, I still have difficulties using the VCR. For example, sometimes I forget that the tape is already rewound, and when I insert it into the machine, I try to rewind it again, but it stops abruptly because there’s nothing left to rewind. My mother bought this device mainly because my parents’ wedding was recorded on VHS, and obviously, we needed a VCR to watch the wedding film. 98% of my tapes are still in good working condition despite the years and frequent rewinding. However, I learned many years ago on the internet that you can record anything you want onto a tape using a VCR. Unfortunately, recording onto a video tape seems too complicated for my generation because no matter how much I tried to follow the instructions, I barely managed to record anything at all. I used a few unwanted cartoon tapes to try to record over them, with the wedding tape being strictly off-limits. In general, in 2024, is it still possible to record something on a video tape if I have a video tape and a VCR, or is my generation too outdated for this, and is it no longer easy or even possible to learn? Why do video tape recordings seem so complicated to me even though I grew up with a VCR from 2005 when I was 8? I was only taught to play a video tape and some basic instructions, but my knowledge is extremely limited. All I know is how to insert a video tape, rewind and fast-forward, start playback, pause, stop, and eject the tape. I also know how to adjust the tracking (I learned that online), but this information isn’t very useful since the VCR has auto-tracking. Essentially, my knowledge is only sufficient for playing a video tape. I don’t know other functions, if there are any, and they would probably seem foreign to me. Could I be useful in the future even if my knowledge of VCR usage is extremely limited and mostly beginner-level? Even in 2019, when I received some video tapes from someone, I had difficulties playing them because I was trying to rewind them from the beginning even though they seemed to have already been rewound before I got them, and it took me a few attempts at rewinding the tape where the VCR stopped abruptly (probably because it was already rewound and had nothing left to rewind?), and my mother suggested that I fast-forward instead, which worked. Then I hit Play, and playback began. So even though I grew up with a VCR from 2005 when I was 8, unfortunately, my knowledge of using it is very limited, and I still sometimes get stuck and lose control over the VCR. It’s clear that I can’t compare myself to someone from the '70s or '80s who grew up with these devices, and my generation is simply not compatible with a VCR. Based on the information I’ve provided, what kind of VCR user could I be considered, and what should I definitely improve, given my age? Based on my difficulties and how I use a VCR, I guess jobs involving VCRs (such as companies that transfer films from VHS to DVD) would be quite incompatible with me at the moment, right? For example, with my current level of VCR knowledge, if I were to apply for such a job, I would likely face significant difficulties, wouldn’t I? XD"
As a technician who keeps old VHS and other analogue equipment operating for a media migration company I can confirm this animation is very accurate. It's important people know that analogue tapes are very susceptible to damage and degradation. If you have important memories on tape you should get it transferred to a digital format. Unfortunately unlike digital media you can't do much to repair or recover lost content on analogue formats. Storing tapes in humid environments, near strong magnetic fields and where foreign particles such as dust can enter are often major causes for tapes not to be digitised properly or at all.
True, to a point. Most digitizing companies are staffed by total novices, and any "problem tapes" just get returned to the client with a sticker saying the tape couldn't be transferred. At my own company I've yet to find a tape that couldn't be rescued, but sometimes that involves intentionally mis-aligning the tape path (to match the tape), adding rollers to fixed posts, baking tapes, and various other lengths to which most companies can't/won't go to. Old EP VHS tapes are *the worst* by far. Moldy Video8/Hi8 tapes are also a bloody nightmare! And Ampex U-matics...Jesus. Betacam tapes are also starting to have issues with mold/tape sticking to itself (and tearing) now, too. So far no tape has defeated me though!
@@njm1971nyc we bake our tapes for 48 hours that have issues like mould and it makes a huge difference. We then run them through cleaning like a Tapechek for VHS tapes before attempting capture. Umatic and Hi8 are probably my most hated formats and they require insane amounts of work to capture most of the time.
It's an alright animation, but it has a few inaccuracies. Like the drum having 6 chips and 10 heads lol. Hi-Fi machines only have 4 chips and 6 heads, 2 video heads per chip, and 2 Hi-Fi chips with 1 head each.
@@GoldSrc_ it's not a training video for technicians...it's sufficiently accurate for the target audience. Besides, not all HiFi machines have four video heads (as you said). Lower-end consumer or professional single-speed decks only have two. Higher-end decks have flying-erase heads on the drum, too. For what it is, an overview for curious people, this is a decent video. A similar video on turntables had some absurd magnet/coils (as a transducer) where the counterweight should be!!
@@njm1971nyc This was a very good video presentation. But did you ever run into the machines that also had what was called CONFIDENCE heads that will right behind the record heads. Which actually played the video right off the tape while you were recording it. So the image you were viewing was actually coming off the tape verifying it got recorded and there was no Dirty Heads. Also there was one machine that actually had a set of heads that match the width for each speed recorded.
VHS was a wonderful thing from the past and a big part of my childhood - these machines are truly fascinating when discovering what they actually did and how they worked - thank you!
I used to examine this vhs player when I was a child back then, and what I want everybody to know is that this video and its 3D animation are as perfect as it is. Congratulations guys, you are tremendous!
I'm really astonished by how much work this must have taken you - I mean you could have just filmed yourself taking a machine apart in real life instead of making an animation. Really incredible. Don't get me wrong, the animation is fantastic - I'm just in awe that you spent all that time making an animation of the process! it's also a good reminder of how much technology has progressed. I have a Quest 2 VR headset and I just watched Titanic in 3D in the Bigscreen app, which is where someone hosts the movie and you can just join. It's completely free (and probably breaks several laws or something) but what hit me was I actually had that movie on VHS and now it can be watched by anyone with a VR headset and internet connection in much better quality, and in 3D! How times have changed!
You also forgot to mention that back in the day, Titanic came on two VHS tapes (at least, in the States), and at the end of tape 1, you had to eject it, put it back in its case and get tape 2 out if you wanted to finish the movie!
Hello! Fun fact, I was born in 2004 and I still use a VCR from time to time. They are really cool pieces of technology. I sometimes have movie night with my older sister. I should add that there is nothing more satisfying than pulling out a VHS tape and sticking it in. Yes, it has a tendency to jam and have issues, but that is part of the fun.
I inherited a VHS rental store from my parents and watching this video really takes me back to those times. Watching my dad fixing people's VCRs was a joy, i worked on rewinding and clean the big drum inside the machine. Dissembling the machine and reassembling it always feels so satisfying i can probably still do it after 25 years already.
Thank you so much for this video. Being a 2000’s kid, this was rather nostalgic. We still have our VCR and VHS cassettes with movies that I grew up with. And although we later bought a DVD player, I had several favorite movies that we had only on the cassettes. I vividly remember putting the cassette in, watching it slide inside and wondering what a marvel it is. Thank you, Jared, you’re doing an amazing job, please, keep making these video.
Outstanding video Mr. Owen. I can't imagine the amount of patience it takes to produce this high quality, highly detailed, and fantastic masterpiece of information. I'll never take your hard work for granted while watching your videos at my desk.👍👍👍
I remember as a kid, I learned a trick to actually trick the VCR into recoding on/over copyright protected VHS. See the protection comes from the hole that's on mass produced copyrighted VHS. Thus, when you try and record it the VCR would eject the tape. If you look at recordable tapes (always saw them in ads from Walgreens) the hole isn't there. This hole is located on the back side of the tape facing you when you *insert* the tape onto the VCR. To bypass it, place a tape over the hole and you will have recorded over your two hour movie (SP mode) into a six hour (EP mode). Did that to my Power Rangers tapes and I'd record fresh episodes from the TV Fix Kids onto my tape and was able to actually have more episodes. Did this with Pokémon as well. 🤣 I'd have four or five EP tapes and I'd record The Simpsons, Pokémon, 3rd Rock from the Sun. I was able to watch these episodes over and over and over. Man, being a kid back then was pretty gnarly. (Uh, that's what kids say nowadays)? 😂
Sadly I was too young at the time VHS still popular. At least I still remembered the time I enjoying watch a movie/listen a music via VCR. Though as I grown up a little, all of them replaced by CD/DVD.
Just showing off the underside of the VHS and the little door brought me way back to being a little kid. I can picture and completely feel the way it felt for your fingers to go into those white circles to wind it up. It really was amazing, and thank you so much just for that one memory!!!
Thank you for taking the time and effort to put all this together. In the good old days, we used to clean the drum with petrol and a tissue paper, and it always worked!
I think it's so easy for creators on RUclips to make mediocre content, or even great content that at some point cuts corners. I have to say that your animations and videos are just sublime, and I can only imagine how much effort you put in. Thank you for bringing some of the highest quality work to RUclips!
Another great animation. You do a wonderful job of explaining complex things. I had a first generation RCA VCR, it was about 4 times bigger than the later ones. I knew most of the technology, being a long time geek, but I did not know about the end of tape sensor. I always learn something from your videos.
VHS makes me feel nostalgic for a different time. I miss the Friday night trips to Blockbuster, and spending a minimum of 45 minutes searching the shelves for movies (or a game) to rent. Cooking up a big bowl of popcorn, making some sundaes, and hoping the movie you rented doesn't suck. These days, streaming services are such a mess, I think it would be awesome if the video rental store made a comeback.
Thank you so much for this, Jared! I was so curious with VCRs just like you as a kid, even though I was born in 99. But now I understand everything so well. And also, to complement the amazing animation, it‘s perfectly narrated: so concise, so well resumed, you didn’t missed a thing, and it was so fun to watch. Thank you so much! Just know that there are so many people out here that appreciate hugely your work! Keep it up!
riding out 2 hurricanes within the last month here in florida. ive watched about 200 hours of old vhs tapes under generator power. from og shrek. to old unopened national geographic. to the orange cassette rugrats movies. black hawk down, jingle all the way, small soldiers and power rangers. the most ive watched vhs in 2 decades by at least 100%.. that nostalgia is canon.
About the record tab, one way to get around it was to, if the tab was broken off, cover it with a piece of scotch tape. And if you made it the right size the record sensor will think it’s a tab and let you record.
What a great video Jared. I grew up in the 90s and oh man this bring back so many memories with VCRs. I still have all the VHS Cassettes that I bought in a box in my storage and most likely a VCR sitting somewhere as well.
It amazing how fast technology is advancing. I think we take for granted the fact that in less than *one* *human* *generation* we’ve build up a global internet basically from scratch. And yet people still ask “where’s the flying cars!?”
iam so glad that i was born in 85 and had a tech savvy grandfather, so i grew up with "modern tech", from the 80s and 90s, while also witnessing his stuff, from the 60s and 70s. so even as a 10 year old, i was aware of the journey that tech had undergone, and live through another transition from analog to digital. this brings a lot of things into perspective for me and i dont take everything for granted since i know, that it was different at some point. and what i always see is: its old tech by todays standards, but its still complex and needed very smart people to design and built it. so even tho its old, you cant just recreate it from scratch in your garage
old technology is amazing and was often well build (thats also a reason why it was so expansiv) this video is awesome i am glad people who probably have seen such a thing get the chance to atleast see how it worked!
MY KIDS GIFTED ME A VCR MANY YEARS AGO. THOUGHT I WOULD ENJOY IT..LIVING FAR FROM ME, WHEN THEY VISIT, VCR NOT INTERESTING. SO IT IS STILL ON.SHELF, NEVER USED. THEY WILL FIND IT SOMEDAY.
Blown away by these videos and the effort put into them. Thank you so much for all the hard work and fascinating content. I was very much around for the VHS era and have never seen such a good video explaining something I took for granted as a kid.
I remember looking inside too as a kid. It was tantalising though since you couldn't really make out what everything was, which only made it more fascinating.
I looked inside, too. I had no idea what was what inside. Either way, VCRs made me a happier kid. My mom would record cartoons such as Dragon Ball and Pokémon when I was at school. Fun times.
I still use a dual VCR/ DVD combo system to this day along with my Personal Home Theater in my living room. I own a full cabinet of VHS and DVDs that still get used to this day. Streaming is nice but the old nolstalgia of watching movies like I did as a kid are still a daily occurrence in my home . Although instead of a tv I use a 100” project screen/ w UHD 4k technology.
Btw I'm new to this channel. Must also say you've really put a lot of work and time in producing this 3d animated video. I'm sure it must've been difficult, not only to create the 3d models and animate it, but also to learn and understand the working of a VCR Player and VHS Tape. Huge props to ur work. Loved it 😌
There was also Video 2000, with which you could record in a normal speed and low speed. Also you could turn it around and use the other side as well. It was very similar to a cassette tape.
Yes, at my friend's house they had one from Philips. Quality was rated even better than Betamax. But market segment was too small and they lost from competition.
And before video2000 there was the Philips VCR system (N1500 and N1700) started since 1974 that had a square cassette with the two reels on top of each other. I have a couple, they had a good quality image, but only for PAL.
@@grijzekijker Quality was good. The heads were not solidly fixed to the drum but mounted on pitzo electric actuators that could move the heads up and down. Control signals were recorded along with the video and this flexed the heads to keep them perfectly aligned with the video track. It was because of this that no tracking control knob was required. In pause, fast forward or reverse the flexing of the heads kept them on track. Perfect picture no noise bars. Also because of the good track control it was possible to get the video onto just half the width of tape allowing it to be turned over to use the other half for another recording. Another advantage of the dynamic track following as tapes got worn and stretched the heads were able to still stay on track with no noise bars. VHS used a second bigger head that would scan across more than one track to get rid of noise bars in fast modes and pause. Later VHS had a dynamic drum. With this the tilt of the drum could be moved to keep the heads aligned with the track . It was very good. A local tv shop used to send all the V2000 machines to me to fix them
When there was no 3D animation, when there was no digital storage, those who made VCP and VCR must have done this difficult work with so much hard work, because of them all of us have video cassettes.we have seen these films my salute to such people 🙏🙏
Honestly this helps me visualize a little more how VHS works If anyone is curious about beta, and what kinda stuff went on outside the machines in their heyday (i.e more than just how the machines work) check out technology connections, alec has a great series on these machines, and how beta flopped hard
I couldn't help but think this would be a perfect companion video to the Technology Connections one, as Alec was severely limited by the constraints of ... reality in how well he could show the components as they worked, whereas Jared's virtual reality models make that much easier. Well ... easier for us, clearly not easier for him (effort for which we are very grateful...)
The model in this video is a fairly new one. The first couple of generations were behemoths consisting of several circuit boards and mechanical tuners.
Damn these are rather complicated machines. It's no wonder that a company like Lightning Fast VCR Repair grew into such a large and ubiquitous enterprise that is still going strong today.
Brilliant video well done. I can imagine this would have taken you a very long time to put together, people who are interested in older technology will appreciate this video.
That is so cool. I grew up with VHS and having it explained like this is just awesome. Never realised just how intraquite those machines were... LOT of great memories with good old tapes 🙂
Each time Jared makes a animation video I rush and watch it (including ads) with a smile in my face. He never lets anything pass by, so detailed , so neat and so clean. If you are reading my comment Mr. Owen, please be informed that you have my great respect. Love from Nepal.
I've rarely seen this smoothness in animation presentations.. what a nice sharp explanation of every minute detail.. but.. the highlight for me is how he shares every single memory from childhood we all can relate with.. I rrally like it.. Thankyou @JaredOwen
Wow, it's crazy to think someone (people?) thought of all those little functions working together as 1 device! What did they already know about each process, or did they learn as they planned it? Also, just as the concept is fascinating, so is your time and dedication to making this video! The animation is so smooth, flawless, and lifelike! Thank you for your passion and effort
Mostly it is just an idea that comes to you, then the major parts of the design, then you have to figure out how to fit in the details. It’s a lot like the art process, with your first thumbnails as the first major points, then the sketches as your prototypes, and then finally lineart and coloring, making it functional and then aesthetic. Also, I’m not that experienced in engineering, but i assume all but the best have to look up a few designs for smaller parts, like random joints or other things.
Most of the work was already done by audio engineers, since reel-to-reel audio tapes were around for decades by this point, and the Philips compact cassette was in full swing too. The reason they used helical scan is simply because they had to. Older video tape formats used *massive* tapes, if you've ever heard of a "2 inch quad" for example. They later had 1-inch tapes, but still. VHS uses only a half-inch thick tape. You need to store a lot more information to have a video signal than you do for audio, so the options were either you make the tape bigger (not consumer-friendly), make the tape advance faster (limits capacity) or come up with a system to more effectively utilize the space. Thus the helical scan concept was born. It's worth noting that the audio track is linear, just like an audio cassette. Hi-Fi came around later. But to reiterate, the VHS wasn't invented from scratch. All these technological feats build on one another. Magnetic audio tape led to magnetic video tape - the ones used by television stations were exponentially larger than VHS, so to miniaturize it into something consumer friendly they had to come up with a new trick to fit the information on it. Same with how compact discs built upon laserdisc, and is why they are called COMPACT.
Eu tive dois vídeo cassetes, vou falar da minha experiência: as fitas VHS enferrujam com o tempo. Daí, quando passam no vídeo cassete, o sinal de vídeo fica somente choviscando, como uma canal VHF sem sinal, e o áudio, fica extremamente abafado. Cansei de limpar os cabeçotes de áudio e vídeo com álcool, e ao colocar uma fita de vídeo antiga, tudo estava sujo novamente. O vídeo não mostra, mas embaixo da placa de circuito impresso, há algumas correias, são ligas de borracha que com o tempo, perdem a elasticidade e até quebram, comprometendo o funcionamento das engrenagens, e por fim, tinha casos que a fita de vídeo enrolava e arrebentava dentro do equipamento, tinha que abrir para remover a fita. Mas devo dizer, os meus eram de 4 cabeças, e a imagem era muito boa.
@@stephensnell5707 Jovem, e oque você me diz do óxido de ferro, que é um pigmento magnético usado na fita magnética, no qual são gravadas as informações? Mofo eu sei que minhas fitas tinham, mas ao passar uma fita destas no vídeo cassete, elas comprometiam toda a reprodução, e os cabeçotes do vídeo cassete ficavam cobertos de ferrugem, era um saco ter que ficam limpando com álcool isopropílico toda vez que colocava uma fita antiga pra rodar.
Great video, both informative and nostalgic aswell. Btw I always found it funny how VHS low key encouraged piracy through it's record feature. Recording movies now and putting them on a hard drive or DVD is seen as bad but back then not recording movies from tv was seen as weird.
@@JaredOwen Although the good thing about this is that we now have recordings of old advertisements and news shows that otherwise would be lost to time if they hadn't been accidentally recorded by people trying to record a movie or a live show.
This video explained it the best way possible! I’m showing this to my 4 year old as I watched constant VHS Disney movies on a small fat tv back then! Old technology is so cool even though it’s dying out
That’s because the clear plastic fad was the late 90’s early 00’s, not the early 90’s. It became very popular after the iMac launch in 1998, by that point VCR was starting to reach the end of its dominance as DVD was starting to get popular so manufacturers didn’t bother.
Clear plastic? Do you mean the case itself? I remember having an N64 that was opaque and another that was kinda see through but not really. This exact N64 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_craze
Eu nasci muito... Muito antes dos anos 2000 rsrs, assisti muitos filmes, desenhos nessas fitas, esse vídeo me trouxe tantas lembranças, do meu pai, dos parentes... Parabéns pelo conteúdo. Muito bem explicado. Até agora único que explicou de forma mais clara possível.
У нас был SONY. Мы ради интереса как он работает снимали крышку и наблюдали весь его процесс. Спасибо за видео! Только записывал он по-другому, у него был встроенный тюнер и телевизор был не нужен, достаточно подключить к нему кабель от антенны, ввести время включения на запись и выбрать канал, утром просыпаешься а фильм уже у тебя на кассете, красота!
This is absolutely fascinating, Jared. I never knew that VHS was so complex. I wouldn't have guessed that video was written and read diagonally and that the audio was written and read ahead of the video data. That explains why VHS cassettes took so long to queue up. I'm glad that this video came out. I've been checking from time to time to see if you had released any videos that I may have missed. I'm glad that I caught this one. Ever thought of doing a video on 8 Track tapes?
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Just because it's old technology doesn't mean that it's not super cool. I hope this video was fun to watch because I had a lot of fun making it😎
Hi
Amazing vid like always (can you do your next video on a cpu?)
yaaah
Hi Jared can you do my request how a CPU works
Could you make a video about VR ?
Each video takes TWO MONTHS to make and develop, this guy needs so much time to develop a video less than 20 minuites. He's got some dedication
Agreed 👍
Absolutely right and its really great
Such guys should be paid more
That’s normal time per minute for one person
@@Ashurion-Neonix nah he prolly be sad and broke by now
As a kid who looked inside of VCR from a slot and tried to understand what’s going on there, I had many unsolved questions on VCR decades ago.
But all questions are now solved by the video.
Great explanation, smooth animation, your video is really amazing! Thank you!!
Thanks Kana!
@@JaredOwen Man, if your videos were there, I ud've abused the VHS cassettes and the VCR buttons a little less.
kana exactly. I remember looking inside the VCR and just thinking it's a bunch of random extra stuff that has no point and weird purposeless metal things. now with an adult brain it's like of course, everything is there for a reason and it generally works flawlessly.
@@Arcexey principles and ideas used in these technologies are mind bogglingly genius. Now, consider the math behind these.. I don't wanna talk about it.
@@omniyambot9876 oh I know! It's really just all math behind the scenes. The thing that is most interesting is the reliability. For me a vcr just always worked, could throw that fucker around and it'd work. I remember opening the door all the time to look in there, and open the cassettes as well.
I repaired those things for about 20 years and I can tell you did a masterpiece of the explanation… The video was perfect from the graphics to the narration… They really are an interesting mechanical device I enjoyed working on them… Hey thanks for the memories I kind of miss them… Well not really. I'm never going back to that resolution again but they still are amazing mechanical devices. Have a great day and stay well big thumbs up
The wonders of electromagnetism 🙂🙌 Do these things work the same way with variations in gravitational field? Like...would a VCR pick up anomalies at different altitudes from the ground?
@@noreigaoconnorspecialk6771 To my surprise there is a good comparison. I would suggest having a look at Gravitoelectromagnetism. Now it's practically unusable in electronics but it's still cool to know. Variations in gravitational fields in time are inexistent to our scale and they affect mass in general, compared to charges which are sensible to magnetic fields variating in time. I'm pretty sure detecting an induced gravitational current would take more than a coil and an amplifier, the first machine to directly record gravitational waves was pretty large..
@@HyperMario64 thanks for replying boss 😋👊👊👊
My grandfather was a TV and VCR repairman. I remember almost every time I went to his house, he had a VCR opened up on his kitchen table for repair and I might as well have been looking at the inside of a space shuttle.
@Jeff - Min. 12:23 - We all had an annoying problem in those times : catching the tape inside. What a pain in the.....VCR ! WHY does this happen ?
I can't believe how detailed your 3d models are of these items. Working for a TV station for 35 years I can attest your animations are crazy perfect and dead on exact. Bravo!
My dad worked for years fixing VCRs. How these devices work has always fascinated me. Your presentation was amazing. Congratulations!
Did he smell like alcohol?
@@USERNAME1-x5u 💀
VHS 📼 quality was so bad.
Like when you recorded something.
huh, David, That is an interesting Career!
Who would have thought that some one would make a Content like This.
Really Good Work man. From one BLENDER user to Another you give us hope.
Love your Work dude on the f35 Jet
Not Bad your self dude
Can't believe your here dude.
LOVE your Animaimation too!
Oh My Aitelly is here.
Cool you are also Supporting Big Creators!
Love your Animations also!
@@annaep0162 Thanks dude
As an 80s/90s child who's always been fascinated by how machines do what they do this was fantastic. I've enjoyed every piece of content you've created that I've watched but this one was particularly fascinating. As always thank you for taking the effort to make it.
After repairing VCRs for many years, I was searching for a good video to explain the technology to a friend in German. I was lucky to find your animation. This is by far the best in this field I have ever seen since many decades. I will tell my friend to train his English!
Small correction, the capstan moves the tape, not the pinch roller, the pinch roller only “pinches” the tape between itself and the capstan.
Fantastic work. Subscribed!
Thanks for the feedback!
I noticed that too, Capstan motor and drum motor and their synchronization together is not covered but I think that's beyond the scope of this video, hopefully a second part will follow that covers the technical details on how frames and scan lines are stored on the tape and played back.
@@Capturing-Memories They are synced with the 'tracking' signal.
@@Wingedmechanic Not exactly, but that wasn't the point of my comment.
So it’s similar to the audio cassette machines that used to be used to play music. .?
Just consider the imagination and ingenuity that went into designing this incredible machine. Amazing!
N.B.: I have a 21-year-old Sony VCR that I just tried using for the first time in many years. It worked perfectly. Some of the tapes I watched I recorded off of TV in 1990, and they were just as clear as they were 33 years ago. 🙂
my relatives have an old sony tv and vcr. when visiting them i put in a spongebob dvd and it was crystal clear.
@@spingleboygle Yes! What's all this nonsense about "experts" who claim that tapes degrade over time? I have some 50+-year-old Type 1 audio cassette tapes that sound as good as the day they were recorded.
Same, just dont leave your tapes in a extremely bad environment lol and you'll be fine, the "experts" are idiots to be honest@@jpsned
@@Warp2090 I think the "experts" are engineers who use statistics instead of real-world experience to spout their beliefs.
exactly@@jpsned
I've wondered why the drum was crooked for 20+ years, and now I finally know! Thanks for the work you put into these - amazing as usual!
Thanks for watching Chris
Me to 😂
I had always watched my dad mess around with his 1970s jvc hi end when i was 4 it crapped out after i put legos in it and a tape, he was like heres this, heres that, you scratched the head up, now I gotta replace it and put all my media stuff behind a locked cabinet apparently
Sou do Brasil, realmente você é um Gênio na animação. Usei muito o VCR na minha infância, no tempo dos Video Clipes da MTV, passava horas gravando os clipes das bandas que eu adorava nos anos 90. Tenho até hoje um VCR da Philips de 6 Cabeças. Abraço e vida longa.
This is, not exaggerating, the BEST video (or text) explaining how VCR worked. Absolutely banging!
Thank you!
Yes, speaking as a technician who did his apprenticeship during the time that VCR's were the in-thing, this is really an excellent video. I'm gonna share this video with some of my technician chums. Something not mentioned(about the only thing!) is that the tiny circular grooves on the video drum that you can see at time index 10:33, are not there just to make the video drum look sexy, they actually allow for a microscopic air-cushion to form between the spinning drum, and the tape. This drastically helps prevent the tape sticking to the drum, which CAN happen if you put a very cold tape in the machine, or bring a cold machine into a warm room.
It's not a nice result, and is usually terminal for the tape, and in extreme situations, can fracture the heads on the drum so you have a dead tape AND a dead VCR! Not nice. ;-) I still have a stack of old VCR's that I have kept. Every now and again, someone wants one to play back their old tapes or copy their home-movies to DVD etc as mentioned in the video. I only keep the 6-head stereo VCR's. The mono ones are pretty useless and pointless to keep. The stereo ones can also playback the mono-only sound tapes with no issue, and back in the day before computers did EVERYTHING, radio stations used to use stereo HiFI VCR's on LP either for a complete 6-hour block of pre-recorded programming, or for recording live shows as evidence, should someone complain about a song or something the DJ said etc, then they could go through the tape and decide if action needed to be taken or not.
These machines never recorded any video, they were basically a cheap way to provide 6 or 8 hours of HiFi radio material, with the stereo VCR being much cheaper then a large reel-to-reel machine to do the same thing. Memories.....
e
Agree with you
This was very unexpectedly fascinating. When I was a kid opening up things out of curiosity or sometimes necessity (if a tape got stuck inside) I was always curious why that drum was slanted. I had no idea that the data was written in a slanted fashion or that the audio was placed at the top. Very cool stuff.
Thanks for watching Brian!
I have a Panasonic NV-SD3 VCR, purchased brand new in 1994... AND today, it still works like the very first day of use... AND it really still looks brand new after 28 years ! 🙂
Just bought a VCR for a personal project and I was really curious about how it worked.
This is really interesting, thanks!
When affordable VCRs came out, I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. I had no idea how great, and technologically involved, they really were/are! Incredibly intricate; so many moving parts perfectly synchronized! Fantastic stuff, Jared...thank you!
I am 22 and I have been obsessed with VHS since I am probably 16. This video blew my mind. I still don't know how it works exactly but it was truly a feat to watch.
Save whatever you can find before they go extinct.
@@treystephens6166I think they could already be extinct? Are new VHS machines still sold in 2022? I own a quality Panasonic VCR bought in 1996. One day it just wouldn’t work anymore. I’ve also got archive boxes full of VHS tapes containing interesting, rare content. I guess it’d be more economic to pay a commercial service to transfer the tapes to digital media.
@@Michael.Chapman I have VCRs from the 1980s that are still good.
@@mikesmith1290 nobody values old technology anymore 😢
@@mikesmith1290 My name is on the last slide😅😆 been following him for years.
I paid over $800 for my VHS back in the early 90s and you can now buy them for $20! Amazing! I never knew how they worked so thank you for this incredibly detailed and accurate video. Stunning job!
Thanks Matthew!
You also need an old analog TV to watch them.
@@robertkat It should be possible to take in the VCR head / audio head data right into an ADC and process everything by a computer. (To extract the most quality possible from a tape.) I'd wonder if such a device exists. You might even be able to double playback those precious home videos to make sure that you got it 100% correct the first time.
This sounds like a fun project for some RUclipsr. The best part is, you get the raw analog feed, then you can decide what lossy MPEG4/etc to put it through after that.
@@robertkat no, anything with composite would work
@@fitybux4664 just a composite video capture card, i think the 8 bit guy had a video about that
This is an incredible video. You've created the definitive video for the question being asked. No one ever again has to make another video to answer this question until the end of time. Incredible.
I remember back when I first started out as an electronics technician in the 80s. I was astounded by the way the engineers came up with a way to put so much video data on a slow moving tape via the tilted drum. This was a great explanation of the way it works. Thanks for the memories, Jared...and the fantastic way you explained it in this video!
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Fantastic video Jared!! It 100% satisfied my curiosity from when I was a kid as well, and I never would have thought there were just sooo many mechanisms inside. However- one issue. At 0:52- you said "The VCR is becoming a thing of the past." It's not 2006- DVDs and CDs are becoming a thing of the past, and the VCR is a dinosaur.
To the best of my knowledge, VCRs are still manufactured in limited quantity, just like the record players...
😂 - you are right, the VCR is already in the past😋 But I guess there are still some people that use them on a regular basis
I still use my VCR from time to time. Some movies just aren't on streaming services, and I don't see a reason to go out and buy an old movie on Blu-Ray if I already have a working copy on VHS.
It is 2006. VCRs and VHS tapes are becoming a thing of the past, and DVDs, Blu-Rays, and CDs are a dinosaur.
What a dumb comment; DVDs and CDs are still found in high volume in stores
The part with the reading of the magnetic information and conversion to video on the TV feels honestly like magic to me...
Exactly. I still do not understand how you can record voice etc.
@@Molton11 m.ruclips.net/video/g1JlUcFKm5o/видео.html
@@Molton11 Sound waves have vibrations so that's how I rectify that for my own sanity. How a picture is recorded and played back is still mind boggling for me...
1:05 by using dvd and bluray we become owner of the movie
Unlike streaming where we loose access to content & platforms can just remove the movie anytime when their contact ends
Just discovered this amazing channel. I grew up in the 1980s with VCRs. Only until your video in 2022 am I learning how this day to day technology actually worked through your super amazing videos. Hats off to you, man
After 42 years vcr gone invisible
@@chingariapkaapnaraju 🗑️
@@brianedward6417 👍
For what it's worth, I was born in 2004 and VHS tapes were very much a thing in my youth. Though mostly delegated to old recordings of live TV, educational videos in school, etc.
Yeah, in a way, same.
I was born in 2003 and my childhood had a black and white tv and vhs tapes. The tv died and we eventually started using dvds more often than vhs but only for watching store bought movies. But it can't be denied that I did indeed grow up with those kinds of technologies.
At least DVDs and vhs tapes are better than having to pay a monthly fee just to never own the product.
"my youth" lmao. You're still a kid.
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@@Shinkajo Alright, I was too lazy to type “when I was really young”
Born in 2000, still very much remember VHS as a kid and going to the video store and renting old Godzilla and Tokusatsu tapes. Miss those days ngl...
This is incredible Bro ... even I was so much curious about functioning of VCR & VHS from my childhood. You nailed it.. you quenched my thirst for GK Bro. I am a Graphic designer & I really appreciate your tremendous efforts to make this 3D animation video
Klasse Leute
Exceptional video, full of perfect technical details. The graphics are beautiful and precise. Truly congratulations. I say this as a technician who knows everything that has been said, I hope that my compliment is more appreciated for this reason.
This is probably the only old technology I miss. It was so easy and commonplace to record TV shows back then, for example. I used to have many news programs on tape.
Agreed
It was a fantastic system and I had a SVHS model that did record in full Hi-Fi stereo in PAL and NTSC here in Australia and I had SVHS tapes and when recording it SVHS it was in broadcast quality and my tape were E60, E120, E180 and I never used long play mode.
I grew up with VHS and recorded shows regularly and I don't miss it at all. The quality would worsen each time you taped over a program, so by the 4th or 5th use of a cassette it would look truly awful, even in SP mode.
Nowadays you can just record the exact digital stream coming through the cable, and store it on a hard drive. That's all DVRs do, and I even built my own so I have terabytes of TV recordings dating back 12 years that have never been reduced in quality.
it's just crazy, because 2 days ago I dismantled out of curiosity a VHS player that no longer worked. I was trying to figure out how it worked but couldn't find it. Now that you release this video, everything is clearer to me. Thank you for investing so much in your videos so well explained 🙏
Great! I on the other hand lost our VCR machine!
Wow, quite fascinating stuff Jared! Always wondered how these worked, and what all the little mechanisms were doing inside. You always explain in such an easy to understand way. So much talent man! 🔥🔥🔥
The legend himself!
@@ChrisDoEdit Haha :)
PLease do more gun
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t
I have a VCR and around 55 VHS video tapes bought by my mother in 2005 when I was just 8 years old. It took me a while to learn how to use the VCR, especially since I was born in 1997 and VCR technology is outdated for my generation. Even now, at 26, I still have difficulties using the VCR. For example, sometimes I forget that the tape is already rewound, and when I insert it into the machine, I try to rewind it again, but it stops abruptly because there’s nothing left to rewind. My mother bought this device mainly because my parents’ wedding was recorded on VHS, and obviously, we needed a VCR to watch the wedding film. 98% of my tapes are still in good working condition despite the years and frequent rewinding. However, I learned many years ago on the internet that you can record anything you want onto a tape using a VCR. Unfortunately, recording onto a video tape seems too complicated for my generation because no matter how much I tried to follow the instructions, I barely managed to record anything at all. I used a few unwanted cartoon tapes to try to record over them, with the wedding tape being strictly off-limits. In general, in 2024, is it still possible to record something on a video tape if I have a video tape and a VCR, or is my generation too outdated for this, and is it no longer easy or even possible to learn? Why do video tape recordings seem so complicated to me even though I grew up with a VCR from 2005 when I was 8? I was only taught to play a video tape and some basic instructions, but my knowledge is extremely limited. All I know is how to insert a video tape, rewind and fast-forward, start playback, pause, stop, and eject the tape. I also know how to adjust the tracking (I learned that online), but this information isn’t very useful since the VCR has auto-tracking. Essentially, my knowledge is only sufficient for playing a video tape. I don’t know other functions, if there are any, and they would probably seem foreign to me. Could I be useful in the future even if my knowledge of VCR usage is extremely limited and mostly beginner-level? Even in 2019, when I received some video tapes from someone, I had difficulties playing them because I was trying to rewind them from the beginning even though they seemed to have already been rewound before I got them, and it took me a few attempts at rewinding the tape where the VCR stopped abruptly (probably because it was already rewound and had nothing left to rewind?), and my mother suggested that I fast-forward instead, which worked. Then I hit Play, and playback began. So even though I grew up with a VCR from 2005 when I was 8, unfortunately, my knowledge of using it is very limited, and I still sometimes get stuck and lose control over the VCR. It’s clear that I can’t compare myself to someone from the '70s or '80s who grew up with these devices, and my generation is simply not compatible with a VCR. Based on the information I’ve provided, what kind of VCR user could I be considered, and what should I definitely improve, given my age? Based on my difficulties and how I use a VCR, I guess jobs involving VCRs (such as companies that transfer films from VHS to DVD) would be quite incompatible with me at the moment, right? For example, with my current level of VCR knowledge, if I were to apply for such a job, I would likely face significant difficulties, wouldn’t I? XD"
As a technician who keeps old VHS and other analogue equipment operating for a media migration company I can confirm this animation is very accurate.
It's important people know that analogue tapes are very susceptible to damage and degradation. If you have important memories on tape you should get it transferred to a digital format. Unfortunately unlike digital media you can't do much to repair or recover lost content on analogue formats. Storing tapes in humid environments, near strong magnetic fields and where foreign particles such as dust can enter are often major causes for tapes not to be digitised properly or at all.
True, to a point. Most digitizing companies are staffed by total novices, and any "problem tapes" just get returned to the client with a sticker saying the tape couldn't be transferred. At my own company I've yet to find a tape that couldn't be rescued, but sometimes that involves intentionally mis-aligning the tape path (to match the tape), adding rollers to fixed posts, baking tapes, and various other lengths to which most companies can't/won't go to. Old EP VHS tapes are *the worst* by far. Moldy Video8/Hi8 tapes are also a bloody nightmare! And Ampex U-matics...Jesus. Betacam tapes are also starting to have issues with mold/tape sticking to itself (and tearing) now, too. So far no tape has defeated me though!
@@njm1971nyc we bake our tapes for 48 hours that have issues like mould and it makes a huge difference. We then run them through cleaning like a Tapechek for VHS tapes before attempting capture. Umatic and Hi8 are probably my most hated formats and they require insane amounts of work to capture most of the time.
It's an alright animation, but it has a few inaccuracies.
Like the drum having 6 chips and 10 heads lol.
Hi-Fi machines only have 4 chips and 6 heads, 2 video heads per chip, and 2 Hi-Fi chips with 1 head each.
@@GoldSrc_ it's not a training video for technicians...it's sufficiently accurate for the target audience. Besides, not all HiFi machines have four video heads (as you said). Lower-end consumer or professional single-speed decks only have two. Higher-end decks have flying-erase heads on the drum, too. For what it is, an overview for curious people, this is a decent video. A similar video on turntables had some absurd magnet/coils (as a transducer) where the counterweight should be!!
@@njm1971nyc This was a very good video presentation. But did you ever run into the machines that also had what was called CONFIDENCE heads that will right behind the record heads. Which actually played the video right off the tape while you were recording it. So the image you were viewing was actually coming off the tape verifying it got recorded and there was no Dirty Heads. Also there was one machine that actually had a set of heads that match the width for each speed recorded.
VHS was a wonderful thing from the past and a big part of my childhood - these machines are truly fascinating when discovering what they actually did and how they worked - thank you!
Thanks Kaleb!
I used to examine this vhs player when I was a child back then, and what I want everybody to know is that this video and its 3D animation are as perfect as it is.
Congratulations guys, you are tremendous!
Outstanding explanation video. Superb quality and a video worth saving. I honestly wish museums had this quality of video explaining their exhibits.
I'm really astonished by how much work this must have taken you - I mean you could have just filmed yourself taking a machine apart in real life instead of making an animation. Really incredible. Don't get me wrong, the animation is fantastic - I'm just in awe that you spent all that time making an animation of the process! it's also a good reminder of how much technology has progressed. I have a Quest 2 VR headset and I just watched Titanic in 3D in the Bigscreen app, which is where someone hosts the movie and you can just join. It's completely free (and probably breaks several laws or something) but what hit me was I actually had that movie on VHS and now it can be watched by anyone with a VR headset and internet connection in much better quality, and in 3D! How times have changed!
You also forgot to mention that back in the day, Titanic came on two VHS tapes (at least, in the States), and at the end of tape 1, you had to eject it, put it back in its case and get tape 2 out if you wanted to finish the movie!
Hello! Fun fact, I was born in 2004 and I still use a VCR from time to time. They are really cool pieces of technology.
I sometimes have movie night with my older sister.
I should add that there is nothing more satisfying than pulling out a VHS tape and sticking it in. Yes, it has a tendency to jam and have issues, but that is part of the fun.
Thanks Ronald - yeah I agree, lots of things that the rising generation will never get to experience!
@@JaredOwen I wasn't expecting you to respond. Wow! I think this channel is fantastic!
@@Real_Moon-Moon I try to respond when I can. Thanks for watching my videos😀
@@JaredOwen Your videos are very informative and helpful. Keep up the great work!
I inherited a VHS rental store from my parents and watching this video really takes me back to those times. Watching my dad fixing people's VCRs was a joy, i worked on rewinding and clean the big drum inside the machine. Dissembling the machine and reassembling it always feels so satisfying i can probably still do it after 25 years already.
My father had his own rental store
It's actually amazing humans came up with this.
Thank you so much for this video. Being a 2000’s kid, this was rather nostalgic. We still have our VCR and VHS cassettes with movies that I grew up with. And although we later bought a DVD player, I had several favorite movies that we had only on the cassettes. I vividly remember putting the cassette in, watching it slide inside and wondering what a marvel it is.
Thank you, Jared, you’re doing an amazing job, please, keep making these video.
😀
@@JaredOwen can you please do a video on ready mix concrete truck.
Outstanding video Mr. Owen. I can't imagine the amount of patience it takes to produce this high quality, highly detailed, and fantastic masterpiece of information. I'll never take your hard work for granted while watching your videos at my desk.👍👍👍
I remember as a kid, I learned a trick to actually trick the VCR into recoding on/over copyright protected VHS.
See the protection comes from the hole that's on mass produced copyrighted VHS. Thus, when you try and record it the VCR would eject the tape. If you look at recordable tapes (always saw them in ads from Walgreens) the hole isn't there. This hole is located on the back side of the tape facing you when you *insert* the tape onto the VCR.
To bypass it, place a tape over the hole and you will have recorded over your two hour movie (SP mode) into a six hour (EP mode).
Did that to my Power Rangers tapes and I'd record fresh episodes from the TV Fix Kids onto my tape and was able to actually have more episodes.
Did this with Pokémon as well. 🤣
I'd have four or five EP tapes and I'd record The Simpsons, Pokémon, 3rd Rock from the Sun. I was able to watch these episodes over and over and over. Man, being a kid back then was pretty gnarly. (Uh, that's what kids say nowadays)? 😂
I did not know that! Will try it out next time I find a good vcr
I always thought 80s kids said gnarly.
@@Stickman_Productions that's because they did
Sadly I was too young at the time VHS still popular.
At least I still remembered the time I enjoying watch a movie/listen a music via VCR. Though as I grown up a little, all of them replaced by CD/DVD.
I grew up in the 1990s and was familiar with how to operate a VCR. I’m an adult now and I guess I’m one of the last people who can operate a VCR.
I’m one, too, and I’m a Zoomer.
@@JulianPaz-Guerrero-y6eDitto.
The quality of these renders and animations in every video is mind blowing. So MUCH DETAIL!
Your channel is a treasure
Ah! VCRs’ the great souvenir. Proud to have two, still connected and ready to play and record.
I know what you mean. I have a Betamax deck, but no VCR for VHS. I'll have to get a VCR soon.
Just showing off the underside of the VHS and the little door brought me way back to being a little kid. I can picture and completely feel the way it felt for your fingers to go into those white circles to wind it up. It really was amazing, and thank you so much just for that one memory!!!
Thank you for taking the time and effort to put all this together. In the good old days, we used to clean the drum with petrol and a tissue paper, and it always worked!
Remember he also started with that default cube in Blender. Look at his work now , not only informative but also amazingly entertaining.
The quality of this animation has somehow gotten EVEN BETTER! The textures are so good, how did he do this in 2 months??
I think it's so easy for creators on RUclips to make mediocre content, or even great content that at some point cuts corners. I have to say that your animations and videos are just sublime, and I can only imagine how much effort you put in. Thank you for bringing some of the highest quality work to RUclips!
Another great animation. You do a wonderful job of explaining complex things. I had a first generation RCA VCR, it was about 4 times bigger than the later ones. I knew most of the technology, being a long time geek, but I did not know about the end of tape sensor. I always learn something from your videos.
VHS makes me feel nostalgic for a different time. I miss the Friday night trips to Blockbuster, and spending a minimum of 45 minutes searching the shelves for movies (or a game) to rent. Cooking up a big bowl of popcorn, making some sundaes, and hoping the movie you rented doesn't suck.
These days, streaming services are such a mess, I think it would be awesome if the video rental store made a comeback.
You said it. The convenience of streaming strips away the fun of watching.
One of the best put together detailed videos of how the vhs and vcrs work and put together.
Well made fair play man
Thank you so much for this, Jared! I was so curious with VCRs just like you as a kid, even though I was born in 99. But now I understand everything so well. And also, to complement the amazing animation, it‘s perfectly narrated: so concise, so well resumed, you didn’t missed a thing, and it was so fun to watch. Thank you so much! Just know that there are so many people out here that appreciate hugely your work! Keep it up!
Thank you Lewis!
riding out 2 hurricanes within the last month here in florida. ive watched about 200 hours of old vhs tapes under generator power. from og shrek. to old unopened national geographic. to the orange cassette rugrats movies. black hawk down, jingle all the way, small soldiers and power rangers. the most ive watched vhs in 2 decades by at least 100%.. that nostalgia is canon.
About the record tab, one way to get around it was to, if the tab was broken off, cover it with a piece of scotch tape. And if you made it the right size the record sensor will think it’s a tab and let you record.
Just imagine how many people at blockbuster would be buying a movie just to find someone tampered with it
Yes
What a great video Jared. I grew up in the 90s and oh man this bring back so many memories with VCRs. I still have all the VHS Cassettes that I bought in a box in my storage and most likely a VCR sitting somewhere as well.
*My God, The video really shows the effort and time that went into making it*
My thoughts also.
I mean, as of 2024 physical media is making quite a huge comback. And I think its great.
It amazing how fast technology is advancing. I think we take for granted the fact that in less than *one* *human* *generation* we’ve build up a global internet basically from scratch. And yet people still ask “where’s the flying cars!?”
People can barely handle operating a vehicle in 2 dimensions, the 3 dimensions of a flying car would be a disaster!
We've got them already, they're called "Planes".
@@squidwardfromua Jetson is the closest we have to flying cars currently. But there only for the rich.
Helicopters. That's where. Helicopters.
Tão incrível quanto o funcionamento do video cassete é também a animação feita. Parabéns.
Tem vídeo em português neste canal!?
@@andrewpierre6356 acho q a maioria dos videos tem Legenda em português
mude o áudio para português.@@andrewpierre6356
I never knew these were so complex. This is so well made, thank you!
Dude, I have such a new found respect for these machines. I had no clue the damn thing got dismantled while it was in there.
As a kid assumed it was a laser that read the tape LOL
iam so glad that i was born in 85 and had a tech savvy grandfather, so i grew up with "modern tech", from the 80s and 90s, while also witnessing his stuff, from the 60s and 70s. so even as a 10 year old, i was aware of the journey that tech had undergone, and live through another transition from analog to digital. this brings a lot of things into perspective for me and i dont take everything for granted since i know, that it was different at some point. and what i always see is: its old tech by todays standards, but its still complex and needed very smart people to design and built it. so even tho its old, you cant just recreate it from scratch in your garage
Dude, SUCH a good video! I really appreciate all the work you put in to this
And don't forget, VHS tapes helped Tom Hanks to escape the island he was on.
I always wondered why the heads were tilted! BTW, the effort that went in making the accurate 3D animation is commendable! Thanks
I love it. every part of this machine is very, very well explained. i don't feel like something is missing. thank you
old technology is amazing and was often well build (thats also a reason why it was so expansiv) this video is awesome i am glad people who probably have seen such a thing get the chance to atleast see how it worked!
Every one of your videos are masterpieces in 3d animation and writing.
MY KIDS GIFTED ME A VCR MANY YEARS AGO. THOUGHT I WOULD ENJOY IT..LIVING FAR FROM ME, WHEN THEY VISIT, VCR NOT INTERESTING. SO IT IS STILL ON.SHELF, NEVER USED. THEY WILL FIND IT SOMEDAY.
@@bettygissel7150 ok betty, perhaps you could get some old tapes or something.
Blown away by these videos and the effort put into them. Thank you so much for all the hard work and fascinating content. I was very much around for the VHS era and have never seen such a good video explaining something I took for granted as a kid.
Such an amazing video. As a kid, I once opened up the cover of my VCR to see the internals and this video is spot on
Hi Manny, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I remember looking inside too as a kid. It was tantalising though since you couldn't really make out what everything was, which only made it more fascinating.
I looked inside, too. I had no idea what was what inside. Either way, VCRs made me a happier kid. My mom would record cartoons such as Dragon Ball and Pokémon when I was at school. Fun times.
@@drbuni Nice :)
I know it's been a year but wow. This was awesome to watch. I still have a vcr and VHS tapes. Nothing like a nostalgia trip Jared thanks
The quality of your animations are undeniably some of the best I have ever seen.
I still use a dual VCR/ DVD combo system to this day along with my Personal Home Theater in my living room. I own a full cabinet of VHS and DVDs that still get used to this day. Streaming is nice but the old nolstalgia of watching movies like I did as a kid are still a daily occurrence in my home . Although instead of a tv I use a 100” project screen/ w UHD 4k technology.
Btw I'm new to this channel. Must also say you've really put a lot of work and time in producing this 3d animated video. I'm sure it must've been difficult, not only to create the 3d models and animate it, but also to learn and understand the working of a VCR Player and VHS Tape. Huge props to ur work. Loved it 😌
Thank you Genis!
There was also Video 2000, with which you could record in a normal speed and low speed. Also you could turn it around and use the other side as well. It was very similar to a cassette tape.
Yes, at my friend's house they had one from Philips.
Quality was rated even better than Betamax.
But market segment was too small and they lost from competition.
And before video2000 there was the Philips VCR system (N1500 and N1700) started since 1974 that had a square cassette with the two reels on top of each other. I have a couple, they had a good quality image, but only for PAL.
@@grijzekijker Quality was good. The heads were not solidly fixed to the drum but mounted on pitzo electric actuators that could move the heads up and down. Control signals were recorded along with the video and this flexed the heads to keep them perfectly aligned with the video track. It was because of this that no tracking control knob was required. In pause, fast forward or reverse the flexing of the heads kept them on track. Perfect picture no noise bars. Also because of the good track control it was possible to get the video onto just half the width of tape allowing it to be turned over to use the other half for another recording. Another advantage of the dynamic track following as tapes got worn and stretched the heads were able to still stay on track with no noise bars. VHS used a second bigger head that would scan across more than one track to get rid of noise bars in fast modes and pause. Later VHS had a dynamic drum. With this the tilt of the drum could be moved to keep the heads aligned with the track . It was very good. A local tv shop used to send all the V2000 machines to me to fix them
@@telocho I had the N1500 and then the N1700 , video quality was good, then onto the 2022 and later onto various Philips and grundig models
Beautiful explained in animation and by voice. Used them a lot. Never questioned how it worked, untill now. Great job, Thanks!!
When there was no 3D animation, when there was no digital storage, those who made VCP and VCR must have done this difficult work with so much hard work, because of them all of us have video cassettes.we have seen these films my salute to such people 🙏🙏
Honestly this helps me visualize a little more how VHS works
If anyone is curious about beta, and what kinda stuff went on outside the machines in their heyday (i.e more than just how the machines work) check out technology connections, alec has a great series on these machines, and how beta flopped hard
Thanks Brendan. I watched technology connections when I was first starting research for this - great videos
I couldn't help but think this would be a perfect companion video to the Technology Connections one, as Alec was severely limited by the constraints of ... reality in how well he could show the components as they worked, whereas Jared's virtual reality models make that much easier. Well ... easier for us, clearly not easier for him (effort for which we are very grateful...)
The model in this video is a fairly new one. The first couple of generations were behemoths consisting of several circuit boards and mechanical tuners.
I still have a very early JVC piano key type VCR
Damn these are rather complicated machines. It's no wonder that a company like Lightning Fast VCR Repair grew into such a large and ubiquitous enterprise that is still going strong today.
Thanks for watching Michael
Those pricks never fixed my Night Court tape!
Brilliant video well done. I can imagine this would have taken you a very long time to put together, people who are interested in older technology will appreciate this video.
Hi Daniel, thank you for the kind words!
That is so cool. I grew up with VHS and having it explained like this is just awesome. Never realised just how intraquite those machines were...
LOT of great memories with good old tapes 🙂
O único vídeo no RUclips que explica como é feito a leitura parabéns
Each time Jared makes a animation video I rush and watch it (including ads) with a smile in my face. He never lets anything pass by, so detailed , so neat and so clean. If you are reading my comment Mr. Owen, please be informed that you have my great respect. Love from Nepal.
I've rarely seen this smoothness in animation presentations.. what a nice sharp explanation of every minute detail.. but.. the highlight for me is how he shares every single memory from childhood we all can relate with.. I rrally like it.. Thankyou @JaredOwen
You are so welcome. I appreciate the kind words!
Wow, it's crazy to think someone (people?) thought of all those little functions working together as 1 device!
What did they already know about each process, or did they learn as they planned it?
Also, just as the concept is fascinating, so is your time and dedication to making this video! The animation is so smooth, flawless, and lifelike! Thank you for your passion and effort
Mostly it is just an idea that comes to you, then the major parts of the design, then you have to figure out how to fit in the details. It’s a lot like the art process, with your first thumbnails as the first major points, then the sketches as your prototypes, and then finally lineart and coloring, making it functional and then aesthetic. Also, I’m not that experienced in engineering, but i assume all but the best have to look up a few designs for smaller parts, like random joints or other things.
Most of the work was already done by audio engineers, since reel-to-reel audio tapes were around for decades by this point, and the Philips compact cassette was in full swing too.
The reason they used helical scan is simply because they had to. Older video tape formats used *massive* tapes, if you've ever heard of a "2 inch quad" for example. They later had 1-inch tapes, but still. VHS uses only a half-inch thick tape. You need to store a lot more information to have a video signal than you do for audio, so the options were either you make the tape bigger (not consumer-friendly), make the tape advance faster (limits capacity) or come up with a system to more effectively utilize the space. Thus the helical scan concept was born. It's worth noting that the audio track is linear, just like an audio cassette. Hi-Fi came around later.
But to reiterate, the VHS wasn't invented from scratch. All these technological feats build on one another. Magnetic audio tape led to magnetic video tape - the ones used by television stations were exponentially larger than VHS, so to miniaturize it into something consumer friendly they had to come up with a new trick to fit the information on it.
Same with how compact discs built upon laserdisc, and is why they are called COMPACT.
Eu tive dois vídeo cassetes, vou falar da minha experiência: as fitas VHS enferrujam com o tempo. Daí, quando passam no vídeo cassete, o sinal de vídeo fica somente choviscando, como uma canal VHF sem sinal, e o áudio, fica extremamente abafado. Cansei de limpar os cabeçotes de áudio e vídeo com álcool, e ao colocar uma fita de vídeo antiga, tudo estava sujo novamente. O vídeo não mostra, mas embaixo da placa de circuito impresso, há algumas correias, são ligas de borracha que com o tempo, perdem a elasticidade e até quebram, comprometendo o funcionamento das engrenagens, e por fim, tinha casos que a fita de vídeo enrolava e arrebentava dentro do equipamento, tinha que abrir para remover a fita. Mas devo dizer, os meus eram de 4 cabeças, e a imagem era muito boa.
You prune,VHS Tapes would never rust they only develop mould when damp but they NEVER rust as VHS Tapes do not contain any metal
@@stephensnell5707 Jovem, e oque você me diz do óxido de ferro, que é um pigmento magnético usado na fita magnética, no qual são gravadas as informações? Mofo eu sei que minhas fitas tinham, mas ao passar uma fita destas no vídeo cassete, elas comprometiam toda a reprodução, e os cabeçotes do vídeo cassete ficavam cobertos de ferrugem, era um saco ter que ficam limpando com álcool isopropílico toda vez que colocava uma fita antiga pra rodar.
Great video, both informative and nostalgic aswell.
Btw I always found it funny how VHS low key encouraged piracy through it's record feature. Recording movies now and putting them on a hard drive or DVD is seen as bad but back then not recording movies from tv was seen as weird.
True! I read about some of the law suits that originally took place about piracy. Very interesting stuff
@@JaredOwen Although the good thing about this is that we now have recordings of old advertisements and news shows that otherwise would be lost to time if they hadn't been accidentally recorded by people trying to record a movie or a live show.
ngl at first when i saw piracy when i first saw mr. bean on vhs i thought it said privacy🤣
This video explained it the best way possible! I’m showing this to my 4 year old as I watched constant VHS Disney movies on a small fat tv back then! Old technology is so cool even though it’s dying out
One of the most beautiful videos I’ve ever watched. Absolutely flawless and perfectly made.
I'm actually shocked that vcr's escaped the whole clear plastic phase in the early 90s
That’s because the clear plastic fad was the late 90’s early 00’s, not the early 90’s. It became very popular after the iMac launch in 1998, by that point VCR was starting to reach the end of its dominance as DVD was starting to get popular so manufacturers didn’t bother.
Clear plastic?
Do you mean the case itself?
I remember having an N64 that was opaque and another that was kinda see through but not really.
This exact N64
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_craze
pretty sure you could get transparent dvd players tho.
Eu nasci muito... Muito antes dos anos 2000 rsrs, assisti muitos filmes, desenhos nessas fitas, esse vídeo me trouxe tantas lembranças, do meu pai, dos parentes... Parabéns pelo conteúdo. Muito bem explicado. Até agora único que explicou de forma mais clara possível.
What the hell ❤😂🎉😢😮😅😊
У нас был SONY. Мы ради интереса как он работает снимали крышку и наблюдали весь его процесс. Спасибо за видео! Только записывал он по-другому, у него был встроенный тюнер и телевизор был не нужен, достаточно подключить к нему кабель от антенны, ввести время включения на запись и выбрать канал, утром просыпаешься а фильм уже у тебя на кассете, красота!
This is absolutely fascinating, Jared. I never knew that VHS was so complex. I wouldn't have guessed that video was written and read diagonally and that the audio was written and read ahead of the video data. That explains why VHS cassettes took so long to queue up. I'm glad that this video came out. I've been checking from time to time to see if you had released any videos that I may have missed. I'm glad that I caught this one. Ever thought of doing a video on 8 Track tapes?
Thanks Mark! These videos take a long time to make and it's a good to know they are appreciated
@@JaredOwen thanksss jared you are awesome
best animation and explanation i watched.. keep doing informative videos like this..
Just brilliant.Big respect to provide this content!