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From: wales@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.video
Subject: Consumer Reports and VCR cleaning cassettes
Message-ID: <1825@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 24-Oct-84 19:09:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.1825
Posted: Wed Oct 24 19:09:55 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Oct-84 04:06:29 EDT
Organization: UCLA CS Dept.
Lines: 31

The November 1984 issue of Consumer Reports says the following on page
661 (upper right-hand corner) regarding head-cleaning tapes for VCR's:

	Following the instructions of both the tape manufacturer
	and the VCR manufacturer, use the head-cleaning tape just
	once.  (Frequent use of a head-cleaning tape could damage
	the heads.)

I am confused.

I have a Discwasher VHS cleaning cassette, and nowhere on the tape or
the instructions on the box is anything said about using it only once.
In fact, it says to stop using it when contamination can be seen on the
tape (or words to that effect).

If anything, I would expect the manufacturer of a head-cleaning cassette
to tell you to replace it SOONER than necessary, for two reasons:

(1) They wouldn't want a VCR owner to think (rightly or wrongly) that
    their brand of head-cleaning tape damaged his recorder's heads.

(2) They'd make more money by encouraging people to spend $20 to $30
    more often.

Is it in fact unsafe to use a head-cleaning cassette more than once?
-- 
    Rich Wales
    UCLA Computer Science Department
    3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024 // (213) 825-5683
    ARPA:  wales@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA
    UUCP:  ...!{cepu,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!wales