VHS Loop Testing

We spent today testing various ways to loop VHS tape and it turns out it is a lot harder than we anticipated.

Following our schematics laid out in our research and pre production folders we took apart a VCR and tried to create a loop in the same way that a film or reel-to-reel audio loop works. Our tests were unsuccessful as VCR's are cleverer than we thought! They really do not like being manipulated and are not as simple as older projectors and reel-to-reel players.

For this reason we have decided to instead use vhs tapes and record the footage over an over again in extended play, on a 4 hour tape we will be able to squeeze 8 hours into it doing this. The work will not be exhibited any longer than 8 hours a day so this works out fine, we will just rewind the tapes over night. Another advantage to this is that it takes up less room than a loop so we will not be prohibited by any possible issues with space.

All in all I am a disappointed we will not be having the visual aesthetic of a loop but I am happy that we have a solid back up, guaranteed to work.