What Happens if You Record Again and Again

1. Collection ID Guide
2. Record Protection Mechanisms

Tape Protection Mechanisms

Information technology is very important to copy-protect your cassettes. This is probably the single all-time matter y'all should do (and the outset thing you should practise) to protect your cassette-based media!

The tape protection tab is your best friend with a cassette or cartridge! This is a piece of plastic that is either removed or slid out into the "save" position in order to protect your cassette from accidental erasure or copying over while in its playback auto. This should be the first thing yous practice with your cassettes in society to protect them from accidental information loss. If you are assessing a tape and detect that the tape protection tab is not removed or in the "save" position, do information technology at present!

Audiocassettes | Videocassettes

Audiocassette Record Protection

With most audiocassettes, the record protection mechanism is simple. This is a piece of plastic that is removed in social club to protect your cassette from accidental erasure or copying over while in its playback auto. This should exist the first thing you do with your audiocassettes in lodge to protect them from accidental data loss. If yous are assessing a tape and notice that the record protection tab is non removed or in the "save" position, do it now!

The protection tab is in the upper corner of your cassette, opposite the cease consisting of the tape path. In that location is a tab for each side of the cassette. Y'all should remove both of these tabs in society to protect both sides of the cassette.

Videocassette Tape Protection

In that location are many different means to re-create-protect a videocassette, and the method for protecting a cassette depends on which format yous're dealing with. Post-obit are examples of different formats and how to copy protect them. This list is very brief and does not include every format—y'all may take to do some inspection of the cassette in lodge to figure out how to enable the re-create protection mechanism on the tape y'all're holding. The images provided higher up are only some of the copy protection schemes devised for videocassettes and cartridges over the years. For a fuller list of the various kinds of cassettes and their copy protection, delight see the Texas Commission on the Arts' excellent Videotape Conservation Guide.

Copy protection examples: Betacam | Betamax | D2 | MiniDV | VHS | Umatic

Betacam Cassettes

Unsafe: Betacam record tab in up position. Epitome courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Cess Guide

The Betacam uses a slightly less intuitive system for protecting the cassette. In this system, there is a lilliputian red plastic button that allows the tape to exist recorded over when it is in the "upwardly" position.

SAFE: Betacam record tab in down position. Image courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Cess Guide

If you have a pen or screwdriver and push button the button downwardly, the copy protection is now enabled.

Betamax Cassettes

UNSAFE: Betamax tape tab intact. Epitome courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Assessment Guide

Locate this tab. If information technology is intact, then your tape can be copied over.

SAFE: Betamax record tab removed. Image courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Assessment Guide

You can use the tip of a knife to snap off the tab. Brand sure you dispose of the tab and don't permit it to get inside the cassette. Once this tab is gone, you cannot record over the material recorded on the cassette. Should yous change your listen and determine y'all desire to re-create over the record, you can put a slice of tape over the pigsty. For now though, remove the tab and leave the hole open up.

D2

Unsafe: D2 screw mechanism turned to "REC" position. Image courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Assessment Guide

The D2 record rarely turns up in archives too often, only information technology gives us a chance to see a somewhat different copy protection mechanism. Information technology should exist noted that not only D2 tapes utilise this scheme. Here a plastic spiral can exist turned from the "Save" to "Rec" position. As you tin can probably gauge, "REC" means that the tape can be recorded over.

Prophylactic: D2 screw mechanism turned to "SAVE" position. Image courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Cess Guide

Using a screwdriver to motion this screw to the "SAVE" position will proceed this tape safe.

MiniDV

UNSAFE: MiniDV slide mechanism in "REC" position. Paradigm courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Cess Guide

With MiniDV cassettes likewise as Hi-8/DV-8 tapes (among others), the copy protection is a slide institute on the tape. It is usually labeled. When the slide is in this position, the tape can be copied over.

SAFE: MiniDV slide mechanism in "SAVE" position. Image courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Assessment Guide

Using the tip of a knife or screwdriver, motility the slide into the "save" position. Now yous have enabled the copy protection, and y'all can't copy over the tape. Annotation that you are not breaking anything off; you lot're just moving the slide into the relieve position.

VHS

UNSAFE: VHS record tab intact. Image courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Assessment Guide

The copy protection on VHS tapes and Betamax tapes is pretty much the same. Locate the copy protection tab. If information technology's there, your tape tin exist copied over.

Prophylactic: VHS record tab removed. Image courtesy of Mona Jimenez, Texas Commission on the Arts, Video Cess Guide

Have a pocketknife or screwdriver and break the tab off. Again, make sure the tab is disposed of. When the tab is gone, your tape is protected.

Umatic

Umatic tapes have an approximately ¼" reddish push button located on the back, right side of the cartridge. This button can be popped out. When the push is removed, copy protection is enabled.

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Source: https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/recordprotection