Some steps I've heard recommended for preparing old videotapes for transfer

[JQK18]

a) Rewind & fast forward the tape multiple times
b) Bake the tape in a specialized oven to remove moisture and keep it from sticking
c) Clean the tape using a rewinder with a cleaning head

Which of these are good/bad ideas?
And of the good ideas, which should be done first?

[sphinx99]

I am a believer in (a) however I do not believe it is a rule to follow blindly. Usually, I'll play a tape for a few moments in a stable VCR with the cover off to assess the picture quality as well as the tape quality. If the tape looks a bit compressed or curled but otherwise in good, strong shape, then I will do FF/RW cycles but only in a deck that has an incredibly stable transport. (I actually have a "no picture but everything else works" AG-7750 just for this.) I find that tapes play back better after a few rounds, if they've been sitting unused for a decade or longer.

Related to this, on problem tapes I sometimes make two captures... something like:
- play a short bit to assess tape
- if safe, FF/RW twice or so
- play and capture
- do another FF/RW and another few plays of rougher segments
- perform second capture

Sometimes the second capture comes out better than the first insofar as tracking, noise, etc. are concerned.

Needless to say cleaning the head regularly becomes a big deal for me, as does developing a level of confidence in one's decks. I have a few I leave unscrewed so that I can remove the cover and watch the tape track early into playback to make sure everything is OK.

I've heard the story of baking tapes but it makes me nervous given the probability of something going wrong. I personally would not do so unless I already had a good tape capture and could risk losing the tape.

There are a few other things I do... blow dust off the tape cartridge with an air can comes to mind. I'm hypersensitive to magnets - I make sure to store VHS tapes far, far away from anything with a magnetic field. I also believe in transport stability and try to keep the VCR on a strong, stable surface and not have booming LFE from large speakers blasting while I'm capturing.

[JQK18]

Some of my tapes date back as far as 1982 and I'm not sure what condition they're in -- I'm afraid the VCR's rollers and/or playhead may rub some of the degraded material off the tape's surface.

Would a standalone rewinder be better?

[edDV]

Some of my tapes date back as far as 1982 and I'm not sure what condition they're in -- I'm afraid the VCR's rollers and/or playhead may rub some of the degraded material off the tape's surface.

Would a standalone rewinder be better?

Make sure the VCR is in good condition before trying old tapes.

I find old tapes need a rewind before they play without sticking. I do this on an old transport.

Very old tapes will gunk up a good VCR. Learn how to clean the unit. Save your best VCR for good quality tapes.

"Baking tapes" is more for audio tape. Consider this a last ditch effort for sticky tapes. Idea is to vaporize the backing glue. It is destructive. You have a few hours to get it captured.

Read every online resource before attempting baking.

[lordsmurf]

a) Not in a high speed REW/FF, no. (Most VCRs do high speed! Yikes!) Multiple times? No, once is enough. Not really needed on newer tapes, only the older ones.

b) If you have to ask, you shouldn't do it. You'll just kill your tapes. It requires a special chemistry oven, not the one you bake cookies in. This is rarely needed.

c) You can ruin the tape this way. If you insist, then buy a TapeChek deck -- runs about $10K.

[JQK18]

Very old tapes will gunk up a good VCR. Learn how to clean the unit. Save your best VCR for good quality tapes.

Right now I'm planning to use a Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U (since it has noise reduction, TBC, etc.) to copy the old tapes. I guess that qualifies as my "best VCR" so it's a bit of a catch-22...

Would it help if I used another VCR to rewind/fast forward the tape first?

[edDV]

Very old tapes will gunk up a good VCR. Learn how to clean the unit. Save your best VCR for good quality tapes.

Right now I'm planning to use a Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U (since it has noise reduction, TBC, etc.) to copy the old tapes. I guess that qualifies as my "best VCR" so it's a bit of a catch-22...

Would it help if I used another VCR to rewind/fast forward the tape first?

Yes. Old tapes spray oxide all over the transport.

[JQK18]

If the oxides are coming off, seems like just playing the tape would degrade the tape quality.

But you said it sometimes plays better for you the second time...