How a VCR works—I had no idea

I know. I didn't think I needed to know, either. But I was wrong.

We've all used them, and we likely have a rough idea of what's going on in there. But I didn't know most of this, and confess embarrassment at the depth of my VHS ignorance.

The challenge, history, and inner workings are surprisingly enthralling. It's 18 minutes that you won't regret. Trust me on this.

The Impossible Feat inside Your VCR


These days a VCR seems more quaint than anything else. But in fact, there's a device inside every VCR that solved what seemed to be an unsolvable problem. The video head drum is a fascinating solution to the complex problem of tape speed, and therefore I think it deserves to be remembered. Plus, the video head drum shares some motor technologies with modern hard disk drives. So there's that.