Makers Offer Self-Cleaning VCR Heads

It used to be that the best way to combat dirty heads on a videocassette recorder was either inserting a head-cleaning cassette into the unit or having it serviced professionally. Now there’s another, easier option: self-cleaning VCR heads.

Several companies are marketing VCRs with this feature.

The heads are the vital, minuscule electromagnetic points that make contact with the tape and “read” the magnetic impulses, a key step in getting the picture to the screen. They are vulnerable to dirt and the residue of deteriorating tape. Dirty heads reduce picture quality, damage tapes and are a major reason for VCR repairs.

Originally used on professional machines, self-cleaning heads finally have filtered down to less expensive models, including Sony and Panasonic units that are discounted for less than $400.

“Here’s how they work,” said Jim Bonan, vice president of home audio products for Sony, which includes self-cleaning heads in all its VHS models. “A small foam roller about a quarter of an inch in diameter touches the head for a few rotations and then backs away. This happens when you put a tape in and take it out. It gets rid of whatever dirt is on the heads.”

Bonan predicted that in the future, self-cleaning heads will be a staple on all VCRs--even the bottom-of-the-line, two-head models.

In the meantime, on VCRs without self-cleaning heads, there are three basic kinds of head cleaners. Usually selling for $15-$20, they come in a cassette that you put in your machine and run briefly. The cleaning agents on the tape wipe away dirt on the heads.

How often should the heads be cleaned? That depends on several variables.

The biggest reasons for dirty heads are using rented or low-quality tapes. If you avoid renting tapes, use only blank tapes made by major manufacturers and play your VCR only a few times a week, you probably won’t have any significant problem with dirty heads. Using a head cleaner once or twice a year is probably sufficient.

But if you rent a lot of tapes and use bargain-basement blank tapes, then employing a head cleaner once a month is sensible.

3M recommends using a head-cleaner monthly or after every 30 hours of VCR operation. Sony’s Bonan, though, is one of many industry observers who subscribe to the if-it’s-not-broke-don’t-fix-it philosophy. That means don’t use head cleaners unless picture quality starts to deteriorate.