Cue and review is a special viewing feature that makes it possible to scan quickly in forward and reverse during playback. This is very helpful when locating a particular scene. The picture is accelerated but watchable as it quickly moves by. To perform this function simply press the fast forward (FFWD) or rewind (REW) buttons on the VCR keypad or on the remote. Pressing the play button returns the machine to normal operation. Beta VCRs were able to do this handy service almost from the very beginning. Called Betascan by some of the Betamakers it is possible because the tape stays in the tape path all of the time. The ability to produce a recognizable picture in scan varies depending on the machine and the speed at which the tape was recorded. For example it might not be able to produce as good a picture with a tape recorded in as it does for one in . The clarity depends on the model and speed. VHS couldn't do this initially because their path had so many twists and turns in it that the tape would get shredded. Later on the video tape was coated with a graphite backing to make it slippery and their machines also began to slightly unload the tape. This made scanning possible for that format. It was clunky but it worked almost as well as Beta. ©Misterßetamax go to homepage