"Alex Coleman" wrote in message


Does it make any noticeable difference to erase a
cassette tape before recording onto it?

Depends. There have definately been some cassette machines
that couldn't fully erase a tape when recording over it. One
source of problems is the narrow tracks.

What about in the case of video cassette records where
the recording density is quite high?

Never saw that problem with VCRs. I time-shifted vigorously
with VCRs up until this year, which involved reusing tapes
until they physically broke.