> Ah yes, cheap second hand VHS players, definetly not famed for chewing up cassettes.

IIRC most of the best VCRs for digitization have been worn out from years and years of use in other digitization efforts (like home movie digitization businesses).

I've bought second hand ones, and never had one chew up a tape. They'll sometimes need the heads cleaned, which you can do with a qtip and alcohol or just get one of those head cleaner tapes.

(Putting a tape in with a broken case, however, will get you what you expect.)