Fast forward

Fast forward

To fast-forward means to move forward through an audio or video recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually flow. Some people use the term fasten forward instead of fast forward.

To reach a certain portion of a song, a person may fast-forward through a cassette tape by pressing a button (often labeled "Fast Forward" itself) on the tape deck containing the tape. The tape deck's motor activates at a speed higher than usual -- for example, double the standard 1-7/8 ips playing speed of the 1/8" cassette tape -- and can be stopped by the end of the tape, the pressing of a "Stop" button on the deck (or another button mechanism disengaging the button), or simply lifting a finger from the "Fast Forward" button.

Fast-forwarding is the exact opposite of rewinding, in which tape, music, etc., are moved backward at a user's discretion. In either operation, because of sound distortion, volume is usually muted or severely reduced.

With the advent of inexpensive digital music media, fast-forwarding has most likely lost its past meaning related to the speed of a tape deck motor (or record turntable, or another device allowing fast-forwarding) and now may, especially as cassette tapes and other analogue media are used less and less by younger generations, only apply to the operation of moving ahead in a recording's time frame -- accomplished today by simple clicking, dragging a slide image, or even via speech-recognition software. (Still, some CD and DVD players offer tape-style fast-forwarding, so that the user can detect when the destination is reached and stop.)


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • fast forward — fast forwards, fast forwarding, fast forwarded also fast forward 1) N UNCOUNT: oft on N If you put a video or cassette tape on fast forward, you make the tape go forwards. Compare rewind. Before recording onto a new tape, wind it on fast forward …   English dictionary

  • fast-forward — v [I and T] 1.) to wind a tape or video forwards quickly without playing it 2.) to move quickly to a later point in a story fast forward to ▪ Fast forward to America at the turn of the century. >fast forward n [U] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • fast-forward — /fast ˈfɔwəd / (say fahst fawwuhd) adjective 1. of or relating to fast forward. –verb (t) 2. to run (a videotape, audio tape or DVD, or a specific section thereof) at fast forward. –verb (i) 3. to advance at fast forward through a videotape,… …  

  • fast forward — noun uncount 1. ) a button on a piece of electrical equipment that you press to make a video or AUDIOCASSETTE go forward quickly 2. ) the process by which you make a video or AUDIOCASSETTE go forward quickly: Put it on fast forward …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fast-forward — verb intransitive or transitive to make a video or an AUDIOCASSETTE go forward quickly: Let s fast forward through the commercials …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fast-forward — [fast′fôr′wərd] vi., vt. to advance to a later time at an accelerated speed n. FAST FORWARD …   English World dictionary

  • fast-forward — /fast fawr weuhrd, fahst /, v.i. (on a recording device or projector) to advance a tape or film rapidly, using the fast forward. * * * …   Universalium

  • fast forward — n. 1. the setting on an electronic playback device, as a VCR, allowing the user to skip portions and advance at an accelerated speed to a later section of a disc, tape, etc. 2. the act or condition of speeding up and advancing …   English World dictionary

  • fast-forward — I. ¦ ̷ ̷ ¦ ̷ ̷  ̷ ̷ noun Usage: often attributive 1. : a function of a tape player by which the tape is advanced at a higher speed than when it is playing normally 2. : a state or instance of rapid advancement her career is in fast forward the… …   Useful english dictionary

  • fast-forward — I. noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1948 1. a function of an electronic device that advances a recording at a higher than normal speed 2. a state or an instance of rapid advancement < put her career in fast forward > II. verb Date: 1974 tr …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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