Home video recorders use 12.65-mm/0.5-in wide tape. A series of rollers guides the tape past the recording and erase heads in the recorder. The sloping video head records the picture as a diagonal pattern across the tape. This enables more information to be held on the tape. If the signal was recorded in a straight line down the tape, it would take 33 km/20 mi of tape to make a one-hour recording. The sound track runs along the edge of the tape.