I’ve gotten good help here before with problems like this, so I’d like to give it another go-round. Plus, I don’t know where else to turn.
All of a sudden, I’ve got the same problem with this 7-month-old Emerson as I had with the last bigger-name, higher-priced VCR I gave away through FreeCycle.com because of the same problem. It must be something I’m doing wrong. ::whimper whimper::
The problem is that during playback of what I recorded last evening, for example, the picture is a constant-constant-constant jumping/flashing of horizontal distortion of the picture. Sound is fine, but except for a one-second stop of the jumping every 20 seconds or so, it goes on being all screwed up.
Just now I “watched” it, and by checking every 30 minutes, found that at the 3-hour & 18-minute marker, it became fine! As if by magic! Three hours & 18 minutes in! The last VCR–the one I gave away–only did this misbehaving for an hour and a half before fixing itself.
Has anyone else ever had this problem with a VCR? I did everything suggested in the trouble-shooting section, several times–changing the reception channel from 3 to 4 by doing what it said & pressing the play button on the VCR for three seconds (and back again when it didn’t help), using the channel keys to adjust, etc.
I’m now officially at my wit’s end, and looking for any suggestions. Am I just destined to replace my VCR every six months?
That might be a problem already…try playing all the tapes in the standard 1 hour mode or 2 hour mode. I know that will not help when taping films, but see if that helps with the quality of the picture. The slower the tape, the more you can put on the tape…but the slower the tape, the worse the quality and that might have something to do with the jumping.
Also, are you re-using the same tape over and over and over? I believe a I read you can re-use a tape 300 times, but to be honest, I think that is a bit much Try using a newer tape, and use tapes from a brand you have at least heard of…Memorex, Fuji, Kodak, etc. Avoid tapes from Zigllesmyr and those 15 tapes for $1.00 specials.
Are you using head cleaner on the VCR? Helps a lot if you have a lot of dust, if there are smokers in the house, or if you keep a window open near the VCR.
And last but not least, do you have a cat?
I used to work at a small shop and in the old days when VCR’s cost a lot, they had an in-house repairman. When people brought in their VCR’s for repair and said they had a cat, he charged them $15 just to open the machine. Why?
Cats like to crawl on those nice warm machines when you aren’t looking and take a nap. Some older cats also have a tendency to pee while they sleep. At any rate, you should have seen what the insides of those machines looked like!!! Egads! Mounds of cat hair and gunk! We actually sold an “anti-cat” screen that you would put on top of VCR’s so your cat would not nap on them.
And if none of the above helps, and the VCR worked fine when you got it, well - sorry, looks like you are going to have to plunk down another $40 and get a new one. That is the good news with VCR’s - they are much cheaper now. The bad news is you get what you pay for and they don’t last anywhere near as long as they used to.
I have a very similar problem with my VCR, and was considering opening a thread today! Whenever I record anything (which is the majority of what I use my VCR for), the picture never stops jumping up and down during playback. It isn’t a tracking issue either, but it has ruined every videotape I’ve tried this with – they won’t play back properly on other VCRs either. I’ve tried rerecording over tapes, and also using fresh blank tapes, and the same problem always occurs, rendering anything I’ve taped unwatchable. For what it’s worth, I have a Zenith combo VCR/DVD player that is less than a year old.
Another reason those VCR/DVD combos are really not worth it. Always better to buy two separate machines - one VCR and one DVD.
But same advice - get a good head cleaner…you can also do it with some rubbing alcohol and a q-tip, but the head cleaners are easier and fairly inexpensive and come with a little bottle of alcohol that will last for years.
As a last resort, and I do mean last resort - get out your screwdriver and open the machine and take a look inside. You might find a bit of broken plastic from a bad tape, or a piece of paper from a ripped label, or any number of funky things that shouldn’t be there. I tell you to do this as a LAST RESORT because if you are going to have to buy a new VCR, it doesn’t hurt to rip open the old one just to see what is in there. You might be surprised and see the problem immediately, but if the machine breaks for good, don’t come running to me.
VCR’s actually don’t have a lot of moving parts - a motor, a little rubber belt and the carriage. If any one of them is not properly aligning or sticking, that would cause a speed variation that would then cause the bad image/jumping image you are both describing. It could be as simple as the little rubber belt has stretched out or the carriage is catching on something and the tape isn’t aligning to the head.
I always tell people to buy the cheapest VCR they can find and plan on buying another before the year is out - especially for heavy duty use. And with the new shows all starting next week, I would imagine this will be a good time to scurry and buy those new VCRs. But if all else fails, take a gander inside first.
Oh, and of course - unplug the machine first. A wise idea, trust me.
3 hour point? That might be a problem already…try playing all the tapes in the standard 1 hour mode or 2 hour mode.
Not sure what you mean by this. If you mean to record in the 1 hour mode, I’m trying that right now.
Also, are you re-using the same tape over and over and over?
No, it’s a new Sony tape.
Are you using head cleaner on the VCR? Helps a lot if you have a lot of dust, if there are smokers in the house, or if you keep a window open near the VCR.
I’ll do that next.
And last but not least, do you have a cat?
Nope, no cat in the house.
And if none of the above helps, and the VCR worked fine when you got it, well - sorry, looks like you are going to have to plunk down another $40 and get a new one.
*Well, recording at SP instead of SLP seems to have fixed the problem! Can’t thank you enough. Hope this will help BBVL too. I’m sure we’ll both keep in mind Winston Smith’s disabling suggestion. I was ready to disable something!
*
Great. The super slow recording speed is normally ok if you are just taping your soap opera or something, but the faster speeds are better for quality - especially sound quality.
I would still get a cheap VCR head cleaning kit though - it might make a difference and allow you to tape at a slower speed.
