Periodic static band in old VHS

[lighthearted]

I apologise for posting what must be a bonehead question for some of you but I have not been able to find an answer yet in postings in this forum. I need to transfer a 25 year old ex-library VHS tape (now out-of-print) to DVD and have to return it to its owner in a day or two.

Overall picture/audio quality is good. No vertical jitter or excessive bleeding.

The problem is that there's a band of horizontal static, about 1/5 of the height of the screen that appears at the top of the screen at regular intervals of 5-6 seconds and takes about 1.5 seconds to move down the screen. This shows up on my JVC SR-MV30 and on another consumer-grade VCR as well. It doesn't respond to the SR-MV30's various correction hardware (TBC, vertical stabilization, picture quality control, etc). Because of the type of noise and its periodic nature, I've assumed this is some sort of tracking problem.

It has not improved with the use of a 3M Blackwatch Head Cleaning cassette.
It has not responded to 2 cycles of fast forwarding and rewinding to repack the tape.

Can someone please tell me:

* what is causing this noise?

* Can it be counteracted? If so, how?

* I have access to a better VCR (JVC BR-S622DXU) and external TBC gear and an Elite BVP-4 but time is short and it would be difficult to hook them up. So I'd appreciate any guidance on what approaches are most likely to remedy this problem.

many thanks,
Pat

[mazinz]

tape age, wear and degradation are more then likely your cause and sadly you cannot really do anything about it but try to find another copy

[lordsmurf]

Is the tape in physical good condition? It might be physical wear.

[themaster1]

Maybe it's an interference that's been record onto this vhs and good luck to remove that. Best bet: photoshop.

[lighthearted]

Tape seems to be in good physical condition.
No sign of curled edges or degraded media.
I doubt if it's interference since this was a commercially recorded tape; the static looks more like an artifact than a recording.
The simple fact of its exact periodicity suggests to me that it's some sort of a problem with alignment in the cartridge or tracking that repeats once per rotation of the cassette reels.
What would cause a band of static that moves all the way from the top edge down to the bottom edge of the screen and off the bottom?
I was mistaken when I wrote that audio was fine.
The audio signal also distorts as the band moves across the screen.

Pat

[themaster1]

Try to use NORM for the sound i know from first hand experience it helps to fix audio problems AND sometimes video.

2nd proposal: change the case of the vhs, replace it with a brand new one.

[mazinz]

Tape seems to be in good physical condition.
No sign of curled edges or degraded media.
I doubt if it's interference since this was a commercially recorded tape; the static looks more like an artifact than a recording.
The simple fact of its exact periodicity suggests to me that it's some sort of a problem with alignment in the cartridge or tracking that repeats once per rotation of the cassette reels.
What would cause a band of static that moves all the way from the top edge down to the bottom edge of the screen and off the bottom?
I was mistaken when I wrote that audio was fine.
The audio signal also distorts as the band moves across the screen.

Pat

as tapes get older or often played, etc the actual magentic strip will start to wear down. Sometimes on tapes you will get a stable line going across the middle of the picture. For such problems there is no fix as it is actual damage to the tape itself for a number of the reasons listed above. It is not something if you were to look at the tape with your eyes that you would physically see.

In your case, the noise you are describing sounds exactly like what I have mentioned above is happening.

I have close to 30 year old betamax tapes that sometimes exhibit this behavior, just a problem inherit with that format

[lordsmurf]

What mazinz says is what I was assuming, too. In many cases, there are visible signs, but not always.

[2Bdecided]

If it's not physical damage or wear, then it could be that a small magnet was stored next to the tape (maybe the magnetic catch on a case or purse or something?) and this has erased just that part that it was closest to? If you image the tape packed onto the tape hubs, and a magnet at the side, you'd see periodic picture damage.


Whatever caused it, if it's like that on all VCRs (try another one!) you're stuck.

Cheers,
David.