8 Hour T-160 VHS tape, what are good VCR's for playback?

[daysaf00]

I have a bunch of T-160 VHS tapes with nearly 8 hours of content. I'm wondering what the best VCR to playback these tapes would be. The tapes are in excellent condition, just having trouble getting a stable tracking on them. I don't have the original VCR these were recorded on.

Does anyone have suggestions on what they've used (successfully) with T-160 tapes? I believe most of them are Fugi, Sony, or BASF brand from the 90s.

[davexnet]

To a certain extent , finding the VCR that tracks them properly is just a matter of luck. The tapes are thinner that the standard
T120 and are prone to this kind of issue. Have you tried winding them to the end and then back, to remove as much
slack as possible?

[sanlyn]

davexnet refers to "repacking" tape onto the reel. Fast-wind all the way forward, then all the way back. You might have to repeat a time or two. The idea is to get the tape reloaded into a smooth packing without lots of humps or wrinkles. Don't use a cheap tape rewinder -- they will destroy your tapes.

IF the original VCR was out of alignment to begin with, it's a lottery fining a VCR that will track them well. Avoid SONY or JVC.

[orsetto]

SLP/EP tapes can be difficult to track without the original VCR, and T160 just make it more difficult. You might be able to find a VCR that will manage the video, but it would be a miracle to find one that did not garble the hifi soundtrack: you'll probably need to switch over to the mono linear soundtrack.

The best results I've had with SLP/EP tracking came from an old Panasonic PV-1220 top loader, dating back at least 20 years when they were still optimized for SLP/EP use. These might be hard to find now, but you could look around (Panasonic made a dozen similar models under different names like Quasar, Magnavox, Montgomery Wards, etc).

More recently, I had surprisingly good luck with a couple of JVC DR-MV5 DVD/VHS combo recorders. Normally I would not recommend JVC for SLP/EP playback, but these worked really well (I had six of them running for a project). They were made in 2004/5 and are easily found today for about $40-50 because they have a bad rep for the DVD recorder section breaking down. This doesn't affect the VCR.

Other VCRs with better-than-average tracking are the many made by Sharp, you can often find a nice one on Craigs List or eBay cheaply. The Mitsubishi 448 and 449 last sold in 2000 are also good and very sturdy. My current personal favorite is the Panasonic AG2560 of 2001.