VHS static

[johnmeyer]

As per post #2 above, AviSynth is one solution to get rid of the tracking lines?

No, it won't help you. The tape needs to be re-transferred using manual tracking to adjust the unit until the noise is removed or at least minimized.

[JVRaines]

Hope that tape's still around after 2-1/2 years.

[johnmeyer]

Hope that tape's still around after 2-1/2 years.

Yeah, I noticed the thread was necro'd, but since the post was the OP I figured it was worth answering.

[freedom-strike]

The tape is still around after 2-1/2 years, the blue screen with the text "VIDEO HEADS MAY NEED CLEANING PLEASE INSERT HEAD CLEANING CASSETTE" and tracking lines still appeared despite adjusting the tracking controls.

[freedom-strike]

That's what the findings seems to be later on.

[orsetto]

It is good that you returned to the thread to give us an update on your issue, but very strange that you have apparently let things sit as they were for more than two years? If this tape was very important to you, one would think you'd have followed the advice to try it in another VCR by now: that is really the only option you have left if you want to copy this tape to digital (or even just play it). Your JVC HR-J271MS VCR very obviously has extremely clogged heads that need professional cleaning: even in Singapore, it is probably easier / less expensive to just look for a replacement unit (unless you do know of a good local electronics/vcr repair shop).

Your JVC HR-J271MS was a low-end multisystem-tuner model, affordable when new but perhaps hard to find now as a second-hand item. These JVCs occasionally develop very stubborn head clogs that resist all do-it-yourself cleaning alternatives. The gunk gets very firmly bonded into the heads, requiring someone with experience to give them a good scrubbing with the proper swabs and cleaning chemicals. A pro VCR technician should know exactly how much force he can apply: too little and the clog remains, too much and the heads are permanently damaged. Since this clog has apparently sat untreated for 2 years or more, the heads may in fact already be permanently ruined, or the clog so embedded that any cleaning attempt will damage them regardless.

If at all possible, I suggest you discard this VCR altogether after obtaining another. If the next VCR clogs up almost immediately upon playing your tapes, the tapes themselves are in terrible condition. As others have told you, that is a far more difficult problem to solve: sad to say but it is often best to give up on such tapes unless they are absolutely priceless family videos. Even then, it usually isn't worth the effort and cost: few people truly know how to salvage such tapes, it is a rare skill.