Roundabout (or other VCR expert)

[fmctm1sw]

Take a look at these two pictures. They are from a Sony SLV-575UC and a Toshiba SVHS unit. The Sony produces a nice picture but I get a lot of those horizontal black lines with my tapes. If you blow these up real big, you can see that the Sony picture appears sharper. Almost harshly so. I tried adjusting the sharpness control on the VCR but I still get that black horizontal line. My question is this: Is there some kind of adjustment inside the VCR itself that will affect this? It's almost like its too "loud" or something. Too sensitive? You might be thinking: Why doesn't this guy just use the Toshiba unit? A couple of reasons. One, the Sony is far more "heavy duty." I feel it better suited to jam 6 hour long tapes into day after day (I got a lot of tapes). Two, I can't read any of the menus in the Toshiba unit (all in kanji). I'm trying to get it interpreted. Anyway..:
Sony:


Toshiba:

[BrainStorm69]

Take a look at these two pictures. They are from a Sony SLV-575UC and a Toshiba SVHS unit. The Sony produces a nice picture but I get a lot of those horizontal black lines with my tapes. If you blow these up real big, you can see that the Sony picture appears sharper. Almost harshly so. I tried adjusting the sharpness control on the VCR but I still get that black horizontal line. My question is this: Is there some kind of adjustment inside the VCR itself that will affect this? It's almost like its too "loud" or something. Too sensitive? You might be thinking: Why doesn't this guy just use the Toshiba unit? A couple of reasons. One, the Sony is far more "heavy duty." I feel it better suited to jam 6 hour long tapes into day after day (I got a lot of tapes). Two, I can't read any of the menus in the Toshiba unit (all in kanji). I'm trying to get it interpreted. Anyway...

I have a Sony SLV-585HF that also puts those sort of black lines into the picture. I think I read somewhere that can happen when the heads need replacing, but don't know for sure.

If there are any Sony experts in the house, I'd like to know if this can be corrected with something relatively simple, like replacing the belts/pinch roller, etc., or if it really is the video heads that need replacing.

BTW fmctm1sw, if you can get me some screen shots of the menus, I might be able to help you out. We have a Japanese subsidiary, and I deal with some folks on a pretty regular basis who might be willing to do a favor.

[FulciLives]

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... TOSHIBA used to make the BEST VCR's hands down.

It's shame that they don't even make standard VHS VCR's anymore ... at least not the USA ... in the USA the only way to now get a brand new TOSHIBA VHS VCR is to buy a COMBO unit with a VHS VCR and DVD player built-in a single unit.

Use the Toshiba and screw the SONY !!!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Roundabout]

Do these lines appear on all your tapes, or only some? If it's on all of them, at all times, then I suspect your guides may be out of alignment. However, to do an alignment, you need an alignment tape, which you probably don't have.

Another thing these units were notorious for is bad capstan motors (bearings, actually). Do you hear any kind of unusual noise coming from the unit when the tape is running, like rubbing or squealing? I assume you've already done the requisite things, like cleaning the capstan, heads, guides, pinch roller, etc.

If you can change the tape path slightly while the tape is running and the lines move to a different spot, then it's more than likely misalignment. Check it out and see what happens.

BTW: I haven't forgotten you need the service manual, I've kept it in mind but still haven't dug it up as yet. I won't forget you when I eventually find it (somewhere). My unit is still in the garage collecting dust now, eventually I'll try to fix it...

[fmctm1sw]

Do these lines appear on all your tapes, or only some? If it's on all of them, at all times, then I suspect your guides may be out of alignment. However, to do an alignment, you need an alignment tape, which you probably don't have.

Another thing these units were notorious for is bad capstan motors (bearings, actually). Do you hear any kind of unusual noise coming from the unit when the tape is running, like rubbing or squealing? I assume you've already done the requisite things, like cleaning the capstan, heads, guides, pinch roller, etc.

If you can change the tape path slightly while the tape is running and the lines move to a different spot, then it's more than likely misalignment. Check it out and see what happens.

BTW: I haven't forgotten you need the service manual, I've kept it in mind but still haven't dug it up as yet. I won't forget you when I eventually find it (somewhere). My unit is still in the garage collecting dust now, eventually I'll try to fix it...

It seems to happen with most of my tapes. Most of them have either been attacked by my kids and/or eaten at one time or another. I started to run only my "good" tapes through it. Seems to be the same spots every time. I get that distortion (line) from other VCRs too but it isn't quite as pronounced as it is from that Sony. I was just "lucky" enough to capture the line while trying to look at something else. I don't hear any noises. I recently replaced a gear and a tape load arm. I should have listened to you, that load arm was a waste of $20. Great idea about tweaking the tape path and thanks for the manual (whenever you find it )

@BrainStorm69: I may take you up on that. I had a friend come over and read some of it for me. She couldn't comprehend all of it though. That reminds me, she still has my owners manual....

[Roundabout]

I'm going to try and find the manual tomorrow morning. There's about 200 boxes of junk in the garage and I'll be damned if I have any idea where that manual is, but I needed to go through some of that stuff anyway, for a garage sale (need $$$).

If that line never moves, it could be a problem in the video circuits somewhere, possibly even the comb filter. Not sure about this one, as I haven't seen this exact problem before. If you can establish whether or not it's an alignment issue (by checking tape path) that would be a step closer to knowing where the problem is.

Of course, bad or worn tapes can cause the problem too. If they have been damaged by being run in a out-of-alignment VCR, it could even crease them just enough to cause a continuous line in the video like this. However, if you use a brand new prerecorded tape and you see this, it's most likely not a tape issue. You mentioned that you don't hear any noises, then your capstan motor bearing is probably still o.k. (one less thing to worry about).

When you say "it seems to be in the same spots every time", do you mean that you see the lines appear on the same tape at the same spot, or do you mean that when the lines do appear, at random, they are always in the same area of the screen?

[fmctm1sw]

Ok, here some the pictures... First is the Sony SLV-575UC:


Next the Toshiba SVHS (has DNR but I didn't test it yet):


Next the Sony SLV-700HF:


Last the SLV-700HF with noise reduction engaged:


If you look very closely, you can see the same disturbance in each picture. It is far more obvious in the 575UC though. I really like that VCR but especially older tapes end up with a lot of those lines. My Toshiba seem to want to muffle the audio for some reason, I havn't quite figurd that one out yet. Seems to be related to when it engages the 3D DNR...