Can copy some VHS but not others

[johnsees]

There didn't seem to be a forum for this, so here goes:

I've only had my recorder (Panasonic E55) less than a week, and I've had mixed results copying my VHS movies. Most of them copy just fine, but I've found 2 so far that wouldn't. One was from 1976, and one was from 1992. One was Warner Brothers, but I've copied several Warner Bros movies already. I've been able to copy tapes that were from prehistoric times, right up to 2003. So it doesn't depend on the age, and it doesn't depend on who made it.

Does anybody know if there's any rhyme or reason to what you can copy and what you can't?

Thanks
John

[lordsmurf]

Read this: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=246129

[johnsees]

Thanks. If I run into enough videos that I can't copy, I'll get one of those things.
What I was really wondering, though, is whether there's any sort of logic to which tapes are copyable and which aren't? In other words, it's not like all the tapes from one company are protected (some Warner Bros tapes I can copy and some I can't), and it's not confined to any particular time period (such as old tapes or new tapes).

John

[Capmaster]

Thanks. If I run into enough videos that I can't copy, I'll get one of those things.
What I was really wondering, though, is whether there's any sort of logic to which tapes are copyable and which aren't? In other words, it's not like all the tapes from one company are protected (some Warner Bros tapes I can copy and some I can't), and it's not confined to any particular time period (such as old tapes or new tapes).

John

No. There's no way to tell. There have also been cases where tapes with MV will still copy on some recorders, and not others. It has to do with the amplitude of the MV signal.

There is also no apparent rhyme or reason as to which movies get MV and which do not. It seems random