Problem Playing BetaMax Tapes

[Jaums]

Trying to archive material on BetaMax tapes to DVD. The beta tapes play fine for 3 or 4 mins then video noise begins to appear. Stop, rewind just a bit and Play again the same part that just played with noice and the noise is gone - for 3 or 4 mins, then comes back.

Same thing is happening on 2 different players.

The BetaMax tapes were, unfortunately, recorded at Extended Play.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Jaums

[piano632]

Sounds like the tapes have shrunk a bit over time and the machines have a hard time tracking them. This would be especially true if recorded using the BIII speed. Playing the tapes the first time is probably stretching them out again, making it easier to track the second time.

If playing it once removes the noise upon the 2nd play, why not just play the whole tape all the way through, rewind and play again to record to DVD? Of course it is more time consuming to have to play every tape twice, but I see no other option if 2 players do the same thing.

[dfisher052]

Sounds like dirty heads to me. I dubbed about 50 beta tapes to my computer to make dvd's and every once in a while that would happen. Cleaning the heads solved the problem. Not all tapes did it, just a few.
Most of the tapes were quite a few years old & I did not experiance any shrinking or stretching problems.

[Scooter_NJ]

I would recommend fast forwarding and rewinding the cassttes before use. Gives'em a chance to "breathe"! Also, when done , leave them tails out so you have to rewind before playing them again.

Works for me!

Edited to add: Also, NEVER store cassettes flat!!! That pushes the edge of the tape against the spools, and creates wrinkles. Always stor them on either the side or spine. That way the spool hubs take the pressure.

[Marvingj]

cleaned the heads on the Betamax vcr.

How long do the betamax tapes last

This depends a lot on the manufacturer and the storage conditions. I
didn't see any significant degradation in my tapes, which are a little
younger than yours but not much (mine are from ~ 1986-1992). I was
buying high-end tape at the time and in some respects they were stored
well (good cases) in others, not so well (highly variable temperature
and humidity).

It's often a good idea to fast-wind the tape all the way through and
rewind back again, maybe a couple of times.

Certainly tape as a medium does deteriorate over time, so if you're
planning to do this transfer, do it sooner rather than later.