Magnetized VHS - How to fix it? (Sample included)

[djnice]

I got an 1st generation VHS tape from 1990. The tape is magnetized... I tried to fix it with Colormill filter, but it was rather a failure. The tape tracking is not help and the best as possible.
I tried on my JVC HR-S7600 and on Panasonic NV-HS860 but I got same results.
Please help.



Sample video

[djnice]

Any solution?

[grannyGeek]

thats sure a lot of streaks & spots.
I am only a humble newb, but maybe try avisynth filters RemoveDirt, DeScratch, and / or DeSpot.
download from http://avisynth.org/warpenterprises/
But don't expect any miracle, and blurring might make things even worse.


Can you upload a short sample to a file-share site?

(just in case, are you sure your vcr heads are truly clean?)

[fk]

As far as i know there´s nothing you can do about it

[guns1inger]

I would be trying a different player (or several, if you can) to try to find one that gives a better result. If that is as good as it gets then you have your work cut out for you.

[djnice]

thats sure a lot of streaks & spots.
I am only a humble newb, but maybe try avisynth filters RemoveDirt, DeScratch, and / or DeSpot.
download from http://avisynth.org/warpenterprises/
But don't expect any miracle, and blurring might make things even worse.


Can you upload a short sample to a file-share site?

(just in case, are you sure your vcr heads are truly clean?)

Thanks for the reply.
The video sample is in my first post: http://djnice.uw.hu/magnetized_vhs.mpg
My VCR's heads are clean, I tried on a JVC HR-S7600 and a Panasonic NV-HS860 decks... same results...
I don't care about streaks & spots for the present (I will try neatvideo), but out and away the color mistake.

[Heywould3]

that is not from mag. those streeks come from dirt, and most likely on the head. just because you ran a had cleaner does not mean the heads are clean. if you can handle a scredriver i would take the vcr cover off and use alchol and lots of q-tips. if you dont know the head will be the silver round hub 2" dia and sits at an angle. if you really want to make it easy plug it in and engage the mec so the hub spins use a dry lint free cloth to dry and wipe residue away. you will be supprised at the difference. now if the tape does the exact same thing on a different vcr and its exact thendo the same to the tape. this will take a bit more time. but open the flap and try to spin the tape use a lint free cloth with alchol and wipe very lightly.

If it were mag damage it would look like a scrambled tv signal or it would get lighter and darker sorta like macro. what you are seeing is dirt.

Good luck

i just re read your last post. you said you dont care about the spots. but want to correct the color.. that could be from a mag. i just thought it was old and dull from use. you could de saturate and sharpen then de noise. it will look better but not a lot you can do with it.. qas they say. garbage in garbage out.

[djnice]

that is not from mag. those streeks come from dirt, and most likely on the head. just because you ran a had cleaner does not mean the heads are clean. if you can handle a scredriver i would take the vcr cover off and use alchol and lots of q-tips. if you dont know the head will be the silver round hub 2" dia and sits at an angle. if you really want to make it easy plug it in and engage the mec so the hub spins use a dry lint free cloth to dry and wipe residue away. you will be supprised at the difference. now if the tape does the exact same thing on a different vcr and its exact thendo the same to the tape. this will take a bit more time. but open the flap and try to spin the tape use a lint free cloth with alchol and wipe very lightly.

If it were mag damage it would look like a scrambled tv signal or it would get lighter and darker sorta like macro. what you are seeing is dirt.

Good luck

i just re read your last post. you said you dont care about the spots. but want to correct the color.. that could be from a mag. i just thought it was old and dull from use. you could de saturate and sharpen then de noise. it will look better but not a lot you can do with it.. qas they say. garbage in garbage out.

Hello,
I cleaned the VCR's heads with alcohol and soft cloth before played this tape, so not the heads causing this.
When I forward this tape about 30 mins from the beginning, the streeks disappears but the color blemish still remain.

[guns1inger]

I have attached a settings file for virtualdubmpeg2. It requires colormill 2.1 and MSU Old Color Restoration. It does a pretty good job of cleaning up the colour cast and brighting the video.

I also tried Neat Video and the MSU Denoiser. Neither could do anything to remove the streaks, and in fact made the overall video much worse.

The settings file should be taken as a starting point for you to adjust until you are happy. Just use File -> Load Processing Settings and select the file.

color%20cast%20restore.vcf

[SingSing]

It looks like the tape has a lot of drop out, and that is not reversibled. Noise filters can mask some of them, but will make the picture look very soft.

Since the streaking stop after 30 minutes, that confirm the problem of this tape is mostly drop out of the tape coating.

For the play back VCR, it really depends on the mileage of the playback VCR. If the VCR has been used often in four years or more. The dirt may have already embedded in the head, and causing scartches on the head.

Find a very new mid or high end VCR with noise filters, and play the tape back and see what happened.

[lordsmurf]

It's not magnetic damage. It's tape drop-out.

If it happens randomly and comes and goes erratically on screen, it's often caused by microscopic damage to the tape (metal oxide is physically missing from that portion of the image).

If it stays like that pretty constant, the VCR head has been damaged. In fact, you're damaging the tapes played by the machine.

New VCR is suggested immediately.

There is also a slight chance that this is tracking-related, or that you're playing a S-VHS-ET mode VHS tape in a player not capable of S-VHS playback. "S-VHS-ET" is the name JVC (the inventor of both VHS and S-VHS) has given to S-VHS recordings made on VHS tape.

[djnice]

Thanks guys, especially guns1inger for the processing settings. It works.

[StuR]

djnice,
glad it worked can you post the results. Same frame would do but mpeg would be better, BTW the origonal mpeg link doesn't work for me?

[djnice]

djnice,
glad it worked can you post the results. Same frame would do but mpeg would be better, BTW the origonal mpeg link doesn't work for me?

Ok. I will post the results. I uploaded the original video to rapidshare too: http://rapidshare.com/files/56371701/magnetized_vhs.mpg.html

[rcubed]

[quote="djnice"]

that is not from mag. those streeks come from dirt, and most likely on the head. just because you ran a had cleaner does not mean the heads are clean. if you can handle a scredriver i would take the vcr cover off and use alchol and lots of q-tips. if you dont know the head will be the silver round hub 2" dia and sits at an angle. if you really want to make it easy plug it in and engage the mec so the hub spins use a dry lint free cloth to dry and wipe residue away. you will be supprised at the difference. now if the tape does the exact same thing on a different vcr and its exact thendo the same to the tape. this will take a bit more time. but open the flap and try to spin the tape use a lint free cloth with alchol and wipe very lightly.

I would recommend using chamois cleaners specifically designed for cleaning the video heads (available from an electronics store). Using Q-tips on the heads could either leave cotton residue or if you accidentally snag the head, one can bend it out of alignment and require the heads to be replaced. I would think a cloth would also have the same risk. I speak from personal experience. There are also foam pads that can be used on the guides, audio heads, and other parts of the tape path. Even manually cleaning the heads may have to be done several times to remove any particles that have accumulate in or on the heads. The alcohol should be 91% if possible.

I agree it sounds like the video tape has degraded. I hope you find a way to clean it up.

rcubed

[StuR]

djnice, thanks for that the origonal did work using a different viewer.

I'd agree with not using cotton buds, reading a VCR repair book it stated that even though it looks fine alot of cotton fiber is left which causes dirt problems. I've stopped. Proper chamois leather type are better, I imagine you could make your own if your careful, by cutting into small pieces, don't wash the car first though.

[jman98]

Just as a point of interest, laserdiscs that have "laser rot" look like the photo in the first post. So if you've ever wondered what "laser rot" looks like, that photo will give you an excellent idea.