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    I purchased a Panasonic NV-FS200 VCR on eBay. Yes, I know I shouldn't, but I did. Anyway, I have a stripe/line at the bottom. At first I thought I could remove it by adjusting the tape-loading rollers but that didn't solve the issue.

    Any ideas? See attached picture.

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    [Attachment 60400 - Click to enlarge]
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  2. Virtually every VHS deck has that. It's called head switching noise. Some (a very few) VCRs have an adjustment that lets you recover a few more or less lines. Using a line time base corrector may also recover a few lines.
    https://www.avartifactatlas.com/artifacts/head_switching_noise.html

    You never saw that on a CRT TV because CRT TVs overscanned -- you never saw the outer 5 to10 percent of the frame.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overscan
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    Thank you for the fast response.

    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Using a line time base corrector may also recover a few lines.
    The Panasonic NV-FS200 has a built in time base corrector. It's a line tbc I think. In this case it seems like it's not helping at all. Could it be possible that the tbc is broken?

    So, the only thing to do is to crop it in post?
    Last edited by ctm; 23rd Aug 2021 at 18:20.
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  4. Originally Posted by ctm View Post
    The Panasonic NV-FS200 has a built in time base corrector. It's a line tbc I think. In this case it seems like it's not helping at all. Could it be possible that the tbc is broken?
    Your NV-FS200 line TBC seems to be working fine. As jagabo said, this bottom of frame noise segment is normal with virtually every VCR commonly available to the public. It is concealed by the older CRT television screens that VHS was designed for, but revealed by computer capture and modern HDTV flat panel televisions.

    So, the only thing to do is to crop it in post?
    Correct.

    The few VCRs that could minimize this noise bar internally via custom TBC setting are very uncommon and hard to find. Tampering with the mechanism in your NV-FS200 might reduce the strip, but you risk wrecking the VCR (and each different tape might require additional tampering). Cropping in post is the safest, most reliable cure.
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    Originally Posted by ctm View Post
    At first I thought I could remove it by adjusting the tape-loading rollers but that didn't solve the issue.
    You have just screwed up the factory alignment of the P guides, You will never get it back to its original position with an accuracy of a factory alignment tape and an oscilloscope. Never mess with the adjustment before asking questions first, Expect to see some tapes out of adjustment.
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Virtually every VHS deck has that. It's called head switching noise. Some (a very few) VCRs have an adjustment that lets you recover a few more or less lines. Using a line time base corrector may also recover a few lines.
    https://www.avartifactatlas.com/artifacts/head_switching_noise.html
    In the link you posted they talk about 486 lines capturing, Actually I do have the hardware that captures at that vertical resolution but it is tape dependent, The extra 6 lines on the top are not always useful video lines, Almost all home recorded tapes in a VCR or a camcorder are just black lines, Some pre-recorded tapes do have clean top so 6 lines can be cropped off the bottom to get to 480 and you will end up with an almost clean top and bottom edges.

    There is one VHS mystery tape I came across that has none of the head switch at the bottom:

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  7. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    To the OP, here are the basic steps that must be done to the frame to get a clean looking video (you may have to subscribe to digitalfaq to see the pictures):
    http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-workflows/11387-critique-workflow.html#post74339
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    Originally Posted by ctm View Post
    At first I thought I could remove it by adjusting the tape-loading rollers but that didn't solve the issue.
    Originally Posted by orsetto View Post
    Tampering with the mechanism in your NV-FS200 might reduce the strip, but you risk wrecking the VCR (and each different tape might require additional tampering).
    Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post
    You have just screwed up the factory alignment of the P guides, You will never get it back to its original position with an accuracy of a factory alignment tape and an oscilloscope. Never mess with the adjustment before asking questions first, Expect to see some tapes out of adjustment.
    Well, the damage is done. It was the seller who talked to "his tech guy". This guy told me to adjust the tape-loading rollers to get rid of the issue. I usually trust people. Unfortunately it seems like I shouldn't have trusted him in this case.

    Anyway, the vcr is more than 25 years old and I'm not sure it had any factory settings left when I purchased it. The plastic sides were missing and the unit was very dirty inside. Lots of dust, not from tapes. My guess is that it has been tampered with long before it came into my hands. And the pinch roller had come loose from its mount. He said it must have happened during transportation. I'm not sure about that. He was kind enough to send me a new pin and I attached the pinch roller myself.

    Happy days.
    Last edited by ctm; 24th Aug 2021 at 11:41.
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  9. The most common (and hideously expensive to repair) problem with the NV-FS200 is total decay of the capacitors in its video and TBC boards. This manifests as lack of color, weak color, wrong colors, diagonal streaking, loads of snowy "comets', or no video output at all. From your still pic, it would appear the video circuits in your FS200 are working reasonably well: that alone might make this VCR a worthwhile purchase. Getting the mechanism repaired is generally far less expensive than restoring the electronics. Look for a good VCR tech and let them have a go at it.

    If the internals seem in really poor condition, another option would be to seek out another bargain FS200 from a seller who describes the unit as having electronics-related problems. Often the video boards croak but the mechanism and heads are still quite healthy: the entire tape transport in these VCRs removes as a single module that can be swapped between units. I've done it with the USA version several times: its tricky and difficult because the VCR chassis needs to be partially disassembled to pull out the mechanism, but it can be done.

    Of course if you paid a high price for this supposedly working FS200, it might be more appropriate to negotiate a return or heavy discount with the seller.
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