VHS-C restoration

[dlarry]

A few years ago, my Panasonic VHS-C camcorder started creating tapes with a couple of noise bars on them. Over the next few months, the number of bars continued to grow until the resulting playback through the viewfinder was quite unwatchable.

At about this point, I attempted to use manual tracking to correct the bars using various VCR's (and the camcorder itself) to no avail and realized I had a serious problem. I stopped using the camcorder.

Manual tracking will move the bars a little to reveal viewable content underneath, but the tracking controls will not move the bars out of view. While I cycle the tracking through its entire range, additional noise will appear from top to bottom and then disappear, but the original bars will remain.

These tapes contain some family memories I would really like to recover to a digital format and would be willing to commit some resources to get the job done. Are any of the following options I could reasonably pursue?

1. Find and purchase a VCR with greater tracking range
2. Tracking is not the issue, try this instead.
3. Digitize the bad video and clean it up in post-production (dubious)
4. Hire a professional to recover the video with advanced equipment/techniques.

Any recommendations or explanations will be greatly appreciated!

DLarry

[Marvingj]

Try this link could help you....

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=309181&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=noise bar vhs

[lordsmurf]

1. may or may not help, you'll have to do lots of testings.
2. if it's not tracking or a related issue, your tape is simply flawed and likely cannot be fixed.
3. is not going to happen, period.
4. is easy, surefire solution. But use a good service, be careful, most services are crap.

[edDV]

Are we talking all your tapes have gone bad or just a few?

It could be several issues.
1. Tapes are getting old and sticky (best left to a pro for important tapes)
2. The camcorder is out of mechanical alignment and is producing non-standard tapes. If that is the case, the camcorder could play newly recorded tapes but not older ones.
3. If these tapes won't play in an adapter in a selection of VCR's, then #1 or #2 is probably true.

Options are to work with a repair shop or restoration specialist. The repair guy can "misalign" the guides to play any tape or group of tapes with similar problems. Or he can show you how to do it.

[dlarry]

Are we talking all your tapes have gone bad or just a few?

When problem started, it immediately effected any tape recorded in the camcorder from that point on. (previous tapes are fine). Once problem started, tapes had this issue whether played back in adapter/vcr or in camcorder itself.

That's one particular thing that seemed odd to me. Tape can't be played back in the same camcorder immediately after recording.

Thanks everyone, you are all being very helpful.

DLarry

[edDV]

Are we talking all your tapes have gone bad or just a few?

When problem started, it immediately effected any tape recorded in the camcorder from that point on. (previous tapes are fine). Once problem started, tapes had this issue whether played back in adapter/vcr or in camcorder itself.

That's one particular thing that seemed odd to me. Tape can't be played back in the same camcorder immediately after recording.

Thanks everyone, you are all being very helpful.

DLarry

The camcorder has failed. If it can play the old tapes, it seems like it has failed on the recording side and the problem is electronic not mechanical. Any camcorder repair guy can sort this out.

[dlarry]

Try this link could help you....

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=309181&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=noise bar vhs

Thanks for the link. I don't belive that thread addresses my problem however. I'm not even to the capture stage yet. Just trying to get the image to playback better at the moment.

DLarry

[lordsmurf]

If the errors are what edDV has suggest, I can suggest somebody to you that can probably do the work, PM me if interested.

[vhelp]

Last time: Mar 12, 2007

Evening dlarry,

If you can provide some example AVI's of your captures, the issue(s) you
are trying to describe might help us better at arriving at a solution or too.

Otherwise.. we're just pulling guesses out of a hat, so-to-speak

If you can provide the problem AVI files, you can use the link below, for
for us to D/L and review your video, further.

** www.bestsharing.com

-vhelp 4224

[dlarry]

Last time: Mar 12, 2007

Evening dlarry,

If you can provide some example AVI's of your captures, the issue(s) you
are trying to describe might help us better at arriving at a solution or too.

-vhelp 4224

Thanks for offering to look at this.

I finally had a chance to capture some of the video. Here's a clip from when the problem first appeared. One noise bar would appear in the bottom third of the frame. You will see in the capture when I manually track the playback VCR good video is exposed as the noise bars are moved out of the way by the tracking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD4Hytc4dFY

Over time the noise bars became worse. A couple months later, two noise bars appeared.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAiqeRUvvb4

A few months after that, a third noise bar appeared. Still, good video can be seen underneath.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n56f5L1Zd38

Like I said, I stopped using the camcorder. If I was to record something with it now, the frame would be filled with these noise bars (four or more) and would play back that way on the camcorder itself.

Hope these clips help. Thanks for taking the time to look at them!

DLarry

[hoovey1969]

DLarry, so did you ever find out a good solution to this? I ran across it trying to figure out my own. I have the EXACT same issue. The noise bar started on top though and I didn't notice for quite a while since we didn't play tapes back much. I'm in the process of converting all my VHS-C tapes to avi files for backup and found out a bunch of footage is bad. Much of it is so "jumpy" it doesn't register through the playback so skips it when recording to avi. Much has a noise bar just like you posted to youtube, too. I also had a Panasonic VHS-C camcorder.