Panasonic NV-HS960 - picture rolls every 10 seconds or so

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hi, perhaps you have experience with this problem and can assist.

my Panasonic NV-HS960 plays videos fine until 10 seconds and then snow rolls up across the screen to the point of complete snow for 2 seconds and then picture eventually returns....until another 10 seconds when it starts the problem again

Sounds like a pinch roller problem but the pinch roller is perfectly clean and in mint condition. So is the rest on the machine really. I even pulled a pinch roller and the metal bracket it is attached to out of my other Panasonic vcr (the part was identical) and swapped it but...problem remains.

next i thought it might be a guide arm problem but they are adjusted correctly, with the tape running perfectly around the video head. Also the AT head is in mint condition and perfectly clean. Sound playback is perfect HiFi and does not drop out when the video is scrolling.

Next i thought it was the tape tension problem but i tested the tension with my other panasonic and the left tension brake seems to be working at similiar strength.

This one has me really stumped i am starting to think it might be electronics now? or maybe the AT head is failing. but it is so clean and unit was rarely used. Only thing that could have caused this problem was the moving company dropping the box perhaps (without me knowing) when i moved house recently.

i have ordered a new pinch roller from Panasonic spare parts but now after swapping the pinch roller assembly over from the other VCR i feel as though i have wasted my money as it does not seem to be the problem.

Any tips appreciated

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update: took the unit to a recommended local guy the other day who is apparently a "wizard with VCRs" ...got the call today, and it seems i was right its none of the typical expected problems. he thinks the signal to the AT head is "dropping pulses"...he believes its a chip on the main board now...hes still tracking it down but it seems to be moving forward