Video is static on 2nd playthrough

[crispyghost]

Hello,

I'm going through old VHS tapes from my parents' basement and I found one that has given me trouble. I've successfully digitized a few tapes already using a Hauppauge HD PVR 2 to convert a composite signal into a digital one.

The tape I just tried recording was going fine for a few seconds then the audio slowed and the video died before the VHS stopped playing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYIb0f_2V0M.

I rewound and made a 2nd attempt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX3WOWDS-GY. The audio is better and goes longer but the video is no longer coming through. I can fast forward 20 minutes to another recording session and get video from that section without any of these sound or video issues (though the video has a lot of horizontal lines and tearing).

I have a 4-head VCR. I gave it a cleaning using a piece of paper and alcohol (after reading a lot of articles online). A bit of gunk came off, but, according to my reading, not as much as dirty heads produce.

Honestly, the tape was stored in the basement and the box was falling apart. The tape itself doesn't have any visible mold but I wouldn't be surprised if the tape is just too bad to work with. I am hopeful that since it showed video on the first playing that the video is still in there somewhere.

Does this behavior indicate a possible timing issue? Anything you'd recommend that I try?

Thank you so much for your help!

[davexnet]

Looks like tape damage to me. Why don't you lift up the flap and examine visually ?

[crispyghost]

Thanks for your response, Dave!

There is a wavey mark that's present at most spots that I've examined, but I wasn't sure what to make of it. Does this look like a possible culprit? http://imgur.com/a/GpyoB

Do you think it would be safe to use alcohol and some sort of soft cloth to clean the tape?

EDIT: The tape otherwise looks okay to me.

[davexnet]

Some sort of contamination, but what it is I don't know. I've seen situations in the past where something dirty in the VCR tape path
transferred a similar looking mess to the tape. I've tried cleaning tapes before in a similar manner that you described but in my
case, the tape was expendable, just a scratch tape.
Wait and see if you get any further advice before proceeding

[crispyghost]

Thanks Dave, I appreciate your advice!

I just noticed that there are lines on the tape as well. Here's a better photo that shows both the lines (#1) and the waves (#2) http://imgur.com/a/HXNhn.

[JVRaines]

Fouling the heads and bringing the transport to a halt are symptoms of binder failure. In addition to cleaning the heads, check all the guides and rollers in the VCR for sticky gunk and get it out of there or you will have more tape damage. Also check the guides inside the cassette shell for deposits. It may be too late for that stretch of tape or maybe not if you incubate it. (Google "tape baking.")