VHS Player has muffled audio + black lines.

[arjanvirdi]

Hello. I have 2 VHS players, and tried to capture old tapes, and digitize them. On my first VHS player, it was working great, after alliging and cleaning the heads, however during playback the audio went muffled, anything I play on this is now muffled. I tried to clean/adjust the audio heads, but haven't had any luck. I borrowed another VHS player, and the audio is fine, confirming the previous issue is with the player, however, this player has black lines across the video, which my other one doesn't. I've cleaned the head, but it still has the same issue, here is a video of the lines I'm talking about, it's on all vhs tapes, and wasn't on my other player.

https://youtu.be/K8F4FYOSJeY

thanks for your help

[dellsam34]

The audio doesn't sound muffled to me in that sample, The black steaks can be caused by "literally" hundreds of things, from loose connections to bad capacitors ...etc. The VCR needs to be seen by a technician to pinpoint the problem and find a fix using the right tools, it is not something that can be fixed over forum posts.

[arjanvirdi]

The audio doesn't sound muffled to me in that sample, The black steaks can be caused by "literally" hundreds of things, from loose connections to bad capacitors ...etc. The VCR needs to be seen by a technician to pinpoint the problem and find a fix using the right tools, it is not something that can be fixed over forum posts.

This was the player without the muffled issue, but with the line issue. Thanks for the advice.

[oln]

What VCR is it? It looks like an issue with dropout compensation. It might just need an adjustment for the dropout delay line level (often called YNR gain or similar in service manual), but could be some deeper issue too.

Muffled audio can be caused by misadjusted or dirty audio head, though can be other things too, hard to tell.

[jagabo]

If your VHS deck with the muffled sound supports HiFi audio, make sure it's still enabled (ie, playing the HiFi track, not the linear track). You may have accidentally switched the audio at some point.

[arjanvirdi]

If your VHS deck with the muffled sound supports HiFi audio, make sure it's still enabled (ie, playing the HiFi track, not the linear track). You may have accidentally switched the audio at some point.

Yes it does have Hi-Fi, but unfortunately I don't have the remote, and can't change it otherwise, although as the audio was working previously, maybe it did change itself.

[johnmeyer]

1. Some VCRs have a button you can push to change from Hi-Fi to linear audio.

2. Do you know if your tape has both a Hi-Fi and linear track? If it only has linear, and it used to sound good, then perhaps you screwed up the alignment of the audio head when you did your cleaning. The audio will definitely get "muffled" if the linear audio head is not aligned.

3. If your VCR doesn't have a button on the VCR to change the audio source, you should be able to find a cheap (under $10) universal remote that has all the commands for your VCR built in. Sometimes TV remotes had some "universal" functions built in, so they could be used to also control the VCR or DVD player, so it is possible that you don't even have to buy another remote.

4. You could also borrow such a remote from a friend or a neighbor.

[themaster1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fazLIPQqKLk&ab_channel=12voltvids

[dellsam34]

This is why I always say never mess with the factory alignment unless you have an alignment tape and the right tools, Sure using a good pre-recorded tape will get you close but never perfect.

[lordsmurf]

This is why I always say never mess with the factory alignment unless you have an alignment tape and the right tools, Sure using a good pre-recorded tape will get you close but never perfect.

An "alignment tape" is overrated.

But I agree with not messing with your primary deck. Only mess with backup decks, and with the understanding you may "break" it (lose alignment, not find it again). And if/when you resell, don't be an a-hole and claim it works perfectly (ie, eBay, where "working" units have oxide shed, misaligned, etc, these days).

[dellsam34]

Overrated in terms of a consumer's "close enough" narrative yes, But professionals who repaired and maintained these machines for the last 3 decades don't use that methodology, Alignment tapes are tapes that are recorded with special factory equipment to a certain degree of precision defined by the manufacturer's admissible tolerances, Prerecorded or commercially recorded tapes can never be trusted for alignment because the gear used to make them do go out of alignment that's why they have maintenance and calibration check schedules.