VCR? Yes, I still have several (1 Viewer)

And haven't used them in several years. I needed to look at some old home movies and discovered that none of them seem to work. I'm guessing it's a transport problem since they all can be used in pass-through mode. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I might do to try and resuscitate at least one VHS and one Beta?

Thanks for any suggestions

dick

Go go Goodwill and pick one up. Usually once a VCR has died...it is less hassle to replace it.

I have 5 spares and 3 in use.

I still have a working VHS in my entertainment rack. I have not finished recording to DVD the things I only have on VHS or laserdisc, so I still need it. The most recent model player I have is a Phillips VHS recorder/DVDplayer model. However, it does not track well. I found it to be useless for saving tapes because the playback was atrocious. So, I searched ebay and got a JVC VHS Hi-Fi model that was the same model that many of my tapes had been recorded on. It does a bang-up job of tracking my tapes, so I am back in business with recording my tapes.

A couple of weeks ago, my Panasonic DVD recorder died on me after 10 or so years of use. It got to a point where it would no longer read DVD RAM discs, and I could not finalize DVD-Rs anymore. So, I bought a Magnavox recorder for around $90 from Amazon. It records on + or - discs and RWs, too. If you plan to record directly to a recorder, you should get one while they still exist.

On another ebay note: I had bought a Sharp VHS VCR from a seller who described it as VHS Hi-Fi; but it turned out to not be a Hi-Fi recorder. I kept it anyway because I had good luck in the past with Sharp recorders. This one was a dog. I ended up having a tape stuck in it. I had to dismantle the VCR to free the tape. I threw the assorted pieces of junk away. So, if you try ebay for a VHS or Beta recorder, you may want to contact the seller to make sure he knows what he's selling.

Lots of VCR will say HiFi. Back when VCR ruled the landscape, HiFi mono was still popular.Are you confusing Hifi with stereo? They are mutually exclusive.

No. What I am saying is that the seller was offering a Hi-Fi recorder but shipped one that only recorded/played linear track sound.

Talk about what i had forgotten in 20 years...I had forgotten linear stereo existed.

sidburyjr said:

And haven't used them in several years.

Click to expand...

Maybe that's the problem? Maybe there's dry rot in the rubber parts (belts, pinch rollers, etc.)? If it's the rubber parts, they're easily (and cheaply) replaceable and can be ordered online.

Maybe the decks also need greasing?

I think sitting totally unused for years can do damage to electronics. I say this because I had an excellent-condition CED player that worked great the last time I used it. About 10 years later (2011 or 2012), I tried to fire it up and heard an awful screeching sound when the pickup arm was moving the stylus into playback position, a sound I'd never heard before. I suspect it's a lubrication issue due to sitting unused for a decade.

That reminds me, a few of my "spare" VHS decks haven't had a tape in them in at least a year or two. I'd probably better fish them out of the closet and at least run a tape through them. Then, I'd probably best put one or two of them on the market. They're probably worth more to another videophile like myself than a new DVD/VCR combo unit, as most of those are pieces of junk (in my experience). One of my spares is even one of those worldwide NTSC/PAL units with built-in converter!