How to fix blue screen, audio dropouts on 8mm tapes?

[hodgey]

The only one I've used was a VM-D865LE (I think VM-D865LA (and D965LA) would be the NTSC equivalents, and there are a few more D8 ones) so that's the only one I can say for sure. There are some very Hi8 and Video8 ones too with similar externals including the time base corrector labelling so those may be similar (I have a Hi8 one but it's dead). I don't know much when it comes to their older models.

EDIT: This was the audio mute modification I mentioned, seems it was on a sony hi8 VCR. (I think this vcr will blue screen still though.) Don't think it would be doable on a newer camcorder like the Sony or Hitachi ones as they have like everything in one IC. The video covers tapes with alignment issues though, which it seems is not the issue in your case.

[cygnals]

FWIW, I'm going through the same scenario right now. I've got a box of client 8mm tapes, all same brand, recorded on the same camcorder. Late-80s tapes worked fine. A couple of dirty-head-looking scenes started appearing as I went through the tapes -- horizontal noise that persisted from shot to shot in one day's shooting, but at the next event was gone. Now I've hit a point of blue-screens in 1991. Audio meters don't suggest an interruption so far.

This is on a Sony Hi8 TRV87. Camera TBC is on, and external TBC is doing a great job at making the blue screens look stable. I don't know anything about the original camcorder. Tapes start late '88 and it looks like they bought a big box of Sony P6-90MP tapes with the camera.

Video looks ok in FF/RW but only appears momentarily between blue screen dropouts.