Broken VHS tape diagnosis?
 

I have a VHS tape that's been having playback issues when I play it on a VCR. I've included an attached file of a video recording that shows this.

I know the problem isn't with the VCR because other tapes I play on it play smoothly. I'm already aware that this is fixable and can easily be looked up how through google, but first, I want to make sure what the issue is before I go about it. I'm wondering if it's because the tape needs to be cleaned.

Have you been told the problem can be fixed but not told what exactly is causing that problem?

It looks like a tracking issue, maybe the top of the tape is damaged.

Yes maybe a stretched tape edge.

My quick reaction is either a damaged control track on the tape (bottom edge) or a severe alignment issue on the machine that made the recording or both. Severe alignment issues from the original recording are likely if you inspect the tape and don't see any apparent damage. Either way, if the control track cannot be read, the player cannot sync to start of a frame and so picture/audio drift in and out. Sometimes control track issues only appear during playback, but during pause or FF/Rew scan while tape is playing you don't see these issues.

If tape is physically damaged, no solution. If it's just a very badly aligned recording, only option is to find a machine you don't mind messing up by adjusting the guides so that the player is misaligned to match the poorly aligned tape. Of course, that approach is at your own risk, and requires research/experience and patience. Not only to get it misaligned "correctly", but to then get the machine back into alignment when done.

The noise pattern looks like a tracking lock issue due to bad pinch roller, damaged tape edge or dirty head, but the nature of that noise is weird, Does the machine have some sort of digital processing? Highly unlikely miss alignment since the noise is not consistent.

I will try and see if cleaning the VCR internally will fix this. If I understand this right, you use 90%+ isopropyl alcohol with copy paper, correct?

Cleaning rarely does anything to address issues, aside from issues known to be caused from being dirty. It's like changing your tire because the engine won't turn over.

Cleaning the VCR, especially the heads, is too often seen as a cure-all to fix whatever ails a deck, and it's ridiculous. Even more ironic, the folks that push head-cleaning snake oil are cleaning it wrong, and then actually damage the heads.

So no Q-tips aka cotton swabs! No open foam swabs!

Feel free to clean it, use the copy paper method, But it's usually just a time waster, a Hail Mary move (a last-ditch effort with little chance of success).

It doesn't appear to be a video head clog problem, As I stated above it's tracking issue, Though dirty pulse head (not video drum) could cause tracking issues but very rare for the dirt to completely mute the signal pulses, Cotton swabs and alcohol are the only way of cleaning stationary heads.

Closed cell foam is fine, probably more ideal.