D-VHS VCR: Philips VR 20D (almost equivalent: JVC HM DR-10000 ?).
The situation described below lasts from the beginning of owning the device. The pinch roller is in the correct(perfect ?) condition.
1. The device turns on. After connecting to the power, it turns on displaying for 1, maybe 2 seconds, as if these("more or less", because not all of them) "standard icons accompanying the normal playback of the cassette". Then the device goes into standby mode("--:--")(it seems to me to be working properly).
2. After inserting the VHS cassette(with the "record protection tab"* unremoved) unrolls(it seems that it is always correct) the tape - at the same time the display shows "standard playback icons" - then the device so seamlessly and seems to be any length of time: it just properly "waits for commands".
* with the removed, it seems to play "immediately" and correctly(in terms of just starting the playback and its duration)(although perhaps it would be different "on a cold" VCR).
3. Sometimes pressing the button: "PLAY" causes the correct, trouble-free start of the tape, cassette playback[perhaps the more so, the longer the time passes from the process described in the above point("2.") - how long does it "wait", but sometimes(very often) and immediately pressing the "button": "PLAY" starts the correct playback of the tape.
Perhaps matters "here": "heating up" and using the device more often - every few days - and not lying idle for months for months - but a variable situation in this matter/different functioning(correct / incorrect) when using the device in "one time" would rather exclude "this option", but on the other hand not necessarily - "correct: additional heating, running-in of the device is "still" ?"].
Otherwise, such an action(pressing the button: "PLAY") causes the tape to roll and eject the cassette from the VCR(the symbol: "EJECT"("flashing cassette mark" ?) is visible on the display)(most often probably in the case of immediate and/or quick(up to a few seconds) pressing the button: "PLAY" after loading a cassette).
[Sometimes, in various cases, after the task has been commissioned(unless for playback mainly or only) there is a slight/one-second "fight" of the VCR: "whether to turn off or to play"].
4. Stopping the proper playback of the cassette - through the functions: "PAUSE", and then pressing, selecting the functions used to rewind the tape backwards(also directly during normal playback - without "PAUSE") starts this process with an audible "after a while"(almost right away, because it takes 1 second to reach "that") "high" started work(as if unnatural, behind a loud "whistle"/which I think can be objectively assessed as something incorrect**) with its gradual "descending" - this process lasts only up to about 5 seconds(you can see the scrolling of the image on the screen - but a little - temporarily at least("mainly in the first part of these about 5 seconds" ?) - distorted, e.g. through red and blue areas in certain places on the screen), then/during which(after about 5 seconds have elapsed) the VCR turns off with the tape pulled on the mechanism(it did not rewind the tape to its beginning, of course)("turns off" - and describing in more detail, e.g. the display of the VCR shows only the signs: "cassettes" and "--:--").
** The more so that in the cases described in this post, when the tape is rewound forward or backward and the device works properly: this sound does not occur, and then there is(correct operation) sound and work: correct, normal, standard.
Pressing the button: "STANDBY"("0" and "I" "superimposed") or "EJECT" causes the "return" of the VCR, which continues its work for a short time, but does not rewind the tape to its beginning, but literally just by a little - about a minute - then fast-forward for about 30 seconds and stops/properly waits for commands - then - when using the "EJECT" function - ejects the cassette.
4.1. Sometimes(most often): pressing the button: "PAUSE" and then selecting the fast forward function causes the device to work correctly, but after stopping the fast forwarding(during it) by the button: "PAUSE"(maybe "STOP" may would caused the same - I don't know), and then "PLAY" causes the cassette to be pulled out and the VCR goes into "standby mode".
5. Stopping the proper playback of the cassette - through the functions: "STOP", and then pressing, selecting the functions used to fast forward or rewind the tape(also directly during playback - without "STOP": though in this case I don't remember for sure how it works when you select rewind the tape backwards) starts this process and its correct operation(such as and the VCR itself).
6. Sometimes(rarely ?) "after" activities from point: "2." there is an attempt to start playback of the recording ("PLAY")(also probably or only if the function: "PLAY" is not selected - something like that - I don't know(I don't remember)) - but to no avail - it is manifested by the device's strenuous attempt(fight to play recording): gentle reduction of power(towards switching off the device to "standby" mode(?); manifested, among other things, by dimming the all LEDs) - then returning to power and so on and on, this process continues(it repeats itself over and over again): moment by moment("once like this - once different") with simultaneous rapid flashing of the LEDs on the VCR panel: "STD "and probably less often: "LS3"(perhaps you can also hear such a "alternating" sound as it is "once audible" when you press the "PLAY" button and correct playback cassettes).
If I remember correctly and it seems to me it is so long, the process(and, for example, not pressing "PLAY" at some point) causes the device to turn off - it goes into "standby mode" or maybe it "fights" for a long time(I don't know, I don't remember).
6.1. Sometimes the correct start of the recording is caused by pressing(at the right moment) - during this situation(from point: "6.") - the button: "PLAY". The playback itself then and in general in this device runs without any problems(although it happened(once) most likely the automatic speeding up of playback(not as intense as when using the fast forward function and without distortion of the image, however, the sound of the recording was probably not audible at the time) - perhaps also caused by repeated, fast(again and again) pressing the button on the flap of the device: "SMART PICTURE", used to change "picture mode": "SHARP", "SOFT", etc.).
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7. It happened/has happened that the video recorder tried to finish work/some activity during which and/or after which it turned off in such a way that all tensioning mechanisms of the tape were hiding(it was returning to its correct idle place ?), and the tape remained loosely pulled out in the VCR(with the cassette hatch open and loaded - without any attempt to return it by the VCR). Reactivating the device resulted in a(correct ?) tension on the tape and/or removal of the cassette.
7.1. It happened in certain situations, that the VCR "jammed" the tape, destroying it(due to the fact that it was turned off without being instructed to turn off and what was related to it)(for example, the unrolled portion of a cassette tape in a VCR while the cassette is ejected simultaneously).
8. Sometimes the VCR did not perform the tasks assigned to it, but sought/caused the process of removing the cassette from it.
9. Sometimes(very rarely) pressing a given button causes: operation of the device in its function other than the selected one(and it seems that it was not remembered/selected as the last one before, e.g. unwanted switching to the "standby mode" of the device)(e.g. no selected start of fast forwarding and not responding to the button: "PAUSE", and "STOP" yes - disabling the previously activated: "DIGITAL TBC/NR" button during this operation, and over time it happens during this operation switching back on this("DIGITAL TBC/NR") - detection/stating on the basis of the LED on the device panel).
10. Pressing: "PLAY" sometimes ejects the cassette(I wrote about it in this post) or fast-forward it - at this, for example, a recording in "SP"(the same before - correctly - "classified" by the VCR) is read as: "LP" and "S-VHS"(and in fact and by the VCR itself "previously correctly" as: VHS)("S-VHS" most often "flashes" - it is not constantly displayed ?). Sometimes, for example: "LP" - "shines" just like that(although perhaps this is a bug that is only(?) the effect of linking to the "main cause of this matter").
It seems that these various anomalies(eg from the point: "9." and "10") most often occur after the "device is returned to work" after it has not been instructed to go into "standby mode"(the device turns off against commands given to it).
11. I know that sometimes some VCRs "don't like" "certain" cassettes ...
12. I have some experience with many other VCRs(including "top" S-VHS VCRs: JVC, Panasonic) and their work, operation(with their various functions).
Sometimes probably there may also appear some "deviations" from the situations described above "here".
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The device was not tested for a very long time and at many various times*** in order to describe the processes taking place in it more accurately and reliably, but the above-described situations take place "always"(?)(usually - when would turn it on, it is like that).
*** There were, however this unit, many(several dozen) months ago "tested"(probably in more than one stage and with monthly intervals between these months(stages)): with the same symptoms as "now".
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"It"(most of this post) was described in such a general way, because maybe something else could be noticed in more detail - a given situation - and finally described.
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I have read something that maybe in these D-VHS VCRs(and some others ?) it is a known situation - sometimes(most often or maybe always) caused by: capacitors ? Although maybe what else is going on here... I don't know, I don't know anything about it.
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I could make a mistake in the content of this post(not intentionally) - for which possibility - "in advance": sorry.
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