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-   -   Panasonic HD655 not switching between NTSC and PAL? (https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vcr-repair/13289-panasonic-hd655-switching.html)

Calamari 02-06-2023 08:29 AM

Panasonic HD655 not switching between NTSC and PAL?
 
Hello, I recently acquired a Panasonic HD655 that advertises PAL/NTSC/MESECAM support. My TV is a new PAL flatscreen connected by RCA and my VHS tapes are PAL as well. However when I play the tapes it comes out distorted, similar to the result of playing a PAL tape in an NTSC VCR like in this video. Is there a way to manually switch between PAL and NTSC modes on the VCR? Any other ideas as to what the problem could be?

Thanks.

hodgey 02-06-2023 09:41 AM

Is the TV capable of displaying PAL? If you are dealing with an old CRT or maybe even a more modern TV it's possible the the TV isn't able to display it. This VCR can't convert between systems like certain expensive "worldwide" multisystem vcrs could, not that you generally want to do that if it can be avoided anyhow.

You can between NTSC MODE on the front, and between PAL and MESECAM on the back it seems (though the wrong setting of any of those would just give wrong/no color.) You can't normally manually force it to do NTSC (525-line) or PAL (625-line) system, that's up to the VCR. (Well can't say with 100% certainty as I wasn't able to find the user manual for the multi-system variant but never seen an option for it in the manuals for the newer variants of these at least including the NV-HD630AM that I own one of.) Also be vary that the multi-system variants of panasonics can sometimes differ a bit and be from the next generation compared to the PAL variant with the same model number so make sure to check that the manual matches the letter suffix of the model name.

All that's not to say that it's impossible that there could be some other problem with it, does it work fine with NTSC tapes (with the NTSC output switch set appropriately to the device you are connecting it to)?

Calamari 02-06-2023 05:26 PM

Hmm, my TV is a a modern LCD, I wasn't able to find any information about whether it supports PAL or not, there's definitely no option for it in the settings, but when it switches input to the VCR it recognized it as a PAL input.. The switches on the front don't seem to have an effect on anything, and neither do the switches on the back. The switches on the back are labeled "RF select" do you think that its possible its only switching for the RF output? I'm connected through RCA right now. I don't have any NTSC tapes to test the functionality in that way, and they're pretty hard to come by in my country.

hodgey 02-06-2023 05:43 PM

From the images I can find it looks like it has a thing to adjust rf channel, a thing to select rf output system and one more switch that I can't see on the back. The rf things should only affect the output of the rf modulator at least so won't be relevant.

Does the on-screen display/menu/blue screen on the VCR work?

Does the TV work on other composite or scart inputs? Some have combined component and composite inputs but idk if that needs to be set manually or not. Do you have access another vcr and/or TV to check with?

Calamari 02-06-2023 05:58 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Yes, the blue screen works. The switches on the back are an RF selector on the left and a test signal on the right This VCR is the only one I have right now. Would it be worth testing the RF output with another TV? I don't have one to test immediately but I can ask around.

hodgey 02-06-2023 06:28 PM

Testing another TV (whether via RF or composite) would at least help see if the TV is the problem, though if the blue screen works it seems much more likely it's the VCR that's having issues. No idea what would cause it to play the tapes at the wrong speed though. If one of the tape guides don't move all the way it can also give some odd line effects on the output though that does look a bit different to the symptom you get from playing a PAL tape in a NTSC deck. That is something I have experienced on vcrs with this mechanism (Panasonic K mechanism) though that seems to clear up after exercising the mechanism a bit. (the worm gear coupling on the loading motor is also known to crack on this mech but in those cases it tends to fail to load the tape altogether.)

Ideally also check the tapes on a different vcr if possible to eliminate it being something with the tapes, ultimately it's a process of elimination to determine which part is acting up (though I suspect the VCR). If it was a 2 head machine it could have been that the tapes were recorded in LP but this one should support LP (and presumably NTSC EP too) so presuming the tapes are PAL, unless the tapes are somehow recorded in PAL SLP/EP that is unlikely to be the issue (and that's pretty unlikely as support for that was pretty rare and only featured in some late model vcrs.)

If you have some spare tape or unrecorded part you could also try a test recording and see if it records and plays that back fine though it would require some other composite video source (ideally not a copy protected DVD as that will make the vcr act up due to copy protection).


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