Panasonic AG-1970 won't accept my tapes?
 

I just got a used Panasonic AG-1970 off eBay, the description said it was functional, but when I try to insert my tape, it won't accept it. It'll go halfway in, seem to get stuck, and then it will push the tape back out.

Am I doing something wrong? Or did I just get jipped into paying for non-functioning equipment?

buying used AG-1970 and AG-1980's on ebay is a total crapshoot

most of these decks are beat to death and most sellers have no idea what they have or how to test it.
dont even waste time or money on a 1970
send it back and get a refund
buy a good 1980 from Southern Advantage or maybe forum member Deter if he has any available.
or conversely buy a broken one cheap and have it restored

I ended up being able to fix the problem. It turns out, the bolt that holds the cover on the VCR can't be screwed tight. If it's screwed in all the way, it gets in the way of the VHS tape (tape can't go in, and once it's in, it can't come out).

But I'm noticing the color is a lot more saturated with tapes I play on this, and there's a buzzing in the audio than when I'm playing it with my Panasonic PV-VS4821 :-/

EDIT: Turns out, the buzzing happens when I use Hi-Fi audio output. It disappears when I disable it, but the voices in the audio don't sound as crisp or clear. Is there a way I can fix this through the connection? Or by cleaning the VCR?

you can try a good manual cleaning - dont use those useless cleaning tapes.
clean the heads with a chamois stick and 91% alcohol
the unit might have bad caps as alot of these do.
you will want to use the Hi-Fi if the tapes you are converting are in hi-fi

Got it, thanks, I'll try to clean it to see if it works.
Do you think doing that will help get rid of the the horizontal static that appears at the bottom of the screen? It doesn't happen on all my tapes, but this tape doesn't have the static on my other VCR either.

Attachment 3168

That actually looks like a tracking error. It would most likely require misaligning the VCR on purpose to correct it for that one tape, but misaligning is not for the feint of heart. In fact we have trouble doing it on the rare occasion that it is needed and would not recommend anyone try it. If it is a commercial tape, you may want to try and obtain another copy, or if it plays fine on a different VCR, attempt to capture from it.