Issues converting SLP VHS tapes/issues viewing them on multiple players
 

Hello, I am in desperate need for some advice as I have tried every option (or so it seems...)

I am in the process of converting many old home movies. I have converted a decent amount of vhs-c tapes and 8mm successfully using a VHS player + adapter combo or the camcorder originally used to record the tapes. These tapes come out fine; not the greatest quality but no static lines. My issue comes in with the other half of my tapes, all of the TDK brand and which may have been recorded in SLP mode.

When I play these tapes in the VCR through the adapter, they have extreme static lines making the picture unviewable. Again, the VCR plays the other half of my tapes fine. To be cautious, I did try other VCRs to see if I could get the TDK tapes to play without issue. On two other VCRs, the tapes would continue to play with extremely poor quality.

My next step was to try to find the camcorder they were originally recorded on. To test this camcorder out, I played one of the working tapes in it- this tape displayed good quality. When I put the TDK tape in, not only did it have static lines, but there was also this “vertical rolling”- it seemed as tho the picture was rolling from top to bottom.

I have exhausted many attempts to solve this. These include
- new playback devices. As stated before, I’ve tried many different playback devices, which all give me non-acceptable quality. Each device plays my working tapes fine, but my TDK brand tapes poorly.

-cleaning the heads. I have bought cleaners and have cleaned ever one of the heads. Again, I didn’t think this would be an issue because the playback devices play some of my tapes fine.

- adjusting tracking. On the VHS players, the tracking gets rid of some of the noise, but a significant portion still remains making the tape not worth converting. On my Camcorder which also has vertical roll, the tracking actually helps a lot. I am able to get rid of a lot of the static, however I still get a significant vertical roll which the converter does not accept.

-switching TDK tapes to the working tapes. At the suggestion of a repair company, they recommended putting the TDK tapes into the cartridge of the working tapes. I tried this, and I still get the same issue.

My conclusion is the tapes themself are just shot- i feel as though I’ve cancelled out the other variables as to why they aren’t working. If anyone has any advice, suggestions, solutions, it would be amazing. I’ve reached out to multiple expensive conversion companies and they continue to tell me that the tape will be recorded “as it plays”, which leads me to believe paying $600 won’t resolve this issue either.

The tapes are probably fine, it's the VCR that's terrible.

What are you using? Brand/model?
What others were tried? There's a strong chance that you tested the tapes in identical decks, even if brand names were different. This is especially true of VCR/DVD combo decks.

See also: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...ing-guide.html

And BTW, I still have a couple of decks in the marketplace: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/marketplace

Those companies that will record it "as it plays" are far from truly professional operations. Those are quacks, people that have near-zero video knowledge. That's pathetic, but is far too common. We'd never do that.

It would be highly unlikely for ALL your tapes to have these issues. However, a worst-case would be a misaligned deck must be used for transfer. But I'm still betting it's just a rotten VCR. You're using the wrong equipment for quality.

If you want to send me a tape to confirm, PM me.

Slow recorded tapes (extended play?) are just a pain for any VHS player i thought ? VHS VCR needs at least 4 heads or more ?
Azimuth ? Tapes play best on the VCR they are recorded on. The VHS-C adapter can also cause misalignment in playing the VHS-C cassettes, (maybe try other adapter)

I think so too, It's your VCR that cannot cope with the slow speed of the recording, but only samples will demonstrate the cause or the nature of the problem, Don't expect help when you can't even post a sample to investigate, Static could mean literally 100's of problems.

Yeah, i guess the OP already realized this, because the static (noise bars) are only with the SLP recorded tapes,
trying other decks to play the SLP tapes on, is a solution, and hoping for a VCR with a wide tracking range. but a lot of that work is already done, maybe there are specific brands of vcr's the OP did not yet try,
and could solve this ?
btw... OP, do the "problem tapes" them selves, make more mechanical noise ?

Thanks for all the help guys... i think it is a VCR. The problem tapes do not make any noticeable sound difference. I am going to look into trying higher quality VCRs

Sent you a PM!