VHS Capture bad source, tracking or other?

[mipthat]

Hello all,

I'm trying to capture the attached video and it looks as if the tracking on it is really messed up. I've tried multiple VHS players, manually adjusting the tape path alignment on the VCR. A VCR with a line tbc and going through an avt-8710. Capture device is an ATI USB 600.

At this point I feel like it was the way it was recorded. Maybe If I had access to the original device, it would be different.

Just looking for some thoughts? Thank you in advance

[timtape]

The wobbly pitched sound track suggests me the tape was not running at correct speed at time of digitizing. Tape playback speed must closely match the original camera's tape speed. Normally the tape itself tells the player the speed it should be played at. But things can get in the way of that. Normally these VCR's are designed to 'free run' a little faster than expected and then the control track recorded on each tape makes the player slow down to the tape's actual recorded speed. The fact that the speed appears slower than original recorded tape speed suggests the problem may not be in the original recording but something subsequent.

I wouldnt play the tape in multiple machines. It only increases the risk of tape damage. Far better to identify why the tape played slow and unsteadily.

I also wouldnt be manually adjusting tape path alignment unless there were clear signs from the tape itself that the original camera recording was misaligned.

Perhaps the tape has picked up foreign matter such as a lubricant which is causing the tape to slip and slow down as it is played. In that case, the foreign matter would need to be expertly cleaned from the tape.

Is the tape you've been playing the original camera tape or a copy of it?

[mipthat]

Thank you for your reply.

I believe it is a copy. I believe it was copied from whatever recorded it to the VHS tape.

[timtape]

OK thanks. Perhaps the original tape was good but for whatever reason was playing incorrectly at the time the copy was made. Do you have access to the original camera tape?

[mipthat]

I'm trying to see if that's an option. This is mainly being used as a learning experience so not critical. Just trying to understand cause and possible solutions.

[timtape]

OK, understood. From this distance it's hard to be sure what is causing this. Tapes can temporarily become sticky from having been moved from a cold area to warm. VCR's can deteriorate in performance even sitting in adequate storage, requiring service before use. It could be a combination of factors. There may be no one simple answer.

Tim