Why the JVC BR-S378U won't play mono audio tracks?
 

Any idea why the BR-S378U won't play mono audio tracks? Is that normal for this deck or is it a malfunction? I can't find any documentation except for the lame archived "features list" on pro.jvc.com

Are you sure the tape has mono properly recorded? I've seen many bad tapes where the mono track wasn't where it was supposed to be, and therefore most (of even ALL) VCRs would fail to play it back.

(Note: Post moved to its own topic.)

Yup, it's an EP tape that I use to test out most VCR's for the first time because it has a lot of time base errors and a few spots on it where tracking can be an issue. It's a decent litmus test to see how the deck will handle these types of errors. Out of all the machines I've run this tape through, this is the first one that won't play the audio.

I also tried another mono tape with the same result; but that tape had a portion later on that was recorded in hi-fi and that part played back just fine.

Also, I can't get this deck to accept signals on ANY of the A/V inputs. I can switch the inputs between S1, V1, S2, and V2 which are S-Video and composite inputs 1 and 2, respectively, and I see the text change on the OSD, but no matter what I plug into it the screen stays blue. I even tried recording to a tape to see if it had some funky behavior where it only displays an input while recording is occurring (although that would be a foolish design!).

I wonder if the mono audio problem and A/V input issue are related to a common component that went bad (although logically this seems unlikely).

When you refer to mono, do you mean the linear audio track? I'd look at the ACE assembly if thats the case. These machines seem to be a testy bunch, but they can do something rare.... insert editing of the Hi-Fi audio track! The consumer equivalent deck, the HR-S10000U can do it too.

I doubt it.

I have bad outputs on one of my JVC VCRs. Still functioning, but very touchy. Even a gentle breeze from an open window, against the back of the deck, will may it cut in and out. I may have to repair it when I get free time.

I don't see how inputs/outputs would be related to the audio playback.

Yup, that's what I meant. I seem to default to audio industry terms, haha. Anyway, I even tried switching the audio monitor between Hi-Fi, Mix, and Linear. No dice. You'll notice I posted this on the marketplace... I'm not going to bother attempting repairs.

And yeah I agree LS, I didn't really think audio track issues would be related to a/v inputs. But, I've seen more ridiculous designs in electronics before...