Vertical jitter on commercial video tapes?
 

I've been trying to transfer some of my OOP commercial tapes to DVD, but there's vertical jitter on practically all of them. I'm using a JVC SR-V10U. The only way to stop the jitter is to turn off the TBC, but then the image takes a real quality dip.

I've read that the AG-1980P can play tapes with tracking problems, but this is happening with so many of my commercial VHS that it's a bit extreme. I can't imagine that so many of them are out of whack. Perhaps my JVC SR-10U has dirty heads and/or has gone out of alignment? It wasn't in very good condition when I first got it, and when testing these commercial VHS with regular two head vcrs there's no jitter...

What do you guys think? Is it likely to be the tapes or my SR-V10U? I like the image quality on the JVC S-VHS players, so I'm leaning toward getting another one, but I don't want to double-dip needlessly.

So they don't jump vertically when the TBC/DNR is off or in regular VCRs. Sounds like a bad interaction between the tapes and the TBC/DNR function.

Just curious, what happens if you disable both TBC/DNR and Video Stabilizer?

I always have the Video stabilizer disabled, but when I tested it both on and off I didn't notice any difference.

Do JVCs often produce a lot of jitter when playing retail tapes?

I don't have personal experience with them, myself. Other users have mentioned odd TBC interactions in the past, but I don't recall anything specific to retail tapes. Just random things.

Any VCR will output unstable video if it's not properly aligned or needs other service. The JVC SR-V10U is not known to be a particularly robust unit, but likely it can be repaired. Try inquiring at TGrant's services. http://www.tgrantphoto.com/sales/ind...vc-vcr-repairs

Note that the repair of complex VCRs is not easy or cheap.

Yeah, I'm just going to get another VCR since repairing the SR-V10U would cost more.

How does the AG-1980P's pic quality compare to the JVC decks? If there's no big difference, then it might be worth going that route, just to avoid any jitter issues altogether.

Then again, all my retail tapes are in fairly good condition, so theoretically, a JVC deck (that's not breaking down) should be able to play them all... Obviously, the ideal situation would be to have both, but I can't afford that at the moment. What do you all with more experience recommend?

An AG-1980 is twice the price of a rebuilt JVC SR-V10U. The 1980 is better overall but has its foibles, as all prosumer players do, but any high-end player will cost a bunch and they all require maintenance. The used market nowadays for anything decent is a disaster--don't go there. The least expensive route I'd say is to have a pro repair your JVC.

Too many people blame the TBC. However, as mentioned, it's generally an interaction issue. Without troubleshooting against a known-good S-VHS VCR with internal TBC, this is hard to troubleshoot.

(It could very well be a defective unit. That happens. Not the whole model series, just that one lemon.)

A quality working Panasonic AG-1980P deck is more expensive than all but the best of the JVC line (9600, 9800, 9900). Even then, it can cost $100-200 more. The main issue is that most AG-1980P for sale are in need of a cap job. That runs about $200-400, though it is worth it. The AG-1980P is much better with EP mode tapes than JVC. However, if all of your commercial tapes are SP, then the JVC will give you the best quality.

If you do get a VCR repaired, use TGrant Photo.