I recently obtained a Panasonic NV-HD100 VCR that I was hoping to use to transfer VHS tapes to computer. While the mechanics of the loading and handling mechanism seem perfectly fine, there are a couple of small issues with the picture.
Firstly, there is a very fine noise pattern all over the image. It's possible however that it would have looked better on an old CRT TV and the modern HDTVs are just showing it up better. If I turn the sharpness control right down, the pattern is suppressed but of course then the image is very soft; not what I want.
The second, and slightly more serious issue is a horizontal noise line that's appearing on every tape I try. It's always in the same part of the image; roughly halfway down the screen. It looks rather like the 'sparkles' you used to get on analog satellite if the dish was very slightly misaligned.
You'd think if the heads were dirty, the noise would appear all over the screen but no, it's only in a certain part. A horizontal line usually means there's some kind of crease or other damage all the way down the tape, but I have inspected the tapes for damage (they are fine) and it's the same kind of noise on each different tape I try.
Could either of these problems be caused by bad/dry caps? Is it a sign of impending catastrophic failure? If that's the case maybe I shouldn't play old home movies or other irreplaceable tapes on it...
Firstly, there is a very fine noise pattern all over the image. It's possible however that it would have looked better on an old CRT TV and the modern HDTVs are just showing it up better. If I turn the sharpness control right down, the pattern is suppressed but of course then the image is very soft; not what I want.
The second, and slightly more serious issue is a horizontal noise line that's appearing on every tape I try. It's always in the same part of the image; roughly halfway down the screen. It looks rather like the 'sparkles' you used to get on analog satellite if the dish was very slightly misaligned.
You'd think if the heads were dirty, the noise would appear all over the screen but no, it's only in a certain part. A horizontal line usually means there's some kind of crease or other damage all the way down the tape, but I have inspected the tapes for damage (they are fine) and it's the same kind of noise on each different tape I try.
Could either of these problems be caused by bad/dry caps? Is it a sign of impending catastrophic failure? If that's the case maybe I shouldn't play old home movies or other irreplaceable tapes on it...
Comment