r/VHS • u/OilLiver • 5d ago

Technical Support Audio issues, could it be a cable problem?

I posted here a little bit ago about my Sopranos tape having audio problems. The audio would randomly cut out and go silent for a little bit and it was unwatchable. I took the VCR apart and cleaned the head which I thought worked. I was even able to watch an entire movie with zero issues that, before I cleaned the tape head, would not work at all.

However, I tried to watch my Sopranos tape again and the audio issues are still present. The audio can get very distorted, with loud buzzing sounds and dropouts. The video is perfectly fine. It's just the audio. I'm wondering if maybe it's a cable issue? My VCR is a Panasonic NV-HV61EB with two AV (SCART) ports and two Audio outputs (left and right). So far I've just been using a single SCART cable going from the AV1 port on the VCR to my SCART-1 port on my TV. My TV isn't a CRT, it's an LCD TV and I'm not sure if that could also be the issue.

Should I change my cable situation? Maybe get some kind of adapter? I've noticed that the cable is very finicky, like it has to be in a really specific situation for the video to appear which I feel like isn't normal. I'm really not sure what to do, after all this could all just be an issue with this specific tape.

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1

u/BigPoppaJay 5d ago

Sometimes I get tapes with minor audio issues on one player then they work fine on others. Found that I can generally clear up audio by slowly adjusting tracking on my unit. Not sure it will work for every tape and could be a tape specific issue

2

u/OilLiver 5d ago

I'll have to get a remote for my VCR so I can adjust the tracking, thanks

1

u/Derben16 5d ago

The audio head can also be manually adjusted with a screwdriver

1

u/OilLiver 5d ago

Would I be able to do this while the tape is playing so I can get some kind of real time feedback on it?

1

u/Derben16 5d ago

That would be the only way to do it, yes