videos - help!

[amymars]

I need a bit of help.

I've got a video which I really wanna watch. You can't get it on DVD else i'd buy it......
I was really looking forward to watching it (clark gable ) but when I played it, the picture was all fucked. Now, the person I got it off tells me its fine, and they checked it before they gave it to me. The sound is perfect, and when I rewind it, the picture shows normal. As it is its unwatchable....

anyone got any clue as to whats wrong? is it my player?

[Davey]

have you tried moving the tracking on your video recorder?
or have you got a head cleaner for your video try giving that a whirl, it's usually in a video case and says head cleaner on the cover.

[mixster]

As above, sounds like you've got dirt on the heads of your video player, probably from this tape. If you don't have a head cleaner, try putting another tape in (one you don't care about and won't use again) and playing that. When the picture is clear, try the tape you want to watch again (if that makes sense!) Basically you need something to wipe the dirt off the heads. Also the dirt tends to be at the beginning, so wind the Gable tape forward slightly before you play it.

[amymars]

thanks, will give it a go!

[amymars]

I used a head cleaner and it didnt work. Any other ideas? My video player is auto tracking, could that be the problem?

[Shooms]

On your video player - lift open the flap (fnaaar) & blow down it....

On the tape - press in the lil side button & lift the flap & the blow on the tape...

It won't work but there you go...

[blue jammer]

Fast forward the tape right to the end and let it auto-rewind and stop, then play it.

Sometimes you find tapes that have been played on a different video recorder will have adjusted itself to that machine, as the head alignment can be higher or lower, so the spooled tape can be slightly up or down depending on this.

Has worked for me in the past anyhow (I only know about this as my dad used to fix video recorders)

[elvisontour]

sounds like the heads are dirty but might be out of line but id try give this a wirl might help

DIY Article - DIY Cleaning your VCR