VCR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS?
A
collection of miscellaneous postings and questions asked of
Rod Gasson
How
can I use my VCR to view movies on my computer monitor?
You need a video capture card.
I have a video capture card.
Did it come with instructions? Have you read them?
The routine is simple - video out of the VCR into the video input
of the
capture card.
Is there a way for me to view a movie on the full
screen of my monitor?
Depends on your capture card and/or software. Just
bear in mind that TV/VCR resolution is a LOT lower than your computer
resolution so in full screen mode you are quite likely to get
some degree of pixellation (unless you are only running at 680x480)
How do tapes become too tight?
Distorted casings are one cause, but the most common
cause (by far) is oil/grease contamination (Has someone touched
the tape surface with their fingers, or tried to lubricate the
tape or machine with CRC?).
What can I do about it?
Not a lot actually - much depends on why it is tight.
Put it in my rewinder and forward/rewind it a few
times?
Worth a try I suppose, but I've never had any success
(and I've tried MANY times).
What causes a VCR to start eating tapes
Worn belts, worn pinch roller, mis-aligned guides,
faulty tapes, foreign objects in the machine. The list is almost
endless.
And how can this be corrected?
Replace the belts, replace the roller, re-align
the guides, use new tapes, remove any foreign objects inside the
machine, etc, etc.
When we watch some videos on our 32" Sony,
a colored band appears across the top of the screen during playback
of most videos. For some reason it's more apparent on Disney videos.
Believe it or not, this is the macrovision copy
protection causing a reaction in the TV set.
If you are in a PAL country this effect is more pronounced (and
is sometimes even noticable with non-protected tapes). Simply
put, what is happening is your TV set is trying to syncronise
with unstable sync pulses (the sync pulses from any VCR is inherently
unstable, and macrovision just makes things worse).
The VCR tracking does not help.
That's because it's not a tracking problem.
The VCR is connected with RCA cables, red-white-yellow
directly to the television. Could it be the cables?
Nope.
Also, when we watch DVD's via a S-Video connection
the picture will sometimes jitter. This has happened with 2 different
DVD players, one Toshiba and the other a Pioneer. Is is the TV,
VCR, Cables, what?
It's the TV.
I bought a cheapie VCR about a week ago and ever
since I first plugged it in, I've noticed that when I place my
hands gently on top of the unit, I can feel the whole unit vibrating
from something moving very quickly internally. If you place something
like a pen on top of the unit, you can hear the pen vibrating
along with the VCR. The unit vibrates even when it isn't
performing any functions, although a tape must be in the VCR for
it to vibrate. If the power is on but no tape is inside of it,
the VCR will not vibrate......... only after a tape has been inserted
will it then vibrate..... but the unit works great! Am I headed
for trouble?
The vibrations are almost certainly coming from
the drum motor - This spins all the time you have a tape inside
the machine and is common for many machines (it makes the 'quick
start' feature possible). As to whether you're headed for trouble
or not is anyones guess - Ideally you shouldn't feel ANY vibrations
from the machine at all, and you are right to be concerned if
you can. It can often be a sign of damaged or dry motor bearings
(very expensive).
However, some machines do tend to vibrate a little
(especially the new all plastic models) and the only way to say
for sure if yours is 'normal' would be to compare it with another
machine of the same model.
Oh, make sure the machine is on a flat surface -
because many modern machines are so flimsy if you place them on
an uneven surface this type of problem can be greatly exaggerated.
Keep checking back!