IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

A tape filmed in 2009 showed black bars across when first replayed.
I put another tape in the deck OK. Re tried the faulty tape - looked OK
Tried it again today - at first glance OK but sound jerky, then realised picture also jerky.
Any remedy? Any lubricant for spindle?
Thanks for any advice.
Peter.

Peter, open the little flap and see if your tape is creased up.

Hi Peter - I've always found it good practice to run tapes through a machine every few years if they are in storage. Fast forward to the end and then rewind back to the beginning, every three years as a rule of thumb. This can prevent a multitude of issues in the long term. In my studio I used to play tapes through to the end and store them 'tails out' to prevent bleed through - this also meant the reel of tape was stacked perfectly so there was no edge damage. Storing 'tails out' forces you to rewind the tape back to the beginning before you could use it, also helping to free up any stickiness. There are plenty of internet tips about storage, although I'm sure you are clued up on them, such as always store vertically, in a room that has a reasonably constant temperature, low humidity, away from sunlight, magnetic fields etc etc etc.

Having said that though, I've discovered tapes that have been languishing in my damp garage for 20 years that play perfectly!

I would try fast forwarding and rewinding the tape all the way through a couple of times, and then try again. Hope this helps

John

Peter, try playing the tape in another camera or deck. Some Panasonic /Canon recorded tapes didn't like Sony replaying them, especially if you recorded it in the LP mode

tom

Thanks to all. Resolved, I think, but not without mcu mystery.
I opened the flap - tape flat.
Tried what I might do with a sticky audio tape - wouldn't budge - video evidently different.
Put it (Sony tape) in the Sony deck again - played perfectly. Logged the tape.
Rewound and played to camcorder via firewire - nothing happened, nothing on monitor. Checked connections, seemed OK
Fiddled and f......d about and got it playing.
Set camcorder (Sony PD170) to record and it played right through.
Checked recording - nothing there. I'm sure I'd set it to record but maybe dreaming so ...
Tried again - black bars - could see blacker bars on black at start of tape - deck fault?
Wound forward and back - black bars.
Wound forward and back - black bars.
Again - OK. Stopped and thought!!
Connected to computer and it is currently recording good footage onto Adobe Premiere old 6.5. Will keep it there and make another tape copy, I hope.
This is the only tape of the 40+ that I have so far logged for Pendle's long awaited update on the town of Nelson, Lancs since the '60s that has given any trouble.
Wish me luck with the rest, please, and thanks again.
Peter.

Glad you got it working albeit with a lot of trial and error !

When I first saw your post Peter my heart skipped a beat. I guess some people did try sticking DV tape together once they'd removed the crinkled bit, but it probably ruined their 9000 rpm spinning heads the first time the heads encountered the splice.

Hope your heart has settled as well as my tape, Tom!
Next thing - what's the matter with a Canon iP4600 printer that wont print black print?
At first looked like ink running out - it isn't.
Cleaned, deep cleaned (made it worse) repeated.
Now the grid of print lines doesn't show up at all.

Have put this on as a new query but don't think it's going to resolve as well as the tape and, hopefully, Tom's heart.

Peter.