On 9 dic, 09:02, NY2LA wrote:
Thanks, everybody. *lsmartino and b, your suggestions led me to try
the following:

Toshiba SD-V296KU connected to HDTV, and switching the Toshiba's audio
modes back and forth:
Tape A - Hi-Fi mode: Static
Tape A - Mono mode: No static
Tape B - Hi-Fi mode: Static
Tape B - Mono mode: No static

JVC HRXVC14BU/HR-XVC15SU connected to HDTV, and switching the JVC's
audio modes back and forth:
Tape A - Hi-Fi mode: Static (at beginning of tape, it comes on as soon
as JVC displays "Hi-Fi" on monitor)
Tape A - Normal mode: No static
Tape B - Hi-Fi mode: Static (but not as loud as when played on
Toshiba)
Tape B - Normal *mode: No static

The normal/mono modes sound awful in all cases - loud tape hiss, which
is to be expected, I guess.

More tests to follow.

if neither vcr can pick up the hifi audio properly, that suggests the
tapes were possibly recorded on a misaligned machine or are
deteriorated in some way.You only option here is to try on another
vcr. Like I said, older ones may have more range and be more
forgiving.
At least you now know the source of the problem!
B.