On 9 dic, 11:52, NY2LA wrote:
On Dec 9, 2:26*am, b wrote:

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.

Makes sense. *Both tapes were probably made on the same machine.

Please explain a bit more about what you mean by "may have more range
and be more
forgiving."

I have found that older machines *can* be more forgiving of poorly
recorded tapes, or tapes recorded on less-than-perfect tape path
alignment, which could be the case here. This means that you might be
able to use the tracking control to get a clear reproduction.

As they are available second hand for little money these days - or
free, ask on your local freecycle group - it may be worth a try. Be
sure to get a model with hifi stereo audio capability. look at local
thrift stores.

Incidentally, did the tapes play back ok when you first recorded them?
if the machine you used back then had slightly worn or dirty heads,
audio is usually the first sign of a problem (the higher frequencies
are recorded near the surface of the tape and don't penetrate much, so
any wear causes crackling and dropouts way before the picture
deteriorates).
-B
-B