My combination VCR/DVD player works well in DVD mode, but the VCR playback has some static. Tracking adjustment doesn't help. What else can I try?
by 
ticktock
ANSWERS: 2
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Short of buying a new tape, there isn't much that can be done. Over time older VCR's have had a tendancy to get out of alignment and as you continue to record and play back tapes on your older unit, they look fine because a mis-aligned machine makes a mis-aligned recording on to a tape. When you take that mis-aligned tape and play it on a new well aligned VCR the tracking adjustment ought to make the necessary compensations. If the older unit was out of alignment more than a certain amount, no amount of adjustment will help you regain the original quality of the tape. The only thing you can do is to patiently keep working with the tracking until you find the exact setting for it.
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Sounds a lot like a dirty recorder. Clean the recorder with a commercial VCR cleaning kit. You may have to run two or three cleaning cycles to get the tape handling mechanism, tape path, and heads clean. If the problem persists after testing with a new, unused, quality tape, the automatic tracking circuitry may be is malfunctioning.
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