[Tom Harms]

Purchased JVC HM-DH30000U D-VHS Digital Recorder on 9 Sep 02.

Recorded mostly the Sopranos for two months on JVC DF-420 tape.

Everything works great.

In November, I purchased a Pioneer DVR-7000 DVD-R Recorder to make copies of 10 year old VHS home movies.

Used the JVC D-VHS to playback the 10 year old VHS home movies to the Pioneer Recorder.

Making numerous master copies of the VHS tapes, the JVC D-VHS spent numerous hours (maybe 50 hours) playing back these tapes.

When I removed the VHS tapes, they were very warm.

Now, the JVC D-VHS will reocrd, but I have serious video pixelization and audio dropouts.

Called JVC for the nearest JVC service outlet in Northern Virginia. Told to call Hi-Technology Electronics, 6541 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, VA.

At the number, I was told that the company has changed management, now called Sound Images, and they no longer service JVC products.


This is not looking good. Tom

 

[h2ofun]

Tom, call and talk to Marek at JVC customer service. The number has been in one of the threads. Can someone repost here. Based on what you have said, Marek will have you send it to a special group who is working on this issue.


Dave

 

[Tom Harms]

Thanks Dave, I've gone thru the threads, but do not have a direct number to Marek at JVC customer service. Should I do a search? Thanks, Tom

 

[Graham B]

Tom,


Old videotapes have a tendancy to shed oxide. You probably have clogged video heads. It is unlikely that a head cleaning tape will help you much because they only clean the surfaces of the heads and not the gaps. I would recommend that you clean the heads manually (or have a technician do it for you).


As for the tapes being warm... I don't know. These JVC machines do tend to get hot after a few hours of use (hence the fan).


Graham

 

[h2ofun]

Tom, use 973-317-5000 and ask for Marek Wolyniec


If you used a bunch of old VHS tapes, like Graham offered, I am pretty sure the older SVHS tapes I used at the beginning is what messed up my units.

The heads werent really bad, but the capstans were black. If you open up the unit, take a look at the capstan and pinch roller. If this is the case, your issue is not the one about hours of use. Its using "bad" tapes in a mechinism that may not be as forgiving.


Dave

 

[Tom Harms]

Thanks

 

[Graham B]

I could be wrong but I don't think head cleaning is normally covered by a VCR waranty. You could just send it in to JVC for repair and describe the problem without telling them about the old tapes. They might just clean the heads and send it back to you. It would be a lot quicker if you cleaned the heads yourself. But if you haven't done it before I would suggest that you get a professional to do it.


Graham

 

[Tom Harms]

Thanks for your help. Are we saying that playing old VHS tapes in a JVC D-VHS Recorder will render the unit useless within 90 days and 50 hours? I think we have a serious product problem. Tom

 

[Graham B]

No, not at all. What I said was that old tapes decay and the oxide literally falls of the tape. When you play these tapes you will almost certainly clog the video heads. This occurs in every type of VCR. I have seen it happen many times in VHS, Umatic, Betacam and Digital Betacam VCRs. And I was the bunny that had to clean the heads afterwards.


This is why important video archive rooms are temperature and humidity controlled. It prolongs the storage life of videotape.


Sorry, but it's a fact of life.


Graham

 

[Tom Harms]

OK, I'll record Sopranos tomorrow night and expect defects. Then, the JVC D-VHS goes to the doctor on Monday.

 

[Tom Harms]

Another thought: This is not a playback issue, because my other tapes play back perfectly. What we are talking about is a problem with the JVC D-VHS Recorder's ability to record after it has experienced a serious heat increase.

 

[Graham B]

The big problem with the JVC 30k, and every other type of digital VTR, is that most defects (faults, dirty heads, alignment issues, decoder problems etc.) will produce very similar visible effects. ie. video blocking and audio dropouts. So it seems to me that a lot of JVC 30k owners on this forum are quick to blame one thing or another for the problems they are having, when in fact it might be caused by something entirely different.


In your case, Tom, I am confident that a thorough head cleaning might fix the problem. Dirty or clogged heads can sometimes affect only recording (or playback).


Graham

 

[Tom Harms]

After some testing, the playback/recording is perfect in HS mode, but STD mode there is some pixelization/audio dropouts. I have plenty of JVC DF-420 D-VHS tapes, so I don't need to use the STD mode. Understand that a professional cleaning is probably not far away. Thanks for your help, Tom

 

[h2ofun]

Tom, I think you are making a mistake playing vhs tapes in your machine.

Must cheaper in the long run to buy a 100 dollar deck for these.


dave

 

[Tom Harms]

Dave, Totally agree. Completed my home movie archiving project, so I don't plan to put any more old tapes in the JVC D-VHS. Thanks, Tom

 

[sheggsl]

I have also noticed, when recording that the tape gets quite warm and a lot of pixalations show up. However my solution is to wait for the tape to cool down and then replay. This normally gets rid of the problem. However I think your issue might be more pronounced. As the others have suggested you might need to clean your heads.