[kazol]

OK, I figured it out-turns out I was using junk tape without frame markers, and it aborted when they were missing due to misynchronization. I put a good tape in and it worked, but it ate the tape!!

[kazol]

I have a Panasonic NV-8500 VCR that whenever plays a tape, stops after ~5 seconds. The first time it happened a light came on saying "Auto Shutoff." Then whenever I tried playing either it just stopped, or the "Servo Lock" light blinked\was steady.
The frame counter does not move for some reason in play. I tried different settings and tried attaching a console to it, but it still keeps stopping-the mechanism inside unwraps the tape back into the cassette. Also while playing the "Video Gain" meter needle does not move. Any ideas?