[sparky]

Just one thing to remember that when you used any tape to operate with the result of normal operation is the original dirt has gone some where and is likely now transferred to this tape and may recontaminate if used again.
Good luck with your studies.

[Leia]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Not watching the videos is just not an option I'm afraid, as apart from me wanting to see them, other adults here at uni want to see them too, showing that they are popular with children and adults alike.

In response to your ideas:

No I do not keep a big magnet in my laptop case. Why would I do that?!
I also haven't walked past a big magnet with my laptop case, as I very rarely take my laptop anywhere.
I do not store my videos near a monitor etc.
I have not taped anything on my televideo because the tv signal here is too weak to watch.

But all is well. It turns out Gary was right - the heads needed cleaning. I was worried this might be the problem as I have no head cleaning tape and am a poor student. So I Googled the problem and read somewhere that two thirds of the time just playing any tape for a few hours will clean it, so I gave it a go and the picture was showing fine in under an hour. All my Disney videos are now working fine, and so are not the wrong format or copy protected or anything like that.

So thanks to anyone who tried to help. This forum has been very useful.

I am happy to say I shall not have to resort to buying Wallace and Gromit videos (yes, wallAce, not WallIce) or enrolling for more subjects, which would just be ridiculous.

[Guest]

Dear Leia,
Really, watching childrens video's is the cause of all of your problems. Why don't you buy yourself some grownup video's? Maybe Wallice and Gromit, (I have them all) or the organic pest control man?
Childrens cartoons by the BIG companies usually have copy protection on them (they can afford it) The drawback of this is that they will not play properly on alot of systems. I am sure your movies have this.
Do you keep a big magnet in your laptop case? Or have you walked past one??
Do not store any magnetic media (Video, Tape, Floppies) near a television screen or monitor. (It will get degaussed)
Does your problem include video's you have taped from your unit, or just prerecorded video's? Maybe you could put one of these in your laptop case and see if it works after a week?

1. Try a head cleaning tape only if it won't void your warranty. (It does in some machines)

2. Try your video's in another machine. (if they work fine, go to 3)

3. Contact Daewoo for a warranty repair of your unit (try your phonebook and remember to give them one of your video's)

4. Purchase Wallice and Gromit DVD's (are they on DVD yet???) Or enroll for more subjects! (does uni give you time to watch video's these days?)

[gary]

IT SOUNDS LIKE THE HEADS ARE DIRTY, THE HEAD GAP ON VCR IS VERY VERY SMALL (IN THE MICRON RANGE) AS A RESULT T DOES NOT TAKE MUCH TO CLOG THE HEADS WITH DIRT, A BRAND NEW MACHINE OUT OF A BOX CAN END UP WITH DIRTY HEADS JUST BY PLAYING A POOR OR OLD VIDEO,THE BEST WAY OF CLEANING HEADS IS WITH A CHAMOIS STICK AND ALCHOHOL BUT TRY A HEAD CLEANING CASSETTE IT JUST MAY WORK.

[Leia]

I randomly discovered my X-Men 2 video in my laptop case and decided to give it a try, only to find that it does exactly the same as the Disney videos, yet it worked perfectly before!

I have come to the conclusion that the video player is broken altogether, yet I find this strange as there's no reason for it to be.

Anyone have any ideas? Anything, please! Thought about taking it back to the shop but its really far away and I'm not sure I have the receipt still.

[sparky]

tapes contain video, audio and control signal information on different parts of the tape and picked up by different heads.

[Leia]

Adjusting the tracking makes no difference.

The video heads are not dirty as I got the televideo only a few months ago brand new and have not watched any videos on it apart from X-Men 2 which was a brand new video.

The tapes are old, but none of them look creased or dirty. I fast-forwarded one of them to see if it was partially erased at the beginning but there was nothing further on either. I am going to try to find another video player to try them on.

But why does the sound on them work perfectly but the image not at all?

Thanks for your help!

[sparky]

If you purchased them both in the u.k then all should be fine as you expect and will not require to use any other connections/sockets as it is a combi and connections are internal and playback settings automatic.

– Has tracking been adjusted? > Adjust the tracking
– Are the video heads dirty? > Clean
– Is the tape old

The only other thing that I can think of is the 3rd in the above list.

I played those videos on a normal video player at home before. It was a while ago though, because the video player got a bit old and worn out and would only play pre-recorded tapes really jumpy/flickery. But this is 3 tapes the same so I don't think there's anything wrong with them.

I wonder if the old video damaged them by creasing or depositing dirt or even partially erasing.
It can be a new tape but just takes one bad recorder to wreck it and like wise the same goes for putting a dirty tape into a recorder then the next one you put in may pick up this dirt.
You really need to look at the tape and see if creased and if o.k then try in another machine. If you don't have one then take them to a local repair shop and ask them if they could try to see if they work o.k. Most would be happy to oblige (something you can't do in a supermarket or from the Internet as many people prefer to do than buy local- you can't beat local repair shops for service and advise).
If the tapes are o.k return the combi for service/replacement.

[Leia]

In response to your 4th suggestion - how rude! Lots of adults enjoy watching Disney films, even if they don't admit it.

There is a scart input in the back of the unit as well as an aerial input.

Is it something to do with copyprotection on them then? That's a bit odd.

Any ideas how much these things would cost? It might just be worth buying them on dvd.

[Guest]

It looks like you have only an aerial input in the back of the unit.

1. You can have the AFC circuit detuned until your videotapes play. As you increase the stability of the video picture, you decrease stability of the television picture.
2. You can have a video enhancer fitted between the videoplayer and the television.
3. You can have a copyhouse, copy your videos without the copyprotection.
4. Stop watching childrens videos!