I've gone thru 3 vcrs with similar results. When I playback recorded TV programs on my latest vcr (less than 6 months), I see vertical flickering more often than not - like how the old TVs have the vertical controls at the back of the set being out of whack. The previous vcr (about 2 years old) pretty much did the same thing. The previous previous vcr would play a second of image, jump to a blue screen (no signal), back to a second of recorded image, then back to the blue screen, etc. But when I watch live TV programs using the tuner in the vcr, the picture quality is fine. Help.
The newest one is a Toshiba W625CF, the next oldest one is Panasonic PV-V4523S-K, and the oldest one is another Panasonic. Incidentally I have brought the newer Panasonic for warranty repairs,and its heads were cleaned, but shortly after it acted up again.
So following along the lines of your response, David, what brand of tapes would you recommend, and how many recordings and playbacks can you expect to get out of a VHS tape?
I don't use a VCR anymore, but when I did I used TDK, Scotch, I used to like Sony too till I got a bad batch once and quit using them. I never used mine over 3 or 4 times, but they should be good for more than that. As long as you aren't using them 30 times or something they should be OK. You may have 1 bad tape that is getting the heads dirty when it's used. Using good quality tapes it should take months for the heads to get dirty, but a bad tape can do it in 1 use.
I use a DVD recorder, have for over 3 years now. The quality is so much better if you ever use one you'll basically throw the VCR in the trash. Quailty is only the beginning of the advantages, no fumbling looking for the spot on the tape you want, no rewinding, storage takes much less space, no chewed up tapes with bad spots. They can be easily edited on the PC or on the standalone if using the right discs in the right mode. That's only part of the advantages.