I have an RCA VCR that used to work great. Then I didn't use it for a while and now that I have hooked it back up it will only play back in black and white. Picture is crisp and the sound is good but there is no color. Anyone know what could cause this or a possible solution? Thanks for any help at all.
Its an RCA VR546. It is just hooked up through coax cable that worked fine with a previous vcr. The VCR is a few years old and has had very little playing. It was used almost exclusively just to hook up components to an old TV that didn't have RCA jacks, but when used it worked well. Then it sat for about 8 months not connected to anything and then it was reconnected and all tapes play in black and white. I tried previously recored and personally recorded at all speeds and get the same result. And the cable run through it looks fine, checked all the little tings such and the channel setting and I ran a head cleaner through it, still no change.
Hmm. From what I can learn from this model, it's a fairly cheap one. It's hard to really pin down what could be wrong without actually going into the deck and checking out what's up.
I'd probably consider replacing it. It's a mono 4 head deck with nothing really special about it that makes it stand apart from others. If shopping for a VCR, definitely get one that has hi-fi stereo.
If you want to, try to look for any repair shops that sell refurbished VHS decks from the late 1980s or early-mid 1990s. These kind of decks are usually built very well and will last longer than anything new if the refurbishing was properly done. - Reinhart