Auto tracking makes no differance.pic.covered by sound bars,black border at top of tape.vcr had stood for 3 months ununsed.on inital play,snapped tape,removed cover to extract tape. new tape kept ejecting until casette pressed fully in. sound ok but picture as above.

There are two reasons that might cause loss of tracking halfway into a video tape. The first means you can't really do a lot about it. To check it is this is simple. When you get to the point the video jumps, stop the VCR and eject the tape. The look at the tape itself by lifting the flap at the front (push the small catch on the right side). Examine the section of the tape. If you see any damage to the tape (it should look smooth and shine) then it will never track properly.
Another cause of the jumping is caused by the take up reel, getting sluggish. Sometimes these are run off a belt, that becomes slack, replacing it could solve the problem, or it could be something else in the mechanism that's causing it.
There is another solution, particularly if the tape wasn't recorded on the machine that is playing it back. I haved used loads of different VCR's and I found that the tracking has never been set up right on any! This means that only the VCR it was recorded on generally gives the most correct playback.
Having said that it is possible to get a VCR with really good tracking. I have found that Panansonic VCR's have the best tracking. I currently have a NV-HS900 which can track just about everything, but you will only get one seconed-hand now.

do the heads need cleaning? sounds like the heads are seriously out of alignment? take off the vcr cover get a philip scrdrv. put tape in. and play. theres an AC head just to the right of the drumhead. jiggle it around gently. u may have to adjust those 3 screws (precison) to put it back in proper adjustmant. also take the tapes u used in that vcr. open the top flap and inspect. are there marks? is there a line going the bottom portion of the tape. if so , it definitely is out of alignment.

normally this would be a tracking error, if you can manually adjust the tracking, this should fix the prob...if there is no way to manually adj the tracking, use a video head cleaner to see if cleaning the heads will help the auto track to function better.

clarkco

unfortunatly no. the vert hold is set by black bars at the top/bottom of the video signal (outside of the viewable area). it sounds like your VCR or tape is damaged.

It sounds like the taped program was recorded on a different speed. The other VCR that you are playing the taped program may not have the speed needed to play it correctly.
Next time when you record a program try to make sure you use a speed that will be compatible on both VCRs.
For example a tape that last 120 minutes, using the different speeds will give the following recording times.
SP means "Standard Play" >>>> 2 hours
LP means " Long Play" >>>>> 4 hours
ELP means " Extra Long Play" 8 hours

Older VCRs have all the 3 speeds but newer ones only have SP and ELP.
Hope this helps.

How do i record a tv show on to a VHS tape?

The deck needs a good cleaning. Try using a brand new tape and run it on playback for 20 min or so. You could try using a cleaning tape, but many of them are abrasive. If this doesn't work, you need a deck re-alignment which will cost more than your set is worth.

One possibility is the tracking/audio head is dirty. Remove top cover of VCR, this head sits just to the right of the rotating video head. Use a cotton swab moistened with rubbing alcohol, or other video head cleaner and clean this head, especially the lower edge, as the tracking info is recorded along the lower edge of the tape (if memory serves). Another possibility is a problem with tape travel past this head. If the tape is lifting or moving up or down, even slightly as it passes this head, tracking will be lost, hence your blue screen & bad audio. This could be observed by playing a tape with the VCR cover off.

It sounds like the tracking information is being lost for brief periods of time. Tracking is recorded at the lower edge of the tape, and if the tape is wrinkled or otherwise damaged in this area, playback will go out to lunch. A visual check of the tape would be in order. Have the heads been cleaned in these machines? This would be another area to check.... Also, there could be small differences in the tape path alignments, perhaps the control/audio head alignment is slightly different between the 2 machines.

Does it do so on all tapes? It sounds like you are experiencing a tracking or tape path problem. You might try taking the top cover off, then cleaning the video head. Info is available on the 'net on how to do this. If problem remains, play a tape and see it is wandering up/down across video head. See if any of the tape guides are broken or bent, causing tape wandering. you may also have a problem in the electronics, perhaps in the servo circuitry, which has to do with careful control of tape speed, video head rotational speed, and certain other parameters. If electronics are bad, then VCR is likely a tosser, unless it is a high $ rig. Most electronics are disposable these days, unfortunately.