My vcr plays commercially-recorded tapes fine, but tapes recorded on it or another VCR play with the sound distorted. The picture seems fine.

The only real cure will be to clean the video head. If that doesn't work then I'm afraid that whatever recorded you EP mode tape was not set up well tracking wise. So other machines struggle to track the tape. Some VCR's will only playback SP or LP tapes and don't have EP mode. In which case you should check to see if these VCR's can play the EP tape and if they can't find one that can.

Do you have a tracking control on the
vcr if you do it should be centered during
record It can be adjusted during playback
to clear up the picture adjust it for the best
picture

If you dont have a tracking control on the
vcr then it may require a mechanical adjustment
of the backtension or guidepost which requires
special tools to perform

The tracking needs to be adjusted. Sometimes it's a knob on the VCR, and sometimes it's a control on the remote. Adjust it for the best picture, and the sound shoud be restored.
Good luck, and hope this helps..

Several things.
Check the tape, by opening the cover, to see if the tape is damaged. Look for signs of crinkling at the edges. This is often caused by the roller being worn on one of the VCR.
If it's damaged there's not a lot you can do.
If there's no damage try taking it out of the cassette box and fitting it in a new 'good make' blank tape tape box, discard the new tape in it. Still no good?
Next step, is the tape a movie/tv made by a commercial company. Or a recording on a blank tape?
Did it ever play? (if a movie) if not suspect a pirate tape report seller to FACT.
If a blank tape, try recording on a blank section. If that doesn't work and your video will record on other blank tapes. The tape has something wrong with it.
Some video recorders will play tapes with bad problems IE bad tracking, that others refuse to play, but you will either have to find one owned by a friend or buy one with that claim.

I would try to clean the heads. Before I do anything else. You can buy a good head cleaner at Wal-Mart! Good luck with this.

This may be a bit late but I just ran across these posts. All these problems can be caused by bad tapes. Commercially-made tapes will usually play properly. But home recorded tapes, or very worn tapes, may not play back properly in every VCR. If the VCR isn't getting the right information off the tape for proper playback, it's muting the sound and the screen so you don't see any snow. It's also possible that the VCR heads already need a cleaning. It takes just one worn-out or defective tape to clog up the heads and cause the "no picture" problem, although in this case sound isn't usually affected.

Check your "tracking" If the tape played fine in the old machine, then tracking is the answer, provided that the new machine records good.

Dirty heads or the recording was from a different brand VCR and the Panasonic cant get the right tracking. Try manual tracking just a little in either direction to you get the right one.

Hey do the tapes play at all? sometimes some tapes recorded
on other machines won't play on others. maybe you need to adjust the tracking on the VCR you are playing it on. If the tape
was recorded on a VCR that is misaligned it might not play back
on another VCR. Also the tape may have been recorded on a
super VHS VCR in et (extended definition) mode if so they won't play on just any VCR. If the picture looks scrambled like a
premium channel on analog cable then it's probably recorded in et.
and if its recorded on super VHS tape it may eject out of your VCR.
They don't make these S-VHS vcrs anymore but people still
have them around. There is also Digital VHS they're not
compatible with VHS either. A VHS recorded in et mode will
play on some more expensive vcrs it should say so on the box
or instructions.

The VHS cleaning cassette possibly deposited fiber in the heads in the drum. You may need to open the cabin and examine the heads and the mechanism for foreign matterial.