Why do my home theater speakers sound crappy when I record something on my VCR?

Question

When I watch a movie on my Playstation 2 the speakers sound good, no complaints there.

The home theater runs up to the VCR, then the VCR goes up to the TV. So when I watch something on TV I have to turn on the VCR to listen with the home theater. When I have the VCR turned on but not recording, the home theater sounds good. No complaints.

But when I record something on the VCR, the home theater speakers have this steady irritating static type of noise.

It only does this when the VCR is on and I'm watching something on the tape that I recorded. This leads me to believe that the tape could be the problem. The tape is old and cheap. Could that be the problem? Hope this all makes sense. Thanks.

Answer 1

Audio Heads on the VCR might be dirty or have dust. You can clean it with a good VHS Wet Cleaner tape don't use dry as they never work so good.

Answer 2

I suspect your VCR may (and I said may) record in stereo (2 channels) if your lucky but not 5 or 7 channel dolby unless you shelled out a wad when you bought it.  Check your VCR booklet to be sure.

Answer 3

Try a prerecorded VCR tape to see if the static is there. My guess is your record level is too low on your VCR. You will hear more static than sound if that is the case.

Record and playback head may need cleaning or the tape tracking is off center. Yeah this sounds like a VCR tracking issue. Use manual tracking during playback and you'll hear what I'm talking about.

The darker VCR tapes will give you the best audio and video reproduction. If you use the same tape over and over the quality will degrade over time.

Answer 4

DVD, like on the PS2, is a digital medium-and that it never loses quality on multiple viewings.

VHS is a very analog medium-and sucks to begin with.  Old tapes will only get worse.  The fact that your VCR is the center of your sound source is irrelevant.  The real factor here is DVD's, which sound terrific and are capable of carrying 7.1 sound, vs. VHS tapes..capable of stereo streams only.

If DVR is available on your cable service or Dish service, it's the best bet.  If not, DVD recorders are available that will take the place of your VCR.

Hope it helps.