I'm just now getting caught back on on the thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by B 4204 T3
The tape that I played a few days ago is a newer Sony T-120 VHS video cassette manufactured some time back in the mid-to-late 2000s, which was recorded at SLP, approximately ten years ago. It was not recorded on this VCR. While I was playing it, I frequently had to adjust the tracking knob. Most of the time, I just keep the tracking knob in the midrange position, which is the spot where it clicks when it gets turned, but when I played the tape in this position, there was a lot of static in the picture, and it was only clear when I moved the tracking knob all the way in either direction. The studio-made movies play fine with the tracking knob in the customary midrange position.
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In my opinion this does not describe a problem. The tracking control is there to provide compatibility from one machine to another. I will practically guarantee you that you won't be able to record a tape on a factory aligned Hitachi VCR and play it back on a factory aligned Panasonic (and vs. versa) with moving the tracking control to some point slightly off center- this was always my experience. It was so consistent that, back in the day, I knew how far and which direction to turn a Panasonic's tracking control before I ever played a test tape recorded on a Hitachi. This is totally normal.
What I was describing in terms of "reference standard" was a complete inability to properly play back a tape regardless of speed or the setting of the tracking control, not just a centering of the tracking control.