Lines through tape footage

[rpgedgar]

I had a problem with some of my tapes where I'll be playing them through the camcorder and there will be alternating lines. Either they'll be grayed out or a frame will be paused while the rest of the lines show the footage being played. Is this a problem with the camcorder or my tapes? I know I didn't take the best care of the tapes over the years (some are 6 years old but some are much less) but I never left them in humid places or in sunlight, etc. Any suggestions?

[paglamon]

The camcorder head needs cleaning. Use a head cleaner tape.

[pfloyd]

If cleaning the heads doesnt fix your problem, then, most likely the tapes went bad. I knwo that in regular cassette tapes, after a few years they start to develope drop offs.

[dazuk1972]

I had a problem with some of my tapes where I'll be playing them through the camcorder and there will be alternating lines. Either they'll be grayed out or a frame will be paused while the rest of the lines show the footage being played. Is this a problem with the camcorder or my tapes? I know I didn't take the best care of the tapes over the years (some are 6 years old but some are much less) but I never left them in humid places or in sunlight, etc. Any suggestions?

Ware-and-tear causes lines. Also, are the tapes good makes? Never buy cheap quality tapes to save money because you'll get what you pay for - useless performance.

If you've used the six-year-old tapes a lot through the years ther ware-and-tear thing explains it.