LPDetective

I(we) have received a lot of help here, thanks. We are looking into both getting the heads cleaned as well as using newer tapes. It is true that we only save the tapes for thirty days and have been recycling them for over two years now. We have never encountered any problems with that tapes on the standard VCRs we use, but if the Time Lapse VCR is more demanding on the hardware then it makes sense that our tapes could be the problem.

I am a Loss Prevention Detective, though I am not at liberty to disclose where I work. We are currently having playback problems with our Time Lapse VCR. Our CCTV system is out dated, but we have managed to work successfully with it for several years. We recently added a multiplexer (MV99p Multivision PRO) and a Time Lapse VCR (Sensormatic RV2400) to set-up to reduce the number of VCRs and tapes we use. The system is used and was procurred from another store. We have seven stationary B&W cameras hooked into the multiplexer and the Time Lapse VCR is recording device for it. Because of the Time Lapse VCR, whenever we need to review any footage of from this set-up, we must use the Time Lapse VCR for playback. Now, the problem: When we review our VCR footage, the Time Lapse VCR is not giving us playback. Upon inspection, it was revealed that the system is recording, and we can view playback on the settings L06, L12, and L24. (We record on the setting L24 to get 24 hour footage from each T-120 tape... or 34 hours from a T-160.) However, through the use of the Multiplexer, we can view all 7 at once, or an individual camera, and when we view an individual camera the playback is further restricted to L12 and L24. This system was installed by me in early June and we have not had any problems. This current issue began Friday, August 17th to our knowledge. We have not yet checked through older tapes to see if it was a problem before then but we are checking it. Incidently, Friday we had a power surge cause our whole CCTV system to blink out for a brief instant. Two more surges occured on Saturday, the following day. We have checked and all of the system's plugs and cords are securely installed, but we have not performed a master reset yet. We do plan to do this, after having read a few other help requests on this and other sites, but if that does not help, can anyone here help?

Legality and licensing are not the issue here. There is no concern for the legality of the situation. The work that I(we) and my team is within our legal ability. As much as a new system would be nice, and yes I(we) are aware that digital is better, that is not an option as it is not our decision to make. Management decides what we have access to and when we upgrade. Anyways, the multiplexer is not the problem either. I(we) know that it must be used for playback and the reasons why. Likewise, I(we) know that the Time Lapse VCR must be used for playback and we recognize the reasons why. The problem is that the video during playback is complete static, and after manually adjusting Tracking, V-Lock, and Time Mode, we are able to view the image(s) but with reduced options. Normally we have access to 4 Time Mode options (L02, L06, L12, and L24). Normally the autotracking works, and normally the video playback appears immediately after pressing play. Now, however, the tracking and time mode need to be manually adjusted and are limited in scope, and the playback does not occur without adjusting settings on both the Multiplexer and the Time Lapse VCR. In fact, the adjustments needed have thus far been nothing but random switching between single image and multi image while reseting tracking and changing the time mode.