sometimes it is the price of the tape player....I'm really NOT trying to be flip...the expensive ones often have better adjustment and tracking mechanisms....BUT I have seen very good ones eat a tape after a few years, for just the reasons described above. (I have a top-of-the-line Sony VCR (VHS)which ran perfectly for 7 years that JUST started grabbing and chewing...*sigh*...(though, the even older BETA VCR is still chugging happily along!)