Sucky pants

So I have tonight and most of tomorrow to myself while Toru and his brother do geeky stuff, hence it was the perfect opportunity to convert a pile of stuff from VHS to DVD. All was going well and then I put in one video and all I get is a black screen. After a short while I decide the video is totally gone and oh well I'll live. So I move onto the next one and the screen is still black. So I put in one of the newest videos I have, just to be sure, and same thing. I have sound though? It doesn't matter whether I have the VCR going straight to the TV or through the DVD recorder.

So sucky pants!! It's already going to take me forever to convert stuff and now the VCR won't work properly.

Oddly enough I can still have tv going through the VCR fine. Maybe the heads need cleaning? But then why is there sound????

*edit*

Okay taken from Netguide.co.nz
"WARNING: Depending on age and how well they’ve been stored, some of your VHS tapes may have deteriorated to the point where they are unplayable. The metal oxide on the tape surface detaches with age or damp storage, and may clog the playback head of your VCR You’ll know if you get sound but no picture. Cleaning this gunk from the head may be a professional job, and therefore costly. Before playing tapes, look through the window in the top of the cassette. If a white mould-like substance appears on the tape, it’s probably unplayable."

I don't remember seeing mould? And I had other videos play in there that were older than that one :( I want to cry... I guess I'll be going for a long walk tomorrow to find a tape cleaner - that is, if anyone still sells them