[mitch101]

Can anyone tell me if this problem is repairable?

This has suddenly happened for no apparent reason. The cam can play footage already stored on mini DV but when cam is set to standby or record, the display through the viewfinder and the LCD is distored (see pic) - like two rows of vertical lines.

I tried resetting to back to factory settings and searched through the trouble shooting section of the manual.
Does this mean the lens is damaged? Would it be worth paying for repair? The cam cost £175 two years ago.

[redsox_mark]

It sounds like the defective CCD problem.
Some details here
http://www.imaging-resource.com/badccds.html
HC14 is one of the affected models.

Note Sony was offering free repairs up to October (2007). It might still be worth conacting Sony and see if they will do anything for you.