Sony Handycam problem

[freig]

I've got a 10 year old Sony Handycam, up until recently it has been working perfectly. Today I tried to play a couple of tapes & the screen was blank(the tapes aren't blank). I then attempted to record, which it seemed to be doing, went to playback & there was nothing but interference. What could be the problem here?

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by freig

I've got a 10 year old Sony Handycam, up until recently it has been working perfectly. Today I tried to play a couple of tapes & the screen was blank(the tapes aren't blank). I then attempted to record, which it seemed to be doing, went to playback & there was nothing but interference. What could be the problem here?

Obviously one of many things here,you say the screen which one the cams lcd or tv monitor,if the cam will not play on its lcd or a tv from any of the output sockets there is a fairly big problem ie heads shot,try recording a bit and playing it on an other cam if you can.you are lucky in a way my sonys never last 10 years good luck.

[freig]

Thanks for you reply. I played a cassette on the lcd screen & it was blank. I then tried another tape, recorded for a few minutes, played it back but had nothing but interference. Could a head cleaner, or cleaning the heads with alcohol help do you think, or does it sound dead?

[A n d r e w]

If you have AV leads, connect your camcorder to your television set and turn the TV on, making sure you select the AV input.

1. Play an old tape. Is there a picture on your TV?
2. Play the tape you recorded on yesterday. Still getting pictures on your TV?
3. Are you getting audio, too, from both tapes?

Let us know what results you get from these tests. In my opinion, this is highly unlikely to be a dirty heads issue.

Andrew.

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by freig

Thanks for you reply. I played a cassette on the lcd screen & it was blank. I then tried another tape, recorded for a few minutes, played it back but had nothing but interference. Could a head cleaner, or cleaning the heads with alcohol help do you think, or does it sound dead?

try the cam in a tv as i said and the tapes in another cam if possible,a head cleaner possibly but unlikely to help,i have had heads go in 3 years on a mini dv recorder but the picture still plays with a poor quality pictures.If there is a serious fault i would buy a new cam rather than have it repaired.

[freig]

Right, I connected it to the tv/video recorder, still no joy, although the camera itself still works, as I managed to record the camera off of our video recorder. I also got a message appear on the lcd screen that said "cleaning tape". So maybe a head cleaner could do the trick?

[A n d r e w]

If I've understood what you're saying (you connected the Handycam to your VCR and recorded live video onto VHS), it sounds like your problem is:

(1) incredibly dirty heads, or
(2) badly misaligned heads, or
(3) the LCD is dead.

So it's a bit of a no-brainer to try cleaning the heads, don't you think? Especially as the camcorder is begging you to give it a clean (this is assuming that the "cleaning tape" message appeared while there wasn't actually a head-cleaning tape in the transport - otherwise it could be your camcorder simply telling you that the tape you've got in there is not fit for recording on). At least that would either prove or disprove the dirty heads theory . . .

[freig]

I will attempt a head cleaning cassette, as the heads haven't been cleaned in the 9-10 years we've owned it, failing this I think I'll have to admit defeat.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by freig

I will attempt a head cleaning cassette, as the heads haven't been cleaned in the 9-10 years we've owned it, failing this I think I'll have to admit defeat.

If you could post the outcome here that would help others with a similar problem who come across this thread looking for answers.

Good luck.

[freig]

Excellent news, I ran the Sony 8mm Head Cleaner for 10 seconds(as instructed), and it now works perfectly!
Cheers for your support.

[A n d r e w]

How relieved am I that I never said I'd eat my hat if it turned out to be the heads?
Deep down I always knew it was the heads. No, really.

[senu]

Originally Posted by Courtaj

How relieved am I that I never said I'd eat my hat if it turned out to be the heads?
Deep down I always knew it was the heads. No, really.

Yeah right..
Do you have "eatable" hats then? mine would give me a belly ache if I tried ( and I dont have that many too)

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by senu

Do you have "eatable" hats then? mine would give me a belly ache if I tried ( and I dont have that many too)

I only ever buy chocolate hats for this very reason.

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by freig

Excellent news, I ran the Sony 8mm Head Cleaner for 10 seconds(as instructed), and it now works perfectly!
Cheers for your support.

WHy are some people so lucky,glad it worked for you

[stefanop]

hy hello i buy a handycam sony hc53e and i don't have in the box the cd for to take films from my cassett to pc and so on cd , isthere someone that know where i can download for free the picture motion browesr program for this cam? thx a lot i need it so urgently