Well, I have a Sony DCR TRV- 120E PAL which has been stocked in a rather humid environment for a few years. Upon retrial, it seemed to lack 1 of its 2 playheads. 2 big bars in my picture, and audio dropping out. Upon seeing your video, I knew where the important connectors were located. Well: I tried the Russian way. Without disassembly of any kind. 2 sharp knuckle sandwiches on the bottom of the device. Where the main connectors are located. And lo and behold: the camcorder is once and again fully functional! Thanx voor your video!
Thank you ! Thank you!. I run a video transfer business and 2 of my machines went down. I was faced with sending them into the repair shop. Your videos identified the problems that I was able to fix and now I'm back on track, and you saved me hundreds of dollars! So awesome! You made my weekend!
So glad I found this video. I have been capturing all my old digital 8 tapes to my computer recently. I have used the head cleaning tape when I started seeing digital "noise" in the recordings with much success. But when my camera stopped playing back completely, I assumed something else had failed. However, after running the head cleaning tape again, I was back in business. Really helpful video.
love your videos! absolutely helped my Sony DCR-TRV140 to clear its playback error after reseating the bottom connectors! Didn't expect your commentary to be as enjoyable and interesting as it was when I first read the video title. Thanks again.
Nice repair, I see lots of these type of camcorders at yard sales, I even bought a few but could never fix them, too complex and small. You have a talent that most people do not have.
I used VHS up until early 2012 when I found a used HI-8 camcorder on Ebay. I loved the "higher" resolution, wow what an improvement! Then in mid-2014, I went with my first HD camcorder, a Panasonic. Two years later in 2016, I upgraded that camcorder to another Panasonic but one with a larger CCD sensor in it for better quality video. Glad this was an easy fix, just a connector.
I was an early adopter of Hi-8. I started out shooting on Beta with the SL2000 and an HVC2400. It wasn't long before I moved to an HVC2800 camera. Then I picked up a DXC1800 and VO4800 3/4" deck. Used that for awhile and then moved up to Beta1 with the SLHF1000 editing package with a GCS1 and BMC1000 camcorder. In 1990 I upgraded to Hi-8 with a CCDV5000, and then added a CCDVX3 3CCD hi-8. Next was an EVW300 ENG type professional Hi8. That was about 95 I think. Used that one for several years. Last professional camera I bought was a JVC GYDV500. Still have that boat anchor, just as a decoration. Doubt it even works anymore. It hasn't been used in years. I also shot on SP betacam, but I got smart. I rented that when I needed it. In 2003 I made my final upgrade, to an HDR FX1 3ccd HDV hi def camera. That was 2003. In 2005 my business partner was diagnosed with cancer, and passed away 3 months later. I pulled the plug on the production company. In 2012 I posted my first youtube video on my new chevy volt, and my first repair video in early 2013. I was shooting them on my old HDV equipment initially, and then upgraded cameras again. Now I shoot with Sony 4K cameras. I have a large sensor AX100 I use for high end videos, and most of you youtube stuff is done with an AX33 mounted over my bench, but I have had a few others as well. I had a JVC that the imager failed on, you can see a few videos shot with that, and they have black marks in the middle of the screen. I believe a laser took that out, and I had a Sony CX220 there for awhile.
Thank you so much for your video 🙏 This method saved our precious childhood memories ! I may have used the wrong product (alcohol 90%) on the connectors pads, but finally worked after several in out plug (for those who don't make it work first time.. don't give up !) Thank you again !❤
Hi, Nice to watch your videos over and over, Your genius and expert way of doing with pleasure is really joyful to watch. Relevant audio commentary worth watching again and again
Smashing, the owner will be happy it's fixed :-D. Black dots often appear on the flat ribbon cable where the pin contacts, and there is always a dip, a clean up fixes it, mostly vcr's in my case. On bad cases i've snipped 1mm off the ribbon to use a different area for the contact. A bit of a bodge but it works :-D
Unfortunately, I first followed the advice of another youtube video in the UK who said that adjusting the tape guides (in/out) would correct a picture with lines in it. I started there. When I went to play an old tape from a Sony D8/Hi-8 in another player Sony D8/Hi-8 player, the video appeared, but had misaligned lines through it and audio was spotty cutting in and out. I drilled holes in the camcorder case so I could adjust them on the fly. By the time I had drilled the holes, and adjusted it slightly, now all I got was a blue screen when I pressed play. I kept messing with the guides to no avail. In searching for how to adjust the guides, I came across 12voltvids - this video. Thanks to your video, I had the confidence (and it was a player given to me for free, I already had the tapes on VHS, but wanted original raw quality which I could get before, so if I ruined it, I was fine) to pull the unit apart (not quite the same one in your video, but Sony's are Sony's it seems). I pulled the unit apart and went straight for the ribbon cables on the bottom of the unit (like 5 of them). I didn't have anti-oxidizer fluid, so I used alcohol pads to wipe the contacts down, let them dry, then reattached them. Rigged the unit back together without screws (to test) and I now had a picture, though lot of square artifacts throughout. Through adjusting the in-guide extensively tightening it down (I guess I loosened it pretty good), and small tightening adjustments to the out guide, I was able to get the unit to play smoothly but I had no audio (through the camcorder - I did get sound through firewire). I took the front lens cover bezel off again, noticed the speaker/infrared/mic ribbon cable had come loose, I reattached it, and now I had sound too. Everything working, lost one screw, it is now back together. THANK YOU for your video!
ISO Guy Thanks. It's always a nice feeling when a piece of vintage tech can be brought back to life. We win some, loose many, especially camcorders. So many were abused. Dropped, rain or salt water and sand getting in.
My camera was not working (playing video) and I was going to go on Ebay and buy a used one. I watched your video and decided to take apart the camera. As soon as I broke it apart I checked to see if that would have re-seated any cables. It worked! Something must have been loose inside there. Thanks, I can now convert my old videos.
Great video and effort. My hobby working on VCR’s turned into doing it for a salary then later iPhones from 4-8 board level SMD, you too I would imagine. I have a TVR730 with the same issue. This video will be very helpful. I amazed you had no issues keeping up with which screw where. The iPhones are a nightmare with this so I made templates. Thank again for the excellent video!
Nope. Did it for 20 years for s living and that was enough. Got out and went to work for the phone / internet / cable company. Just a hobby now and I'm very selective as to what I do. For example I won't work on phones I don't like working on cameras even though I do work on a few they're not my favorite. I stick to cassette decks real to real bcr's some televisions but only plasma I don't really deal with the LED sets much because they're not worth fixing. Most of that stuff is not worth fixing. I don't really make any money doing repairs these days it's all done specifically so that I can do the RUclips videos as that's where I make the money is from the ad revenue although even that's dwindling because so many people block ads and RUclips punishes us for what viewers do. I know it doesn't seem fair but the advertisers don't want to pay for ads that don't get shown and because they don't want to pay for ads that don't get shown we don't get paid for ads that don't get shown unless someone's a RUclips premium subscriber and that's the big picture that's what RUclips wants anyway they want your 15 bucks a month or whatever the hell they're charging to dish up videos with no ads just like Netflix and everybody else. If it wasn't for the RUclips revenue I wouldn't be doing this I'd be enjoying my time off and not tinkering around with electronics.
Thanks to your awesome video, I can quickly repair my DCR-TRV103 camcorder now. The problem was it would not playback analog regular or Hi8 recordings, but D8 playback was fine. Tapping on the bottom of the camcorder during analog 8 playback quickly brought video back. I now know what I need to do to permanently fix the problem. Many thanks!!!!
Years ago when these camcorders were still used by quite a few people for making their RUclips videos, a common "fix" when a camcorder developed a problem was to hit it onto the bottom. So that would have temporarily fixed bad contacts in those connectors on the bottom. I briefly had a DCR-TRV110 camcorder that turned out to be faulty. Pretty sure cleaning those connectors would have fixed it. Back then I thought one of the heads was bad because there were grey stripes in the Digital8 playback so that only half of the picture could be seen. Were the camcorders that had salt water in them even fixable?
DrCassette That's the way we used to fix our old çei280 studio cameras at the TV station I worked at. Man those cameras were dogs. Those were the ones that the chuck berry video I put up was shot on. One of the cameras on that one was acting up on that one. We used to beat the crap out of those cameras to make them work.
I have one of the original Sony Digital8 camcorders, a DCR-TRV103. From about 2000 to 2006 I had to shake, tap, hold just right, etc to record, and playback was even worse. I have about 50 tapes to transfer and was just about to buy one off eBay. Tonight I tore into it and did what you suggested. It works perfect now! Thanks for this video and your others. I have learned a lot.
Appreciate this informative youtube piece. I have a Sony Video 8 Handycam CCD-FX620 purchased sometime around 1996. It had only a small amount of use on several trips. It hasn't been used for over 20 years. It still looks almost new, and the mechanics appear to work well, but like what you show here, there's no image seen in the viewfinder. Infact, it was all snowy, so I purchased a cleaning tape online and ran it. Snow appears to be gone, but the screen is still blank. I have no desire to do what I observed you doing here, prefering to leave it to the professions. I hear what you say about sending Fed Ex, so I want to send it how you recommend from San Jose, CA. Get back to me please and give me instructions how to send and pay for the service. Thanks so much!
Great video! I happen to be one of those guys who keeps his old camera's and doesn't want to buy new ones. I happen to have an old Digital 8! Great Video!!!
I keep my old cameras only because they are not worth anything. I do keep my digital 8 cameras in good working condition as I use them to archive tapes with. I currently have 3 digital 8 cameras that will play 8mm, hi8 and D8 tapes. The newer ones like the one I fixed here were digital 8 only no analog playback, so have lesser value from an archiving standpoint, as there are far more analog tapes out there than digital. I have a couple of HDV cameras as well, which are HD that record on a miniDV tape, and one of those cost a small fortune. I should do a video using my old tape based cameras for a laugh.
Many thanks, I recently acquired an old pc to fit my FireWire card, after a while I managed to get the card recognised and ready to transfer my D8 tapes to my computer. Unfortunately when I tried the Sony Trv320e all I got was a blue screen :-( after watching your repair videos I pulled it apart and cleaned and re seated the ribbon connectors , still nothing , I was convinced it was going to work as it has in a number of your videos. Head cleaning tapes are listed on eBay for around £100. Anyway in one of your vids you suggest using your fingernail to clean the head . OMG your a genius !! It worked I have subscribed to your channel and watching more of your uploads Many thanks Aron
Fingernail trick I learned from the cheif engineer at the TV station I worked at. When a head clogs on air you don't have time to rewind the tape and remove it to clean the heads, thread it up again and wind back to where it clogged. You just use the fingernail on the back of the tape. Sure you will scratch the tape slightly and cause a future drop out but if the tape clogged the head in the first place the tape is probably worn out and needs replacing anyway.
Great video! Very informative. I have a Sony Video 8 Camcorder that I just bought a transfer kit for but there is no video, only audio coming through. If I fast forward or rewind the video I can see some video come through, though. Do you think cleaning the head might be enough to resolve the problem? Thanks!
thanks, you saved me! ytd i encountered the exact same problem - it played perfectly fine but then i restarted them vcr and played, nothing showed. i thought it erased the tape as i rewinded it before turning it off. gotta fix it later by myself, thanks again.
I discovered your channel a few days ago and already learned a ton, thanks! I could not find a solution for my problem. It seems common, I already had two camcorders with the exact same problem. Both Sony Digital8. During playback on the lcd I see 2 or 3 thick horizontal grey bars. In between the bars perfect video of the same thickness. No other distortions. Now here is the miracle: after recording a few seconds, the problem disappears completely. Perfect video playback with all tapes. Until a few days later when the problem reappears. I found other people on the internet with the exact same issue. However no real solution. What do you think? Again those damned edge connectors? Or could it be the power switch because that was the only thing I moved? Or??
God I wish I had a tenner for every one of those that I sold all those years ago! In fairness, they were pretty solid performers and we only really ever saw them come back when the user had done something silly with them (usually took them onto the beach and they were filled full of sand!) - and this applied to all Sony cameras of that era, as they were generally really good.
Awesome video thanks for posting ! I have one like this TRV37 ,Everything works i can watch my prerecorded videos on it . But i don't get no screen display if i choose to record something just sound Any suggestions ? Is their a how to video i can watch and get this baby going again ??
Thanks for the video . Searching and got here because of my Sony CCD-TR101 analogue Hi8 from 1989 . I got the tape transfer bug. a bit too late.... Tried video capture by USB and into a Pioneer DVR RCA input. The first few tapes (all Sony P and ME) played decently but now there is a white band of video noise (side to side) on any tape played. Is that from the Sony metal tape bleed? My Video noise didn't look like what you showed your the other RUclips video. No luck using the cleaning tape so far. The S-VHS output also doesn't send video, maybe that's the ribbon rot? There was no video signal received through the USB adapter and DVR S-VHS .
Thank you for understanding the precision time being lost to preserve old memories! I'm doing the same... I have a camcorder that will start to playback (or Rewind) but will stop after 1 second and tell me to eject the tape... Any idea where I can trouble shoot first? Thanks and take care!
Unfortunately this procedure did not work on my DCR-TRV340. Only has video when recording to memory card. Would you help me? Congratulations on the video
I believe that this machine is lost, here in Brazil almost nobody else fixes, and the few technicians charge very expensive. I'm not a technician, so I can only cry.
I love seeing you fix camcorders! I'm currently sat here with 2 sony ccd tr 8mm that both won't eject. Do you have a video that shows how to fix this problem? Thank you
You did mention that a abrasive kinda material is needed to clean the heads of DV and V8 aka "cleaning tape". Do you reckon your method of using the back part of the nail (which you tried in one of your vids) will work more effectively than a cleaning tape?
Good Afternoon, got a couple questions whats the difference between high 8 and digital 8. Also you know where I can get the monitor to be replaced the monitor on mine’s cracked and only shows picture where there’s no cracks. By any chance you know what monitor is for the 310 same as yours
I seem to have slow play back on mine, like the motor is really slow. But it seems fast forward and rewind with power. But when I do playback, I get the blue screen, a display hud. But no picture. Let me know if u got any recommendations. Thanks for the video , im much smarter then I was without it.
Thanks for the information. Would this also apply if analog-only playback were affected? I seem to remember reading/hearing years ago that the head contained separate electronics for D8/Hi-8 playback. My unit is having trouble with analog playback only.
I have a similar Handycam which playback buttoms have stopped responding and lighting up and also the zoom is "stuck" to wide, so it doesn't despond when I try to zoom back. Any idea of what the problem may be? I think it could be a connector but I'm not sure.
Having similar problem. I can playback and transfer tapes, but I still get a blue screen, no picture/ videos and no playback time so I’d know when to pause. What do you suggest?
Hey man great video I had a quick question. So with my camcorder its almost the exact same model as this one that you have here. Mine will only show video when its being fast forwarded or rewinded. When its in play it plays for a sec or 2 then it goes blue. Any ideas I could try?
Hello - Just watched your awesome video. I have some family Digital 8mm, and Hi8 and 8mm analog tapes that I want to transfer to DVD's Have done some of the analog tapes with my old Sharp Camcorder and Roxio but purchased a Sony DCR trv240 that keeps giving me error code C31:23. Won't play any tapes. I have not tried recording - assuming transport not working for either playback or record. Are you still in the repair era for these? Thank
I have a Sony DCR-TRV350. The tapes load and play but i cannot get output to either the viewfinder or eyepiece in the camera mode. I just get a blue screen Could this be due to dirty heads or something mechanical?
Hi there, inspired by your video I have done what you advise and cleaned the ribbon cable connections. Unfortunately it still does not play back recordings. I still just get the blue screen. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Curious is to what one should replace this camera with if one needs to buy a new unit. SOmeting with the same quality of filming/recording. My 2004 unit I love but think it time to update?
Wow great video....you are the master on these recorders...need your help...I purchased a Panasonic PV-GS31 Mini DV Camcorder from a yard sale, tested it worked fine, sold it right away on eBay (must be high demand), the buyer sent it back due to problems he was having. After receiving the camera back I found out the problem when the tape is inserted it will not move 2 seconds later the camera message to "press reset button" when I take the tape out its partly out of the cassette head about 2 inches...easy to rewind with fingers...Tried cleaning what I can be reached with Q-tip no help...tried new tapes, no difference. Everything else works fine on this camera...is this worth fixing? Please help! Thanks...
I've a Sony CCD TR517 (Hi8 Analog) myself. Was hoping to pull our old family videos off some tapes onto the computer. The unit was working perfectly up till recently. Turns out, the tape control buttons stopped working. I traced the problem to a ripped ribbon cable that leads up to the tape control panel. Was wondering on advice, if I should attempt to do a solder repair or just get a replacement, maybe from a parts camera ordered online? And ya.. I'm with you about how expensive it is living out here.
Good luck finding the control block as they call it. Get a universal remote control. All 8mm cameras use the sony VTR2 mode. Sony only used 3 VTR control codes. VTR 1 was for beta, VTR2 for 8mm and VTR3 for VHS. I have one that the buttons don'r work properly on as well and I just use a remote to operate.
Kind of why I was thinking to get a whole camcorder, even as a parts only thing, rather than a specific part. Far as I can tell, my version of the camcorder didn't have a remote for it. The closest thing I found was a LANC port right next to the eject switch. The manual mentions its some kind of connection to other video equipment?
@@Jimfoxyboy Lanc was for the wired remote control. I actually have the programming remote to set the camera up. A parts unit will work if you can get one cheap.
I have a cam corder it’s a Sony handycam vision CCD-TRV67E Hi 8 cam, the tapes are working and stuff but the picture won’t come it’s just exactly the same as yours the blue picture keeps showing. Never had a problem like this before. Trying to watch old videos back
I learned a lot from your videos and I see you made lots of videos and probably digitalized also lots of them. A question about it: I have ± 100 D8 tapes to digitalise with a TRV 240E. Is there a way to prepare the tapes the best in order not to run to problems of clogged heads or other problems? After digitalising a few tapes my Sony has a clogged head and playback doesn't work anymore then. With your tips I could 'repair' it always. But how to prepare the tapes? Rewind en Fastforward them a few times? There is no mould on the tapes, so that is not the problem.
Remember that ff and rewind are fully loaded so if a tape is going to shed and clogged head it will do it on fast forward rewind just as quickly as well on play so no there's no way to prep the tape you play them you take your chances if the head is going to clog it's going to clog I've had tapes that have been digitizing that I've had to stop every 5 to 10 minutes and clean the heads again and what I'm doing that for a client that gets really expensive when I have to clean the heads multiple times. Unfortunately some brands of 8 mm tape just do not hold up well even without mold. When you get moldy tapes that's completely different because the tapes usually will break and they have to be demolded which is another very time-consuming process
@@12voltvids Thank you for your clear response! You said: " Unfortunately some brands of 8 mm tape just do not hold up well..." Which type of brands do not hold up well in your experience? I mainly have used Sony D8 tapes and TDK D8 tapes ...
@@stefankestens432 the tape that I've had the most trouble with is the Sony MP High tape especially the hmpx professional tape I'm just trying to play one right now to archive and I've had to stop to clean the heads three times over the course of about 35 minutes and there's no mold on these tapes mold is a completely different issue this is just binder failure causing the heads to clog while the tape is being played. Mind you these tapes are 24 years old so that's to be expected I guess
Hey! i have a sony DCR TRV 740 and when i enter a tape it shows the symbol that there is no tape inside but i am able to record and get no playbacks. is there any way i can personally dm you or send in my camera because i need this to finish shooting this film i’ve been working on !!
Thanks to two that have gone bad on me, I bought a third one that has a problem with the analog video output. The very first one that I bought in 2004 the closing mechanism pops back up and blue screen. The second one that I bought on e-bay about 5 years ago allowed me to digitize about 20 tapes that I had and then it has tearing video and cutting out audio. I tried cleaning the heads with cleaning tape and I tried using alcohol as well and nothing helps that one. The third one I had to load it onto an old XP machine with a Firewire card from when I had my other XP machine that has bad capacitors on the motherboard of the computer that I built in 2004. That's the one that the analog video didn't work, but I'm not necessarily complaing about that. I did have it clog and I can't find my cleaning tape so I cleaned it with alcohol and it seems to be working OK after that. This is great, but everything is so small and my hands have some serious arthritis in it now.
Thanks. I have a Canon E708 that is acting up. Digitized 4 tapes then audio played but video with horizontal lines. Played back the first tape I digitized successfully but didn’t play back well. I’ll update you 👍
While the resolution was crappy compared to today’s standards, it was probably pretty good for it’s time. Late 1990s or early 2000s digital video was standard definition, maxing out around 720x480 interlaced.
Stephen Hinkle The tape format was fine. The problem was Sony put shitty ccd sensors on the digital 8 cameras in an effort to upsell to DV. A good dv camera will record 720 x 480. The digital 8 uses the same digital frame resolution but the camera was typically a 300k sensor. DV cameras of the day has 680k sensors. So digital 8 struggled with about 250tv lines whereas DC did 500.
12voltvids interesting. 720x480 = 345,600 pixels. Maybe the more professional grade models used higher resolution CCDs and down scanned it leading to less noise and a higher quality image by starting from a higher resolution than the tape.
Stephen Hinkle You are forgetting that they still need to make color. You need cyan magenta and yellow filters on the ccd to produce your rgb picture. So by the time you process the image you are ending up at 720x480 lumanence plus your color signal. On dv and digital 8 that wasn't the best as they encoded 4:1:1 for the color sub sampling. Plus these cameras used digital stabilization which means the image is cropped out of the full image so digitally they can change crop window to reduce camera shake. When you start with a ccd that barely spits out the required bandwidth and then it has to be processed you loose a ton of quality. I should do a demo showing quality captured from analog hi8 vs digital 8 from 2 different digital 8 cameras to dv from a professional 3ccd dv camera vs a consumer single chip dv camera. You will definately notice far more ailiazing around diagonal lines on the image from the digital 8 camera. I don't even need to record it to tape. I could direct capture from the camera and you would see a huge difference.
@12voltvids i just found my old trv318 ntsc and it only plays about 2 seconds of video then it tells me to remove tape.... I open the tape clise it again and same thing.... tries on multiple tapes.... is it worth trying to fix or should I save my money and buy a new one??
Can you also clean the head for V8/mini dv camcorders just like you would with a vhs one? If a mini dv playback has those grey squares keep popping up and sometimes disappearing after a while, in your experience what would you diagnose the problem as? (e.g. bad tape - fungus,etc... or cam problem - head/connectors)
for DV 8mm and DAT it is recommended to use a dry type cleaner tape. These use metal tapes and the metal does not dissolve in solvent like oxide tapes do. It needs to literally be ground off the head with an abrasive cleaner tape.
@@12voltvids Thanks a bunch! Quite surprised with the quick reply. Not trying to sound rude but you don't seem to be catching any sleep and hockey season hasnt started yet. :D Would you be ok if I loaded some vids for you to see and pick your brain for a bit?
I have one for you to try your magic on! If you couldn't repair it I would be willing to take an offer for parts that might be someone else's blessing!!!
Thanks for uploading this fix! I have a Sony Hi8 Handycam with the same issue. Could I possibly ask for your expertise in fixing it? Please let me know your rates or if you have a website! Thank you!
Hello Dave, i have a similar problem with a Sony TRV7E. After turning it on is just beeps and shows blue screen. That happens in all modes. Buttons are not working, there is no menu, no errors, the cassette is not ejecting. I cannot go into self diagnostic mode either. It seems like a software issue. Can you give me some hints where to start? Is it possible a stuck button to be causing this? Thank you in advance.
I have a Cannon ZR200. I often don't get any sound during playback. Sometimes I do get sound. I've tried using a head cleaner but that didn't help. What could I try? The video picture is ok.
Heads won't cause sound as the same heads are used for the video. 8 mm cameras record the sound as a separate FM carrier from the picture, the problem is your sound bar is going bad capacitors are failing.
mine still plays (there are image and sound), but it is stuttering/tearing the image-sound (tried with 10 tapes, no apparent damage or mold in any of them), could it be a mechanical problem or could the flat cables be the cause as well?
Can you make a video on how to pull the tape in and out of the board connectors? I think I can fix my Sony TR880 but don't want to break the tape or connector.
Hi, we have a 2008 Sony HandyCam DCR-HC62, the door doesn't close so we can't watch years of cassette recordings. Getting error code: C:32:11. Do you think you can help? Thanks.
My D8 camera video head is grinding against the inner small flap of Hi8 tapes. It plays fine but makes grinding noise. The friction on the video head probably will cause some video hiccups over a 90mins playback. Hope you'll encounter such a problem and post a repair video.
I have this same camera and the same problem. Is there a digital 8 cassette? I notice that mine are labeled Hi8. Does this mean I can play back tapes Hi8 tapes recorded on my digital camcorder, Sony DCRTRV130? Thanks Mike
Digital 8 cameras used 8mm or hi8 tape and recorded a digital signal in the same space as the analog signal in 8mm and hi8. Most digital 8 cameras will playback analog 8mm and hi8 tapes but not all. The format was originally launched as a way for 8 mm and high 8 users to upgrade to digital while still maintaining playback capabilities of their analog Library. This was a selling feature allowing people to move forward to digital and still be able to play their old tapes such as those made on a camera that was damaged and not repairable.in the later years of the digital eight format Sony and others released digital only camcorders without analog playback capabilities and these became entry level camcorders for people wanting camcorders but not wanting to spend the money required to get into mini DV.the digital eight without analog playback were marketed to new customers that had never had a camcorder before and did not need analog playback they could offer them at a lower cost.
Dose any one know where you could send in cameras for repair? Also have the playback problem wit a CCD-TRV13E but would prefer too send it to a proffesional. Live in Europe but have no problem too send it too the US or outher continents.
@@LaurelGeek I did it now close the camara and the tape don't want to inject or closed. I did not touch that side , know what could have done wrong ? And didn't touch that side.
I have a Sony DCR-TRV11 I barely let hit the ground while picking up toys for my son.. The camera never came back on. What do you think it could be? It was a bummer, I had just brought it for 80 bucks off of ebay. Thanks in advance..
@@12voltvids Cool.. Have to get through summer activities(money spent), then I would send you one camera at a time. How much do u charge off the top, just for looking & diagnosing? Where can I find your info.?
The keypad issue you discuss at 21:30 is a problem I am experiencing with my camcorder. Unfortunately none of the buttons seem to work, occasionally I can get it fast forward. Is there any fix or am I out of luck?
The flex cable that connects the control switch block to the main board is probably what's causing the problems. These goes bad quite often. Unfortunately there're no parts available anymore. You have to replace the whole block. Your best bet is to find a non working unit with the same part and install it on your camcorder. Or use a remote for playback.
I haven't done much work on any moni DV cameras. Only the old DCR-VX1000 as I had a customer that kept getting his wet. Paid thousands over the years fixing it. Had to change the main board once, 650 just for the part.
Sir I need your help with my camera, i got the same model and its faulty. It's either not reading the tape or the casette trap door remains stuck with the tape inside, what could be the problem?
Those video8, hi8 and digital8 cameras don't get the heads cleaned the same way a VHS-C camcorder or VCR would? Is it bad to clean them the same way? Paper and isopropyl alcahol?
They use a metal tape. When the heads clog alcohol isn't going to do squat to clean them. Dry cleaning tape, plastic cleaning wheel or fingernail is the only way.
I'm having a problem on my TRV-140 where video plays for a few seconds then cuts out, but you can still see the images when fast forwarding. Tapping on the camcorder gets the video to come back on sometimes, but video goes out in the same manner. What's your car talk diagnosis?
The alignment was it! The alignment screws had worked loose and adjusting them back down while a tape was playing fixed it right up. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction
I have this exact camera and mine won't stay closed when I put in the tape. Any ideas how to fix this. I am located in Canada so might be too expensive to ship and have repaired
Would this work if my camera is not playing back or recording? I tried a tape in it and it won’t record or play back the tape. We tried a tape that already had something on it and it wouldn’t play it either. Would love to try this but wondering if it’s the same fix? Thanks :)
@@em-xi8fk there are only one type. They are dry type tapes. Sony made them. I have no idea where you can buy them now because they havent made them for years. You are probably going to pay the price as hoarders buy out old stock on clearence for diet cheap when stores are blowing them out and then sell them for what they can get
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Well, I have a Sony DCR TRV- 120E PAL which has been stocked in a rather humid environment for a few years. Upon retrial, it seemed to lack 1 of its 2 playheads.
2 big bars in my picture, and audio dropping out.
Upon seeing your video, I knew where the important connectors were located.
Well: I tried the Russian way. Without disassembly of any kind.
2 sharp knuckle sandwiches on the bottom of the device. Where the main connectors are located. And lo and behold: the camcorder is once and again fully functional!
Thanx voor your video!
Thank you ! Thank you!. I run a video transfer business and 2 of my machines went down. I was faced with sending them into the repair shop. Your videos identified the problems that I was able to fix and now I'm back on track, and you saved me hundreds of dollars! So awesome! You made my weekend!
2 things, you are a genius, and you are blessed person for sharing your knowledge , no words to thank you enough! ;)
So glad I found this video. I have been capturing all my old digital 8 tapes to my computer recently. I have used the head cleaning tape when I started seeing digital "noise" in the recordings with much success. But when my camera stopped playing back completely, I assumed something else had failed. However, after running the head cleaning tape again, I was back in business. Really helpful video.
love your videos! absolutely helped my Sony DCR-TRV140 to clear its playback error after reseating the bottom connectors! Didn't expect your commentary to be as enjoyable and interesting as it was when I first read the video title. Thanks again.
Nice repair, I see lots of these type of camcorders at yard sales, I even bought a few but could never fix them, too complex and small.
You have a talent that most people do not have.
old64goat
Yes and I used to hate fixing them when i did this for a living.
I used VHS up until early 2012 when I found a used HI-8 camcorder on Ebay. I loved the "higher" resolution, wow what an improvement! Then in mid-2014, I went with my first HD camcorder, a Panasonic. Two years later in 2016, I upgraded that camcorder to another Panasonic but one with a larger CCD sensor in it for better quality video. Glad this was an easy fix, just a connector.
I was an early adopter of Hi-8.
I started out shooting on Beta with the SL2000 and an HVC2400. It wasn't long before I moved to an HVC2800 camera. Then I picked up a DXC1800 and VO4800 3/4" deck. Used that for awhile and then moved up to Beta1 with the SLHF1000 editing package with a GCS1 and BMC1000 camcorder. In 1990 I upgraded to Hi-8 with a CCDV5000, and then added a CCDVX3 3CCD hi-8. Next was an EVW300 ENG type professional Hi8. That was about 95 I think. Used that one for several years. Last professional camera I bought was a JVC GYDV500. Still have that boat anchor, just as a decoration. Doubt it even works anymore. It hasn't been used in years. I also shot on SP betacam, but I got smart. I rented that when I needed it. In 2003 I made my final upgrade, to an HDR FX1 3ccd HDV hi def camera. That was 2003. In 2005 my business partner was diagnosed with cancer, and passed away 3 months later. I pulled the plug on the production company. In 2012 I posted my first youtube video on my new chevy volt, and my first repair video in early 2013. I was shooting them on my old HDV equipment initially, and then upgraded cameras again. Now I shoot with Sony 4K cameras. I have a large sensor AX100 I use for high end videos, and most of you youtube stuff is done with an AX33 mounted over my bench, but I have had a few others as well. I had a JVC that the imager failed on, you can see a few videos shot with that, and they have black marks in the middle of the screen. I believe a laser took that out, and I had a Sony CX220 there for awhile.
Thank you so much for your video 🙏 This method saved our precious childhood memories !
I may have used the wrong product (alcohol 90%) on the connectors pads, but finally worked after several in out plug (for those who don't make it work first time.. don't give up !)
Thank you again !❤
Hi, Nice to watch your videos over and over, Your genius and expert way of doing with pleasure is really joyful to watch. Relevant audio commentary worth watching again and again
Smashing, the owner will be happy it's fixed :-D.
Black dots often appear on the flat ribbon cable where the pin contacts, and there is always a dip, a clean up fixes it, mostly vcr's in my case.
On bad cases i've snipped 1mm off the ribbon to use a different area for the contact.
A bit of a bodge but it works :-D
I am so happy you put this video out. I was able to fix my old VCR now I can get my videos. Thanks.
This fix worked like a charm. I can’t thank you enough. 🙏
Nice to see some one with the skills and knowledge.
Unfortunately, I first followed the advice of another youtube video in the UK who said that adjusting the tape guides (in/out) would correct a picture with lines in it. I started there. When I went to play an old tape from a Sony D8/Hi-8 in another player Sony D8/Hi-8 player, the video appeared, but had misaligned lines through it and audio was spotty cutting in and out. I drilled holes in the camcorder case so I could adjust them on the fly. By the time I had drilled the holes, and adjusted it slightly, now all I got was a blue screen when I pressed play. I kept messing with the guides to no avail. In searching for how to adjust the guides, I came across 12voltvids - this video. Thanks to your video, I had the confidence (and it was a player given to me for free, I already had the tapes on VHS, but wanted original raw quality which I could get before, so if I ruined it, I was fine) to pull the unit apart (not quite the same one in your video, but Sony's are Sony's it seems). I pulled the unit apart and went straight for the ribbon cables on the bottom of the unit (like 5 of them). I didn't have anti-oxidizer fluid, so I used alcohol pads to wipe the contacts down, let them dry, then reattached them. Rigged the unit back together without screws (to test) and I now had a picture, though lot of square artifacts throughout. Through adjusting the in-guide extensively tightening it down (I guess I loosened it pretty good), and small tightening adjustments to the out guide, I was able to get the unit to play smoothly but I had no audio (through the camcorder - I did get sound through firewire). I took the front lens cover bezel off again, noticed the speaker/infrared/mic ribbon cable had come loose, I reattached it, and now I had sound too. Everything working, lost one screw, it is now back together. THANK YOU for your video!
Cool vid, only to have your skills and experience, thanks for the repair vid.
ISO Guy
Thanks. It's always a nice feeling when a piece of vintage tech can be brought back to life. We win some, loose many, especially camcorders. So many were abused. Dropped, rain or salt water and sand getting in.
Thank you for this. You saved me so much $$$$ in paying for repairs or buying equipment. Just fixed 2x digital8 camcorders this way. You are the best!
My camera was not working (playing video) and I was going to go on Ebay and buy a used one. I watched your video and decided to take apart the camera. As soon as I broke it apart I checked to see if that would have re-seated any cables. It worked! Something must have been loose inside there. Thanks, I can now convert my old videos.
Great video and effort. My hobby working on VCR’s turned into doing it for a salary then later iPhones from 4-8 board level SMD, you too I would imagine. I have a TVR730 with the same issue. This video will be very helpful. I amazed you had no issues keeping up with which screw where. The iPhones are a nightmare with this so I made templates. Thank again for the excellent video!
Nope. Did it for 20 years for s living and that was enough. Got out and went to work for the phone / internet / cable company. Just a hobby now and I'm very selective as to what I do. For example I won't work on phones I don't like working on cameras even though I do work on a few they're not my favorite. I stick to cassette decks real to real bcr's some televisions but only plasma I don't really deal with the LED sets much because they're not worth fixing. Most of that stuff is not worth fixing. I don't really make any money doing repairs these days it's all done specifically so that I can do the RUclips videos as that's where I make the money is from the ad revenue although even that's dwindling because so many people block ads and RUclips punishes us for what viewers do. I know it doesn't seem fair but the advertisers don't want to pay for ads that don't get shown and because they don't want to pay for ads that don't get shown we don't get paid for ads that don't get shown unless someone's a RUclips premium subscriber and that's the big picture that's what RUclips wants anyway they want your 15 bucks a month or whatever the hell they're charging to dish up videos with no ads just like Netflix and everybody else. If it wasn't for the RUclips revenue I wouldn't be doing this I'd be enjoying my time off and not tinkering around with electronics.
Thanks to your awesome video, I can quickly repair my DCR-TRV103 camcorder now. The problem was it would not playback analog regular or Hi8 recordings, but D8 playback was fine. Tapping on the bottom of the camcorder during analog 8 playback quickly brought video back. I now know what I need to do to permanently fix the problem. Many thanks!!!!
Years ago when these camcorders were still used by quite a few people for making their RUclips videos, a common "fix" when a camcorder developed a problem was to hit it onto the bottom. So that would have temporarily fixed bad contacts in those connectors on the bottom.
I briefly had a DCR-TRV110 camcorder that turned out to be faulty. Pretty sure cleaning those connectors would have fixed it. Back then I thought one of the heads was bad because there were grey stripes in the Digital8 playback so that only half of the picture could be seen.
Were the camcorders that had salt water in them even fixable?
DrCassette
That's the way we used to fix our old çei280 studio cameras at the TV station I worked at. Man those cameras were dogs. Those were the ones that the chuck berry video I put up was shot on. One of the cameras on that one was acting up on that one. We used to beat the crap out of those cameras to make them work.
I have one of the original Sony Digital8 camcorders, a DCR-TRV103. From about 2000 to 2006 I had to shake, tap, hold just right, etc to record, and playback was even worse. I have about 50 tapes to transfer and was just about to buy one off eBay. Tonight I tore into it and did what you suggested. It works perfect now! Thanks for this video and your others. I have learned a lot.
T Ivy
And I have still managed to score 3 thumbs down
Very common problem on all those Sony camcorders using the A and B mechanism. This one uses the B style.
Appreciate this informative youtube piece. I have a Sony Video 8 Handycam CCD-FX620 purchased sometime around 1996. It had only a small amount of use on several trips.
It hasn't been used for over 20 years. It still looks almost new, and the mechanics appear to work well, but like what you show here, there's no image seen in the viewfinder.
Infact, it was all snowy, so I purchased a cleaning tape online and ran it. Snow appears to be gone, but the screen is still blank. I have no desire to do what I observed you
doing here, prefering to leave it to the professions. I hear what you say about sending Fed Ex, so I want to send it how you recommend from San Jose, CA. Get back to me please and give me instructions how to send and pay for the service. Thanks so much!
Great video! I happen to be one of those guys who keeps his old camera's and doesn't want to buy new ones. I happen to have an old Digital 8! Great Video!!!
I keep my old cameras only because they are not worth anything. I do keep my digital 8 cameras in good working condition as I use them to archive tapes with. I currently have 3 digital 8 cameras that will play 8mm, hi8 and D8 tapes. The newer ones like the one I fixed here were digital 8 only no analog playback, so have lesser value from an archiving standpoint, as there are far more analog tapes out there than digital. I have a couple of HDV cameras as well, which are HD that record on a miniDV tape, and one of those cost a small fortune. I should do a video using my old tape based cameras for a laugh.
Many thanks, I recently acquired an old pc to fit my FireWire card, after a while I managed to get the card recognised and ready to transfer my D8 tapes to my computer.
Unfortunately when I tried the Sony Trv320e all I got was a blue screen :-( after watching your repair videos I pulled it apart and cleaned and re seated the ribbon connectors , still nothing , I was convinced it was going to work as it has in a number of your videos. Head cleaning tapes are listed on eBay for around £100.
Anyway in one of your vids you suggest using your fingernail to clean the head .
OMG your a genius !! It worked
I have subscribed to your channel and watching more of your uploads
Many thanks Aron
Fingernail trick I learned from the cheif engineer at the TV station I worked at. When a head clogs on air you don't have time to rewind the tape and remove it to clean the heads, thread it up again and wind back to where it clogged. You just use the fingernail on the back of the tape. Sure you will scratch the tape slightly and cause a future drop out but if the tape clogged the head in the first place the tape is probably worn out and needs replacing anyway.
Envy of the workbench, rrsrsrsrs Congratulations for the professional dexterity. This guy knows everything!
Great video! Very informative. I have a Sony Video 8 Camcorder that I just bought a transfer kit for but there is no video, only audio coming through. If I fast forward or rewind the video I can see some video come through, though. Do you think cleaning the head might be enough to resolve the problem? Thanks!
thanks, you saved me! ytd i encountered the exact same problem - it played perfectly fine but then i restarted them vcr and played, nothing showed. i thought it erased the tape as i rewinded it before turning it off. gotta fix it later by myself, thanks again.
Excellent job and explanation. Wish you weren't at another continent so I could send you my handycam
Better look into transfering some of our old tapes as well!! Lucky I know someone who does this professionally!
wayne mckinnon
Right and he has the best maintained equipment right.
Media D . Is it? Not sure about the technology/ how to use it etc. I guess I'm still stuck in the "I need a hard or physical object" mentality.
Oh, and Dave... right
Thanks for sending me in the right direction. Unit is showing its recording with picture on monitor , but no playback even on pre-prerecorded videos.
Check for clogged heads and of course the edge connectors.
*Helpful video.....I have the same problem but when it plays I get 3 horizontal solid thick grey lines.....any advise would be appreciated 👍1*
I discovered your channel a few days ago and already learned a ton, thanks!
I could not find a solution for my problem. It seems common, I already had two camcorders with the exact same problem. Both Sony Digital8. During playback on the lcd I see 2 or 3 thick horizontal grey bars. In between the bars perfect video of the same thickness. No other distortions. Now here is the miracle: after recording a few seconds, the problem disappears completely. Perfect video playback with all tapes. Until a few days later when the problem reappears.
I found other people on the internet with the exact same issue. However no real solution.
What do you think? Again those damned edge connectors? Or could it be the power switch because that was the only thing I moved? Or??
God I wish I had a tenner for every one of those that I sold all those years ago! In fairness, they were pretty solid performers and we only really ever saw them come back when the user had done something silly with them (usually took them onto the beach and they were filled full of sand!) - and this applied to all Sony cameras of that era, as they were generally really good.
I repaired literally hundreds of cameras over the years.
Every one of these put 115.00 in the cash register.
Awesome video thanks for posting ! I have one like this TRV37 ,Everything works i can watch my prerecorded videos on it . But i don't get no screen display if i choose to record something just sound Any suggestions ? Is their a how to video i can watch and get this baby going again ??
Thanks for the video . Searching and got here because of my Sony CCD-TR101 analogue Hi8 from 1989 . I got the tape transfer bug. a bit too late....
Tried video capture by USB and into a Pioneer DVR RCA input. The first few tapes (all Sony P and ME) played decently but now there is a white band of video noise (side to side) on any tape played.
Is that from the Sony metal tape bleed? My Video noise didn't look like what you showed your the other RUclips video. No luck using the cleaning tape so far.
The S-VHS output also doesn't send video, maybe that's the ribbon rot? There was no video signal received through the USB adapter and DVR S-VHS .
Thank you for understanding the precision time being lost to preserve old memories! I'm doing the same... I have a camcorder that will start to playback (or Rewind) but will stop after 1 second and tell me to eject the tape... Any idea where I can trouble shoot first? Thanks and take care!
Unfortunately this procedure did not work on my DCR-TRV340. Only has video when recording to memory card. Would you help me? Congratulations on the video
I believe that this machine is lost, here in Brazil almost nobody else fixes, and the few technicians charge very expensive. I'm not a technician, so I can only cry.
I love seeing you fix camcorders! I'm currently sat here with 2 sony ccd tr 8mm that both won't eject. Do you have a video that shows how to fix this problem?
Thank you
You did mention that a abrasive kinda material is needed to clean the heads of DV and V8 aka "cleaning tape".
Do you reckon your method of using the back part of the nail (which you tried in one of your vids) will work more effectively than a cleaning tape?
Good Afternoon, got a couple questions whats the difference between high 8 and digital 8. Also you know where I can get the monitor to be replaced the monitor on mine’s cracked and only shows picture where there’s no cracks. By any chance you know what monitor is for the 310 same as yours
I seem to have slow play back on mine, like the motor is really slow. But it seems fast forward and rewind with power. But when I do playback, I get the blue screen, a display hud. But no picture. Let me know if u got any recommendations. Thanks for the video , im much smarter then I was without it.
2:19 "If he doesn't do the right stuff after a few passes, then you have to look for what's wrong." You can say the same thing about a hockey player.
Hey! quick question are you able to fix the viewfinder lens ? it’s a dcrtrv350
Thanks for the information. Would this also apply if analog-only playback were affected? I seem to remember reading/hearing years ago that the head contained separate electronics for D8/Hi-8 playback. My unit is having trouble with analog playback only.
I have a similar Handycam which playback buttoms have stopped responding and lighting up and also the zoom is "stuck" to wide, so it doesn't despond when I try to zoom back. Any idea of what the problem may be? I think it could be a connector but I'm not sure.
Having similar problem. I can playback and transfer tapes, but I still get a blue screen, no picture/ videos and no playback time so I’d know when to pause. What do you suggest?
Hey man great video I had a quick question. So with my camcorder its almost the exact same model as this one that you have here. Mine will only show video when its being fast forwarded or rewinded. When its in play it plays for a sec or 2 then it goes blue. Any ideas I could try?
Hello - Just watched your awesome video. I have some family Digital 8mm, and Hi8 and 8mm analog tapes that I want to transfer to DVD's Have done some of the analog tapes with my old Sharp Camcorder and Roxio but purchased a Sony DCR trv240 that keeps giving me error code C31:23. Won't play any tapes. I have not tried recording - assuming transport not working for either playback or record. Are you still in the repair era for these? Thank
***** Are you still repairing Sony 8mm Cam Corders - mine won't play the tape ? Please let me know... Thank you
i have a Canon UC9Hi that appears to trap the tape and the door will not close do you have any idea of the problem please
I have a Sony DCR-TRV350. The tapes load and play but i cannot get output to either the viewfinder or eyepiece in the camera mode. I just get a blue screen Could this be due to dirty heads or something mechanical?
Hi there, inspired by your video I have done what you advise and cleaned the ribbon cable connections. Unfortunately it still does not play back recordings. I still just get the blue screen. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I really hope that you still do this because I'm considering sending one in.
Curious is to what one should replace this camera with if one needs to buy a new unit. SOmeting with the same quality of filming/recording. My 2004 unit I love but think it time to update?
Anything that doesn't use tape!
You had to know that was coming.
Wow great video....you are the master on these recorders...need your help...I purchased a Panasonic PV-GS31 Mini DV Camcorder from a yard sale, tested it worked fine, sold it right away on eBay (must be high demand), the buyer sent it back due to problems he was having. After receiving the camera back I found out the problem when the tape is inserted it will not move 2 seconds later the camera message to "press reset button" when I take the tape out its partly out of the cassette head about 2 inches...easy to rewind with fingers...Tried cleaning what I can be reached with Q-tip no help...tried new tapes, no difference. Everything else works fine on this camera...is this worth fixing? Please help! Thanks...
Probably not worth fixing.
I've a Sony CCD TR517 (Hi8 Analog) myself. Was hoping to pull our old family videos off some tapes onto the computer. The unit was working perfectly up till recently. Turns out, the tape control buttons stopped working. I traced the problem to a ripped ribbon cable that leads up to the tape control panel. Was wondering on advice, if I should attempt to do a solder repair or just get a replacement, maybe from a parts camera ordered online? And ya.. I'm with you about how expensive it is living out here.
Good luck finding the control block as they call it.
Get a universal remote control. All 8mm cameras use the sony VTR2 mode. Sony only used 3 VTR control codes. VTR 1 was for beta, VTR2 for 8mm and VTR3 for VHS. I have one that the buttons don'r work properly on as well and I just use a remote to operate.
Kind of why I was thinking to get a whole camcorder, even as a parts only thing, rather than a specific part. Far as I can tell, my version of the camcorder didn't have a remote for it. The closest thing I found was a LANC port right next to the eject switch. The manual mentions its some kind of connection to other video equipment?
@@Jimfoxyboy Lanc was for the wired remote control. I actually have the programming remote to set the camera up. A parts unit will work if you can get one cheap.
I have a similar camera, the tape gets wrapped up when played. What can be the cause? How can I see if you answer.
I have a cam corder it’s a Sony handycam vision CCD-TRV67E Hi 8 cam, the tapes are working and stuff but the picture won’t come it’s just exactly the same as yours the blue picture keeps showing. Never had a problem like this before. Trying to watch old videos back
I learned a lot from your videos and I see you made lots of videos and probably digitalized also lots of them. A question about it: I have ± 100 D8 tapes to digitalise with a TRV 240E. Is there a way to prepare the tapes the best in order not to run to problems of clogged heads or other problems? After digitalising a few tapes my Sony has a clogged head and playback doesn't work anymore then. With your tips I could 'repair' it always. But how to prepare the tapes? Rewind en Fastforward them a few times? There is no mould on the tapes, so that is not the problem.
Remember that ff and rewind are fully loaded so if a tape is going to shed and clogged head it will do it on fast forward rewind just as quickly as well on play so no there's no way to prep the tape you play them you take your chances if the head is going to clog it's going to clog I've had tapes that have been digitizing that I've had to stop every 5 to 10 minutes and clean the heads again and what I'm doing that for a client that gets really expensive when I have to clean the heads multiple times. Unfortunately some brands of 8 mm tape just do not hold up well even without mold. When you get moldy tapes that's completely different because the tapes usually will break and they have to be demolded which is another very time-consuming process
@@12voltvids Thank you for your clear response! You said: " Unfortunately some brands of 8 mm tape just do not hold up well..." Which type of brands do not hold up well in your experience? I mainly have used Sony D8 tapes and TDK D8 tapes ...
@@stefankestens432 the tape that I've had the most trouble with is the Sony MP High tape especially the hmpx professional tape I'm just trying to play one right now to archive and I've had to stop to clean the heads three times over the course of about 35 minutes and there's no mold on these tapes mold is a completely different issue this is just binder failure causing the heads to clog while the tape is being played. Mind you these tapes are 24 years old so that's to be expected I guess
Hey! i have a sony DCR TRV 740 and when i enter a tape it shows the symbol that there is no tape inside but i am able to record and get no playbacks. is there any way i can personally dm you or send in my camera because i need this to finish shooting this film i’ve been working on !!
Thanks to two that have gone bad on me, I bought a third one that has a problem with the analog video output. The very first one that I bought in 2004 the closing mechanism pops back up and blue screen. The second one that I bought on e-bay about 5 years ago allowed me to digitize about 20 tapes that I had and then it has tearing video and cutting out audio. I tried cleaning the heads with cleaning tape and I tried using alcohol as well and nothing helps that one. The third one I had to load it onto an old XP machine with a Firewire card from when I had my other XP machine that has bad capacitors on the motherboard of the computer that I built in 2004. That's the one that the analog video didn't work, but I'm not necessarily complaing about that. I did have it clog and I can't find my cleaning tape so I cleaned it with alcohol and it seems to be working OK after that. This is great, but everything is so small and my hands have some serious arthritis in it now.
Thanks you so much i was able to fix my Sony TRV 110 foolowing your instructions.
Thanks. I have a Canon E708 that is acting up. Digitized 4 tapes then audio played but video with horizontal lines. Played back the first tape I digitized successfully but didn’t play back well. I’ll update you 👍
While the resolution was crappy compared to today’s standards, it was probably pretty good for it’s time. Late 1990s or early 2000s digital video was standard definition, maxing out around 720x480 interlaced.
Stephen Hinkle
The tape format was fine. The problem was Sony put shitty ccd sensors on the digital 8 cameras in an effort to upsell to DV. A good dv camera will record 720 x 480. The digital 8 uses the same digital frame resolution but the camera was typically a 300k sensor. DV cameras of the day has 680k sensors. So digital 8 struggled with about 250tv lines whereas DC did 500.
12voltvids interesting. 720x480 = 345,600 pixels. Maybe the more professional grade models used higher resolution CCDs and down scanned it leading to less noise and a higher quality image by starting from a higher resolution than the tape.
Stephen Hinkle
You are forgetting that they still need to make color.
You need cyan magenta and yellow filters on the ccd to produce your rgb picture. So by the time you process the image you are ending up at 720x480 lumanence plus your color signal. On dv and digital 8 that wasn't the best as they encoded 4:1:1 for the color sub sampling. Plus these cameras used digital stabilization which means the image is cropped out of the full image so digitally they can change crop window to reduce camera shake. When you start with a ccd that barely spits out the required bandwidth and then it has to be processed you loose a ton of quality. I should do a demo showing quality captured from analog hi8 vs digital 8 from 2 different digital 8 cameras to dv from a professional 3ccd dv camera vs a consumer single chip dv camera. You will definately notice far more ailiazing around diagonal lines on the image from the digital 8 camera. I don't even need to record it to tape. I could direct capture from the camera and you would see a huge difference.
Hi may I know if you have a guide to repair Sony DCR-TRV27 camcorder? It's not able to record and play. Thank you!
@12voltvids i just found my old trv318 ntsc and it only plays about 2 seconds of video then it tells me to remove tape.... I open the tape clise it again and same thing.... tries on multiple tapes.... is it worth trying to fix or should I save my money and buy a new one??
I have the exact camera doing the exact problem. How much do you charge for a repair
Contact me by email
Can you also clean the head for V8/mini dv camcorders just like you would with a vhs one?
If a mini dv playback has those grey squares keep popping up and sometimes disappearing after a while, in your experience what would you diagnose the problem as? (e.g. bad tape - fungus,etc... or cam problem - head/connectors)
for DV 8mm and DAT it is recommended to use a dry type cleaner tape. These use metal tapes and the metal does not dissolve in solvent like oxide tapes do. It needs to literally be ground off the head with an abrasive cleaner tape.
@@12voltvids Thanks a bunch!
Quite surprised with the quick reply.
Not trying to sound rude but you don't seem to be catching any sleep and hockey season hasnt started yet. :D
Would you be ok if I loaded some vids for you to see and pick your brain for a bit?
@@jafng6940 I catch lots of sleep. Like now!
I have one for you to try your magic on! If you couldn't repair it I would be willing to take an offer for parts that might be someone else's blessing!!!
Thanks for uploading this fix! I have a Sony Hi8 Handycam with the same issue. Could I possibly ask for your expertise in fixing it? Please let me know your rates or if you have a website! Thank you!
You can contact me by email. Link is on my youtube home page.
@@12voltvids Thank you! I just sent you an e-mail :)
Hello Dave, i have a similar problem with a Sony TRV7E. After turning it on is just beeps and shows blue screen. That happens in all modes. Buttons are not working, there is no menu, no errors, the cassette is not ejecting. I cannot go into self diagnostic mode either. It seems like a software issue. Can you give me some hints where to start? Is it possible a stuck button to be causing this? Thank you in advance.
was wondering if you still repair these I have the same one and it won’t playback thank you!
Yes I still look at them and fix when possible. Most can be repaired.
I have a Cannon ZR200. I often don't get any sound during playback. Sometimes I do get sound. I've tried using a head cleaner but that didn't help. What could I try? The video picture is ok.
Heads won't cause sound as the same heads are used for the video. 8 mm cameras record the sound as a separate FM carrier from the picture, the problem is your sound bar is going bad capacitors are failing.
@@12voltvids
Would dealing with that sound bar be too complicated to fix?
mine still plays (there are image and sound), but it is stuttering/tearing the image-sound (tried with 10 tapes, no apparent damage or mold in any of them), could it be a mechanical problem or could the flat cables be the cause as well?
Can you make a video on how to pull the tape in and out of the board connectors? I think I can fix my Sony TR880 but don't want to break the tape or connector.
Hi, we have a 2008 Sony HandyCam DCR-HC62, the door doesn't close so we can't watch years of cassette recordings. Getting error code: C:32:11. Do you think you can help? Thanks.
Are you still able to fix cam corders? I have a Sony Digital 8 DCR-TRV240 ! That won’t play
LOL fix them all the time. Do an average of 2 a week.
My D8 camera video head is grinding against the inner small flap of Hi8 tapes. It plays fine but makes grinding noise. The friction on the video head probably will cause some video hiccups over a 90mins playback. Hope you'll encounter such a problem and post a repair video.
Check to see that the lid lifter inside the cassette mechanism isn't slightly bent and not opening the lid all the way.
I have this same camera and the same problem. Is there a digital 8 cassette? I notice that mine are labeled Hi8. Does this mean I can play back tapes Hi8 tapes recorded on my digital camcorder, Sony DCRTRV130? Thanks Mike
Digital 8 cameras used 8mm or hi8 tape and recorded a digital signal in the same space as the analog signal in 8mm and hi8. Most digital 8 cameras will playback analog 8mm and hi8 tapes but not all. The format was originally launched as a way for 8 mm and high 8 users to upgrade to digital while still maintaining playback capabilities of their analog Library. This was a selling feature allowing people to move forward to digital and still be able to play their old tapes such as those made on a camera that was damaged and not repairable.in the later years of the digital eight format Sony and others released digital only camcorders without analog playback capabilities and these became entry level camcorders for people wanting camcorders but not wanting to spend the money required to get into mini DV.the digital eight without analog playback were marketed to new customers that had never had a camcorder before and did not need analog playback they could offer them at a lower cost.
Dose any one know where you could send in cameras for repair?
Also have the playback problem wit a CCD-TRV13E but would prefer too send it to a proffesional. Live in Europe but have no problem too send it too the US or outher continents.
Damn.. haven't seen one of those in a while. Digital 8. Quite a few memories shooting with one of those.
Are you still repairing Sony 8mm Cam Corders ? Please let me know... Thank you
I attempt. Depending on what is wrong some can not be economically repaired
i have the same camcorder, the problem is its keep on having a warning sound that says the tape door is open even if its close, any idea bro
I wonder if you could get my Sharp viewcam working? looks like alignment problem. I just want to transfer my old videos. How much for your service?
If it is alignment then no problem but many of these old dinosaurs have leaking capacitors and they are really not worth repairing.
Do you have a store? How to contact you? I have DCR-TRV260
Sony 990x that needs a sensor repair
No I don't have a store, and sensors will be impossible to get for these units these days.
Thank you! I was able to fix my camera with the help of this video.
What liquid did you used to clean
@@sunnyeyes522 just alcohol.
@@LaurelGeek I did it now close the camara and the tape don't want to inject or closed. I did not touch that side , know what could have done wrong ? And didn't touch that side.
Thank you
Thank you
I have a Sony DCR-TRV11 I barely let hit the ground while picking up toys for my son..
The camera never came back on.
What do you think it could be?
It was a bummer, I had just brought it for 80 bucks off of ebay.
Thanks in advance..
Could be a connector popped loose to a broken board. Impossible to say without opening it up to inspect.
@@12voltvids Thanks for your prompt reply sir.
Do u do repairs?
I got about 4 in need of repair..
@@dee1380
Yes I attempt to repair. Many camera had the capacitor plague which makes them uneconomical to fix but many are fixable.
@@12voltvids Cool..
Have to get through summer activities(money spent), then I would send you one camera at a time.
How much do u charge off the top, just for looking & diagnosing?
Where can I find your info.?
@@dee1380 my email is on the main page.
Thank you very much for your great contribution, you helped me a lot. Congratulations.
The keypad issue you discuss at 21:30 is a problem I am experiencing with my camcorder. Unfortunately none of the buttons seem to work, occasionally I can get it fast forward. Is there any fix or am I out of luck?
The flex cable that connects the control switch block to the main board is probably what's causing the problems. These goes bad quite often. Unfortunately there're no parts available anymore. You have to replace the whole block. Your best bet is to find a non working unit with the same part and install it on your camcorder. Or use a remote for playback.
Would these common failiures apply also to mini DV models as well?
I haven't done much work on any moni DV cameras. Only the old DCR-VX1000 as I had a customer that kept getting his wet. Paid thousands over the years fixing it. Had to change the main board once, 650 just for the part.
@@12voltvids wow incredible, thanks.
For the Deoxit. Does it have to be D100L? Or can it DeoxITD5 work as well? Thanks!
D5 has solvent to carry it into controls. Works just as well.
Ojala pueda arreglar la camara con este video no me reproduce la cinta.
Hi
Would you consider fixing my Sony dsr pd170 minidv cam? It doesn’t record or playback. It’s just a blue screen.
I never guarantee to be able to fix anything these days due to unavailability of service parts.
Sir I need your help with my camera, i got the same model and its faulty. It's either not reading the tape or the casette trap door remains stuck with the tape inside, what could be the problem?
Another amazing video, hope to be able to fix my camcorder. Thanks, cheers!
how much will the repair cost, mine has the same issue or it doesn't run please let me know.
Contact me by email.
Those video8, hi8 and digital8 cameras don't get the heads cleaned the same way a VHS-C camcorder or VCR would? Is it bad to clean them the same way? Paper and isopropyl alcahol?
They use a metal tape. When the heads clog alcohol isn't going to do squat to clean them. Dry cleaning tape, plastic cleaning wheel or fingernail is the only way.
@@12voltvids I love your video's, it's Friday night I watch three videos from your channel. Thanks very much for the reply and keep posting videos.
@@reel_images
New stuff over weekend.
I'm having a problem on my TRV-140 where video plays for a few seconds then cuts out, but you can still see the images when fast forwarding. Tapping on the camcorder gets the video to come back on sometimes, but video goes out in the same manner. What's your car talk diagnosis?
How is the alignment.
The alignment was it! The alignment screws had worked loose and adjusting them back down while a tape was playing fixed it right up. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction
I have this exact camera and mine won't stay closed when I put in the tape. Any ideas how to fix this. I am located in Canada so might be too expensive to ship and have repaired
I'm in Canada too. Left coast.
Where
@@jerrycole8956 just outside Vancouver
Would this work if my camera is not playing back or recording? I tried a tape in it and it won’t record or play back the tape. We tried a tape that already had something on it and it wouldn’t play it either. Would love to try this but wondering if it’s the same fix? Thanks :)
Have you tried cleaning the heads with cleaning tape?
@@12voltvids I haven’t yet - sorry very new to this lol, but when doing that do I purchase the tape, put it in, and press play on the playback mode?
@@12voltvids what cleaning tape would you reccomend and where is best to find them?
@@em-xi8fk there are only one type. They are dry type tapes. Sony made them. I have no idea where you can buy them now because they havent made them for years. You are probably going to pay the price as hoarders buy out old stock on clearence for diet cheap when stores are blowing them out and then sell them for what they can get