dead Handycam HC1E las left me with 40+ HD tapes - best replacement cam?

[japniz]

As with a previous Panasonic camera, this Sony HC1E has now died (tape door that won't open and a screen that won't show an image unless its pushed back against the cam's body) so I have no way of capturing its 40+ HD recorded Sony HD tapes to my PC for editing.

Can anyone recommend a Sony camera (or other make?) that could play these at HD quality for capturing? Could it be just be any Sony HD cam or would it need to be a specific model to view the tapes recorded on this particular cam?

Has anyone else experience of this, perhaps, and has any tips? I only ever used Sony HD tapes on the cam, and have read a lot about the risk of mixing tapes and how that might affect playback so am just buying the cheapest HD Sony I can find on Ebay.

Many thanks.

[smrpix]

Any HDV camcorder or deck should be able to play your tapes
(assuming no major issues like head alignment out of whack.)

[Cornucopia]

Make sure you get one that matches your framerates (25/50 vs. 29.97/59.94). This used to be called PAL vs. NTSC, but those terms don't fully apply anymore (though many still call it that).

Scott