Trouble converting from Mini DV to iMac iMovie (loss issues at times)

[TKHanson]

Folks:

I have many Mini DV tapes that were recorded with my Sony camcorder back in 2004 to 2007. I'm trying to import them into iMovie; however, there are two issues.

1) Audio on the mini DV player will drop for a brief moment (like less than 1/2 a second) and the video on the screen on the Mac goes black, as if iMovie thinks a frame ended and it begins a new set.
2) Audio on some tapes, when they come across and are played back, have what I would call high-frequency cutout. If someone with a loud voice in the upper range (younger kids, etc) says something loud, the "S" words are all clipped. Does that make sense?

My questions to everyone are is it more likely my Sony is just going to the junker or my tapes are starting to lose data? I would try buying a new/used Mini DV player to see if that helps, but I don't want to throw good money after bad if my tapes are just degrading. Not sure how I can tell. The tapes are, of course, 12 to 13 years old. I fear they are the problem but need to know what I could do to determin this.

Is there a current, modern mini DV player that I could buy for this type of conversion (i.e. I don't want to buy an old, used player/recorder as that could also be the issue).

Thx.

TKH

[JVRaines]

You can buy a new Sony MiniDV Walkman for a mere $1,538.99 at Amazon. But you are likely to have better results using the camera your tapes were recorded on, assuming it's in good repair. Have you cleaned the heads and tape path? Degrading tapes usually show up with video artifacts as well as dropped audio.