SONY DV DCRH21 issue

[wingfan]

I have a Sony DV DCRHC21 camcorder.. it's roughly 16 months old (out of warranty). All of a sudden it no longer plays back previously recorded tapes in the LCD! I have tried all my tapes, and even recorded new footage and tried playing back, nothing no sound or video.. just blue LCD screen.

I tried connecting camcorder to tv and also transferring through firewire to my pc.. multiple apps from Pinnacle 11 to Vegas 6, same issue no video/sound!

What could be wrong? Sony wants $50 to diagnose the problem.. and waive it if I decide to fix it (which could be costly correct?)

[aedipuss]

i suppose they don't call me abigmeanie for nothing... sounds like the cam is dead. to try and repair a $300U.S. cam is probably not a good idea. for what a repair could cost, you can probably get a new one.

[wingfan]

any idea what the repair cost might be? or what the problem could be?

[racer-x]

Bad heads maybe? Who knows.

[aedipuss]

no way to tell without opening the cam and that's where repair starts at around 200USD

[edDV]

What could be wrong? Sony wants $50 to diagnose the problem.. and waive it if I decide to fix it (which could be costly correct?)

Sounds fair to me.

They gain failure feedback and you can shop the problem for quotes among the non-authorized repair shops.

Ask if they will offer a $50 voucher for a new camcorder.

Sony "flat rate" repair costs are excessive for a cheap model. Probably in the $200 range.

[edong]

If you are sure the tape is playing, do you have a head cleaner that you can try first? My camcorder had similar problem but works fine again after using a Sony head cleaner. The cause of my problem - I used two different brand of tapes.

[wingfan]

If you are sure the tape is playing, do you have a head cleaner that you can try first? My camcorder had similar problem but works fine again after using a Sony head cleaner. The cause of my problem - I used two different brand of tapes.

Im pretty sure it's playing.. as I can FF and REW in Play mode.

I'll try to clean the heads by buying a cleaner.. but that will be about a $20 investment I suppose? 8)

[edong]

Im pretty sure it's playing.. as I can FF and REW in Play mode.

I'll try to clean the heads by buying a cleaner.. but that will be about a $20 investment I suppose? 8)

My Sony minidv head cleaner cost me $12.99 but since Amazon offered free shipping on purchases of $25 or more, I bought two. Just do not know their policy if shipping internationally. BTW, my camcorder also displayed blue screen before using that head cleaner. Good luck!

In any event, avoid using different brand of tapes as they are using either wet or dry lubricants. And they do not mix. I can attest to that.

[wingfan]

if this does work, which brand should i use? does it matter, just dont mix the brand?

[edong]

I must admit I am not an authority on the quality of tapes and who is? I just buy whatever is on sale. But I know now that Sony and Panasonic use different lubricants. One uses dry and the other wet. They were the ones that got me into trouble. Of course, you can use tapes of different brands as long as you know they use the same lubricants. But to play it safe, stick to one brand.

[wingfan]

edong, thanks for the suggestion on the head cleaner.. it WORKED!!!!!!!!!! Can't believe I saved myself a pretty penny from Sony. Damn!

I will stick to one brand from now on.

[edong]

Glad it worked. But the credit goes to that guy who reviewed the Sony head cleaner and mentioned about the blue screen display. It gave me the idea.