Diagnosing likely source of fault with Sony Digital8 camcorder (DCR-TRV320)

[stuffdvideo]

(I hope this is the correct forum for this question; if not, please point me to a more appropriate one.)

I have a Sony DCR-TRV320 Digital8 camcorder that I previously used to successfully digitize and capture analog Hi8 tapes (via the 1394/FireWire port). Now, though, the camcorder either can't get a picture/sound at all off the Hi8 tapes or gives tremendously noisy output (see attached image). My initial guess was that the tape alignment is off, but research online suggests that alignment issues typically manifest themselves as issues with either the upper or lower parts of the picture. In my case, while things look a bit worse at the bottom, the noise is all over the image.

Some Digital8 tapes will play fine in the unit, while others produce all sorts of digital artifacts—even tapes I previously exported successfully with no issues. I've opened up the camcorder and cleaned the head and rollers to no avail.

Does the type of noise shown suggest a particular kind of issue (e.g. capacitors going bad, solder joint issues, etc)?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I've removed enough of the camcorder's casing access the tape guides for adjustment, but don't want to mess with them if that's unlikely to be the source of my problem. (And it looks like I'll need to modify a screwdriver to be able to turn the adjustment screws.)

[aramkolt]

Looks like dirty heads to me. You probably do want to use a cleaning tape for D8 for that as it is slightly abrasive as some types of 8mm tapes can chemically fuse debris to the heads depending on the composition. Technically it could be bad capacitors, but there really aren't that many in the TRV320 - most of the digitai 8 cameras have only 4 or up to 12 electrolytic capacitors. Couldn't hurt to change them if you're confident in that.

[stuffdvideo]

Looks like dirty heads to me. You probably do want to use a cleaning tape for D8 for that as it is slightly abrasive as some types of 8mm tapes can chemically fuse debris to the heads depending on the composition.

I'd tried cleaning the heads before, but just now tried one more time (hitting the end of my one-and-only cleaning tape in the process; new ones are available on eBay, but the prices are exorbitant). After switching back to a recorded D8 tape the picture looked much like before, then magically cleared up for the most part. I immediately connected the camcorder to a computer by 1394/FireWire to attempt to import the digitized video. Then things got weird.

When I bring up the import window in the video software I'm using (an old version of iMovie that still supports DV-format imports, on an old Mac) the noise level in the video goes completely nuts (both on the camcorder's built-in screen and the import preview on the computer). When I actually start the import, the noise level reduces but not to the same level as before. Canceling the import and getting out of the import dialog window does return to the previous, relatively low-noise level.

I tried this multiple times and the behavior is repeatable—attempting to import the digitized image into the computer results in unwatchable levels of noise, while playing the tape without attempting to import (although with the camcorder and computer still connected) results in mostly decent image quality although there are still occasional drop-outs. To me this suggests the problem's in the electronics somewhere—either in the camcorder, or with the cable connecting it to the computer—such that communication with the computer via the 1394 port introduces noise in the camcorder's video circuitry.

Anyone else experienced symptoms like this?