Mini Dv Tapes not playing correctly

[Billjosh]

Hi everyone - my first post here

I have a Canon NTSC ZR40 Mini DV Camcorder which stopped working a while ago and was showing the message Eject the Cassette so i gave up on it as I took it to my local repair shop and they said it was going to be very expensive to repair (Apparently for starters it was going to cost £120 just to get Canon to even look at it!!)

I want to transfer the MiniDV tapes I have onto a PC so I have just bought a used Sharp VL-WD450H Mini DV Camcorder . I have tried a new tape with it and it records and plays that back perfectly on the machine, however, when I put one of my existing tapes in it wont play back correctly and the pictures looks pixelated - lots of white noise .

I have tried two tapes and they are both the same.

It seems that I recorded on LP but have no idea if this will make a difference.

Any ideas as to what the problem could be and what the solution could be??????

Sorry forgot to say there is no sound either.

[aedipuss]

lp was badly implemented and there is no room for tracking error trying to read them. only the cam that recorded them or a wickedly expensive deck with adjustable tracking has any chance of doing it.

[Billjosh]

lp was badly implemented and there is no room for tracking error trying to read them. only the cam that recorded them or a wickedly expensive deck with adjustable tracking has any chance of doing it.

Thanks very much aedipuss.

Ah excellent - (NOT!) - well the Canon that recorded them doesn't work as per my previous post and so it looks like I might have just wasted my money - well not entirely as my teenage son has chosen to do media for his GCSE's and so I have said he can use this cam (He is also wanting to use it to our holiday to the USA later in the year as well!).

Actually having said the other cam doesnt work - it did work for a minute or two when i first turned it on last night after being locked away in my camera bag for approx 2 years - maybe even more - but very quickly reverted to the "eject the tape" message.

I am looking to buy a Canon EOS 700d so the video facility on there is good enough for my needs.

Any ideas about the "Eject the tape" message ?????

[boardbuilder]

Hello,
I have the same camcorder with the same problem. I believe the problem is something to do with the reel clutch.
I have found that It will capture tapes IF I rewind the tapes first in another camera. Or I can rewind them with this camera in rewind-search mode. If I use normal rewind, it will display the same message you are receiving (usually as it reaches the beginning of the tape) and it may wrinkle the tape, always frustrating. I suspect that replacing the reel clutch may solve the problem, but parts are hard to get and expensive; even if you are qualified to repair it yourself it's probably not worth it. I think the service manual for this model is available online somewhere if you are the adventurous sort.
Hope this helps.

[Cornucopia]

I'd shop around to find a transfer service that can read your tapes decently (with a "no money if no good signal" policy) and have them transfer it to DV files on a HDD.
Then move on (to the DSLR).

Scott

[Rawit]

What I can recall is that the "Eject the Cassette" error is a very generic error, like Error 99 on Canon DSLR's. If the transport still accepts the tape, try playing a MiniDV cleaning tape. You could also try to lend another Canon and see if the tapes play correctly.

[Cornucopia]

Ultimately, cleaning tapes are nearly as bad as the problem they were used to attempt to fix. It may cost more, but if cleaning is what is needed (not likely, moreso a tensioning problem), one should use pro non-fibrous swabs (which usually means taking door off/opening things up, so is best left to a technician).

Also, if there WAS a problem with a particular set of tapes, putting that tape into a LOANER cam could screw up that cam and add insult to injury. Another reason to use a professional (they have heavier-duty decks than you, the ability to safely remove a bad cassette and they have insurance).

@Rawit, Good advice on the casual face of it, but bad in real-world execution. Please be careful when dispensing this kind of advice - we don't want newbies blindly following and making a bad thing worse.

Scott

[Rawit]

@Billjosh, please ignore my advice...

@Cornucopia, I always thought that tapes screwing up a transport was a thing of the past with mini DV (to a certain extent of course). Guess I was lucky all this time.

[Cornucopia]

Yeah, I guess you were. The DV/tape past with all its baggage is still with us as long as we still need to access those tapes. Same thing for any other technology/medium.

Scott