I have 3 grey bands appearing on my digital 8 sony camcorder. I have tried wet and dry clean using a tape but this does not make a difference. After playing for a while the bands become a pixelated jumble of the current video. Can this problem be fixed and if so, what is the likely cost?

Hi there,

The most common cause of this is dust, debris or contamination on the heads.

Firstly, it's extremely important that you use only DRY LUBRICANT type DV tapes on the Canon branded camcorders.

Different manufacturers design their heads to be used with either Dry or Wet (coating lubricant type) tapes - NEVER BOTH. Canon is DRY type.

Consumers are led to believe that they should be using well known branded DV tapes, such as Sony. This is fine, if your camcorder is a Sony. However, you should NEVER use Sony tapes in your Canon - Sony tapes are of the WET type.

So, the question is, "Are you currently using Dry or Wet type tapes, or a mixture of both?" If you have used either a WET tape, or a mixture of both in your Canon, then this may have contaminated your heads.

If this is so, then don't panic - simply run a special Head Cleaning cassette (for Dry tapes) in your Canon for no more than 5 secs. Note: your heads are very delicate, so only run the cleaning tapes for a few secs at a time.

Also, try to avoid recording over the cassette too many times, as the quality will sometimes degrade each time.

An example of the Dry tapes are the Panasonic ones (Myself and other Pro Videographers often use Panasonic Prof, Studio or Master Quality tapes, as these are some of the better quality Dry tapes on the market).

As your XL2 is a Pro Camcorder, I recommend you stick with Studio quality (or higher) cassettes.

See this link for Dry DV tapes: http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-mini-DV-digital-video-cassette-AY-DVM63SQ-5pk-/170645949017?pt=US_Camcorder_Tapes_Discs&hash=item27bb4a8a59

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/5-Panasonic-Master-HDV-HD-video-tape-HC9-Mini-DV-/220519311691?pt=US_Camcorder_Tapes_Discs&hash=item3357f9a94b


See this link for Head Cleaner cassette: http://cgi.ebay.com/MiniDV-mini-DV-Panasonic-Head-Cleaner-Cleaning-Tape-/220683036059?pt=US_Camcorder_Tapes_Discs&hash=item3361bbe59b


If the problem still exists after head cleaning, then suspect either a faulty cassette (most likely) or damaged heads requiring service.

Let me know how you get on...


Scott



"If this has helped you, please be kind enough to leave a testimonial"

things you can try to fix the issue:

-try to clean the tape head reader inside the tape deck.

-if you dont have a tape head cleaner you may use a soft dry q-tip(no liquid solutions) to clean the metal at the bottom of the tape deck.

-try a different tape also to isolate wether if its just the tape or the tape head(the one that reads the magnetic tape)

-or i would recommend cleaning everything at the bottom of the tape deck with a soft dry Q-tip.

lastly if it doesnt work, try to reset the settings of the camcorder

-flip open the lcd then you'ld see a bunch of buttons. now look for a small hole and use a pin or anything that would fit in it. there's a button inside that hole. press and hold it down for atleast 10 seconds.


these are all the things that you can do on your own and is safe without using any screw drivers :)
these steps helps you isolate things and to also helps you decide if it really needs repair :)

Hi there,

Firstly, I must explain how the MiniDV system works:

Although this may sound illogical, MiniDV camcorder heads do actually use a type of lubrication cassette system and there are 2 types:

- DRY lubrication (Canon, Panasonic, JVC etc)
- WET lubrication (Sony)

Now, if you haven't noticed already from the above 2 types, you are in fact using the WRONG type of cassette on your camcorder.

Although Sony cassettes are often readily available (and often perceived to be the best quality), by using Sony cassettes on a Canon camcorder (or Pana, JVC for that matter), you are in fact causing premature wear on the heads. So, the condition you are describing as 'dirty' heads, is in fact caused by the use of the wrong (wet type) cassettes on your DRY type camcorder.

Using "WET" type cassettes on a DRY system camcorder, can often leave residue on your heads, or worse....cause wear. The same principle applies to Sony camcorders - use only Sony 'WET' type cassettes, not Dry cassettes.

This also applies when using HEAD CLEANER cassettes - as indicated, you have used a Sony Head Cleaner cassette (this is a WET type cassette), when in fact, you should be using a DRY HEAD CLEANER cassette (Pana, Canon etc).

CAUTION: when using a head cleaner cassette, only playback the cassette for no more than 6 sec's at a time (anymore will damage the heads).

Summary:

For your Canon camcorder, use only DRY MiniDV cassettes (Pana offer cassettes from Studio, Professional to Master Quality), including DRY Head Cleaner cassette. This should improve the playback quality from your camcorder.

Follow this procedure to troubleshoot if a blue screen is displayed when attempting to playback video from the camcorder.

1. Stop the tape.
2. Ensure the tape has been rewound to the beginning of the video recording.
3. Play the tape.
4. If the issue is not resolved, stop the tape and remove it from the camcorder.
5. Clean the video heads of the camcorder using a dry head cleaning cassette.IMPORTANT: Follow the instructions for use provided with the head cleaning cassette. It may be necessary to use the head cleaning cassette more than once per session.
   
6. Reinsert the tape into the camcorder.
7. Play the tape.
8. If the issue is not resolved, stop the tape and remove it from the camcorder.
9. Insert a different tape with video footage into the camcorder.
10. Ensure the tape has been rewound to the beginning of the video recording.
11. Play the tape.

NOTES:

• If a blue screen is still displayed, then the camcorder may require service .
• If the tape plays back correctly, then the first tape may be faulty or there is a problem with the video recording.

To clean the video tape heads of a camcorder, use a dry video head-cleaning cassette.
Follow the instructions provided with the video head cleaner for proper use.

Hi,
It is symptom of dirty / clogged video head.
Please use good quality mini-dv video head cleaning tape to clean head. Problem will be resolved.

the camcorder flickers when viewing playback - pictures flickering

My problem with the DCR PC110E Sony camcorder is being unable to download my videos from tape to the PC or laptop through the firewire connector. Have you ever had this problem?

sir,
you must have run a dry run before recording them in blank tape

Hello, please try to clean the head with mini DV tape cleaning cassette. Best regards. Arpi