Tape Won't Load

look to see if tape will fully load and if FF or REWIND work, if not a transport problem, drive mechanism not moving the tape, unit will sense this and shut unit off----even a problem in the loading mechanism for the VHS tape not loading the tape all the way will do the same thing.

It sounds as though it's jammed. If you're mechanically inclined you can unplug the unit, take the cover off, and manually eject it. Just look for the motor that drives the load basket and manually spin the shaft. The guide-posts should retract towards the tape and the basket will then lift and eject. Just be aware that whatever bit of tape that's out of the cassette won't spool back in. You will have to do that bu hand once it's out.
When you're done, plug it back in and let it cycle then put an old cheap tape in and see if it works. If not, take it in for repair.

You may have dirty heads in the vcr---most 4 head machines use two for sp and the other two for lp and or ep.

Tape residue will usually be seen on the drum where the heads are when this happens--also look for the black residue on the tape guides that hold the tape in position against the drum-------

This is usually caused by an oxidized, misaligned or defective Audio/Video drum. You can try running a cleaning tape through the camera. If this does not solve the problem the camera will need to be serviced by a qualified service technician.

My name is Rick and I'm a professional repair technician with over 20 years in the business and have repaired many of these. I'm semi retired and work from home with little overhead so I can keep repair cost low. If you decide to have the camera repaired, please click HERE for a directory listing that suits your needs.

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Hi,
Try to playback with other tape recorded earlier from other camera or VTR .If other tapes are palying properly without any glitches then it might be the problem with this recording.


anand

Dont use xp mode. Here are the definitions:
SP is short for Standard Play. Standard play allows you to record information onto the tape the way it was intended, with no quality loss. By default, VCRs and camcorders will record your footage as standard play. On a standard VHS tape, recording footage in SP mode will yield 2 hours of video.
LP is short for Long Play. Long play allows you to record much more information at the expense of quality. It accomplishes this by reducing the speed the tape is run through the VCR. As the tape speed decreases, the quality will also decrease. You’ll notice this effect when comparing a tape recorded at LP versus one recorded at SP, especially after years of storage. The LP tape will appear more blurred, have more tracking and color issues than tapes recorded at SP. A VHS tape recorded at LP can hold roughly 4 hours of video.
EP/SLP is short for extended play. Extended play is similar to LP, but actually provides you even more recording time. EP was primarily used to document long, continuous events without the need to change video tapes every 2 hours. Due to the fact that the video is not of optimal quality, many times this setting was not used in order to preserve the quality of your footage. Tapes recorded at EP usually are the most problematic after years of storage, displaying a wide variety of tape damage symptoms including color loss, audio loss, frame skipping, and tracking issues.

don't know u're cam, but usualy the camera haz to "close" the dvd sesion, so that the computer/dvd player .... to be able to play it ...

Ofecourse u can play the video on PC, using cd/dvd data recovery software, that accesses the data directly and not track based ... (that in the case that the dvd got damaged and the recorder can't finish it ...)

Many HDV cameras and decks are able to play and record DV as well as the higher-resolution HDV format. Additionally, many of these HDV devices will attempt to automatically change their settings to match the format of the tape that it's playing. Here are some tips for using these types of devices with Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express.
Tip: Make explicit settings on your HDV device. Instead of using an "Auto" setting, make your own settings on your HDV device to keep the communication going between it and Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express. This also helps Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express keep things running smoothly with HDV devices that handle both DV-NTSC and DV-PAL.
For example, say you're using an HDV deck to capture footage from a tape that was recorded as DV-NTSC. Before capturing in Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express, make sure that you set the deck to DV mode specifically—don't rely on Auto mode. With some devices, you may need to disconnect it from FireWire to change the mode.
For a common capture workflow, this sequence of steps can provide the best results:

1. Quit Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express if it's open.
2. Insert your tape into your HDV deck or camcorder.
3. Use the device's menus to set it to match the format that's recorded on the tape.
4. Connect your HDV device to your computer with a FireWire cable.
5. Open Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express.
6. Choose an Easy Setup for DV or HDV (whichever matches the format recorded on your tape).
7. Proceed to Log and Capture.

Tip: Quit Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express before changing modes. It's generally a good idea to quit Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express before you change the mode on your device from DV to HDV, or from HDV to DV, and then re-open the application again.
Tip: Use an Easy Setup to play back non-default HDV format footage on your HDV device. You can use Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express to make your HDV device play back footage in its non-default HDV format. For example, maybe you have a 1080i60 HDV device and want to play back footage that was recorded as 1080i50. Or perhaps you have a 1808i50 HDV device and you want to play back footage that was recorded as 1080i60. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Connect your camera to your computer.
2. In Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express, choose an HDV preset Easy Setup that matches the format of the tape's footage (you don't need to restart Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express).
3. Your device's LCD display should automatically display a switch to 60 or 50, indicating the type of media that's being played.

Playing back non-default DV format footage on your HDV device You can also use your HDV device to play back footage in its non-default DV format too. For example, maybe you have a 1080i60 HDV device and want to play back footage that was recorded as DV-PAL. Or maybe you have a 1080i50 HDV device and want to play back footage that was recorded as DV-NTSC. If so, follow these steps:

1. Make sure that your device is in DV/DVCAM mode.
2. Put your device into Play/Pause mode, then open the Log and Capture window in Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express.
3. Make sure that your device's LCD (or other readout screen) displays the same format as your tape or Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express will misinterpret what type of device you have.

Tip: Avoid recording both HDV and DV formats on the same tape. Use separate tapes whenever you want to record in a different format. If you need to record over existing footage in a different format (for example, you have a tape with DV-PAL on it, but you want to record over it with HDV 1080i50), it's a good idea to black and code the tape, or completely record over the old footage with contiguous recording in the new format. If the tape contains even a second of, say, DV in the middle of an HDV tape (or vice versa), it could cause unexpected results later when you try to capture video from that tape.
For more information, see HD and Broadcast Formats and the Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express User Manual, available under the Final Cut Pro / Final Cut Express Help menu

mini DVs sometimes can't be access using usb interface, try to look if u have a firewire interface, be sure your laptop supports IEEE1394. power dvd is the best player for dvd files. -r means recordable, not rewritable (rw). if ur not familiar with video editing, you may not be able to burn it to disc, but you can play and watch everytime.

check your inputs on that machine. there are settings that you need to do. when you put a tape in the minidv, does it play fine? if it does, you need to check your input setting on that machine..good luck