My tapes that are approx 2 years old playback really wierd. The sound drops in and out every 1 or 2 seconds and the image looks stable then goes fuzzy for the same amount of time. My honeymoon and wedding videos are there!!.. :( I tried fast forwarding the whole tape(s) then do a complete rewind only to find the same thing happening...HELP!

Yes sounds as though the audio playback head had become misaligned by the drop... You will have to get it back in position again. Thats a job and a half though, really only something that can be done by a tech?

sorry but you have a bad panel

I had the same problem. Checked the site and found a solution of dropping the camera onto a carpeted floor from about 1/2m to 1m. Thought that it was bullsh1t but was desperate and so tried it. worked a treat!!!

Hope this helps.

Try to clean your heads with a video heads cleaning cassettefor ten seconds and try to read your tape.
If it doen't help, your footage is corrupt.

use a cleaning tape. you lost me sorry

Because the cable signal is OK, this eliminates the tuner as your problem and leaves the power supply which is a common problem. It is a switch mode type which often have trouble maintaining control of its output voltages and produce trouble downstream in the video circuitry. Either the power supply is failing which can be wholesale replaced for about a $150, or something somewhere else is failing and loading down the supply causing it to overwork. Usually in this case, you can hear a whine noise if you listen close.

What's happening is that the tape in the cassette is being chewed on one side by the camera's tape transporting mechanism during playback, hence the distorted image and sound. The mechanism might be damaged (misalignment) or just dirty. Try not to play other tapes on this unit because they will become permanently damaged. The best way is to find another camcorder (if cleaning does not help). Note that some old cassettes of long recording time will exhibit this behavior more often because of thinner tape used.

sounds like the color wheel is going bad..try this test..while you listen to the set in the back, have someone turn it off, if the sound stops within 1 or 2 seconds it is the color wheel..if it continues, then one of the fans is bad

your tape guides are out of calibration on all your pre - recorded tapes , or they are out of adjustment ( maybe even loose ) now ; - - put your camcorder close , next to your ear ? and . . . listen ! to a new tape in play mode - if you hear a fluttering sound like a deck of cards being shuffled softly , the camera is damaging all your tapes and needs alignment ;

1. Starting at http://www.canondv.com/zr60/ I read it has a digital zoom. You will find that such to be less useful that one expects. 2. Low light levels can result in more graininess. "Recommended illumination: More than 100 lx" Notice that 100 lux is pretty bright. Try 200 lux. 3. I must ask this: Did it ever work? 4. From the specs: "Image sensor: 1/6" CCD (charge coupled device) approx. 680,000 pixels (approx. 340,000 effective pixels-tape)" 340,000 pixels is OK for common video work, but today's consumers might compare a frame to some multimegapixel camera. This is just 0.34 megapixels, so grain may indeed show as you blow it up.