Sony Camcorder Mini DV tape doesn't go in

There are two solutions, one, buy a mini dv tape player. They are kind of expensive, but you will be able to get your information off your tapes. Second, buy a used, working mini dv camcorder on ebay and use it to get your information off your tapes. A five year old camcorder is not work fixing.

Sounds as if it is failing - time for a replacement

Fire wires are available for almost all cameras, they are easy to get at the local electronics store or on line, I buy mine through ebay. All you need is the model number of the camera and the salesperson can locate the cable you need, or better yet take the camera with you and let them match it up for you. try radio shack. Most computers have the software for the transfers already installed, there are a ton of software options out there to use just look for one that fits your price range. I use Nero and it is available on line or in stores. you can't record without the tape, there are no hard drives in this camera to store video. You can hook the camera up and record directly to the computer through the fire wire. The tapes can be used over and over again till they start to wear down, but you should easily uses these 10 times or more before getting an new one. I doubt any store will take a trade in, maybe a small family owned store could work with you, or maybe a pawn shop. The laptop probably will not hold a lot of video in the memory but you can burn these on to a DVD disc using either windows or Nero.

Recommend contacting your local service provider directly or online here:
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Yes, need to clean video head of camcorder.
Put MiniDV head cleaning tape in camera and clean its video head as per instructions on cleaning tape.
Thanks.

Check the following link. Call them and explain the symptoms and they should send shipping label to you so you can send the camcorder in for repair. I had my TRV38 repaired in about 2 weeks. Good luck.

esupport.sony.com/perl/news-item.pl?mdl=DCRTRV19&news_id=95


this is a known issue with Sony

yes

Have you all tried using a new battery? It happened to me before where I would try and load the tape and the motor just hung and wouldn't allow the tape to fully go in. I tried to recharge the battery to see if that was the problem and even left it plugged in but camcorder appeared to still be weak. I think went to Wolf's camera and asked if I may if a bigger batter would feel weird with my current camcorder (I just said that so I could see if I could borrow a new battery and see if it would fix the problem). When I installed the new battery, it loaded the tape with no problems.

Try it and tell me if it solves the problem.

Hello Nick, please purchase special mini DV tape for head cleaning. After a treatment with this tape you can check if there is an improvement with other tapes. If you need more info please advice. Arpi

Usually when the recording is started it takes around 10 to 15 seconds for the camera to recognise and display the duration of remaining tape, if you feel there is a problem, try using different brand tape.