Cassette Jam How to get the videocassette out when the cassette compartment will not open?

I had this problem, and here is how it was resolved.

My cassette would not pop out when I opened the door with the camera turned on. When I turned off the camera and opened the door, it slid out much further, but still failed to pop open so that I could remove the tape. Then it slid back in.

Remove the battery, and have the camera off, but make sure the power cord is connected. Open the door until the tape slides out further than at other times. (Note: It intermittently slides out further when the camera is off. Sometimes it will not slide out any further than when it is on.) When the tape is slid out as far as it will go, quickly remove the power cord. The tape will stay in the slid-out position. Now, at the bottom side of the tape door there is a curved channel for a small pin to slide in. This channel has a 90% curve at the bottom of the channel to catch the pin, which holds the door closed. Push that pin back a little (toward the lense) to get it to go around that 90% curve, and the door will pop open so you can remove your tape. The ribbon of your tape will be jammed in the camera a little, so you will have to be careful and move the ribbon around a little until you can get it out freely.

This worked for me twice. I did not try putting a tape in again.

I hope this helps.

Hi, I tried to insert the tape when the battery was really low. It did not fully insert and was stuck half way. I tried the power supply and it did not work. I called Canon and they said to remove all batteries and cables and wait like 3 minutes. Then put all batteries and power cable in. Then put to vcr position. The tape was pulled in and was fine. Fixed issue.

The most frequent cause of this type situation is not having a power source attached, or a depleted battery pack. Once the power source is available, some models require manually unlatching and opening the cassette compartment cover. When the cover is fully open, the videocassette will eject automatically. Please try the following procedures. 1. Attach the power source to the camcorder correctly or use a fully-charged battery pack. 2. Fully-open the cassette compartment cover until it stops while sliding and holding the OPEN/EJECT switch. The videocassette will eject automatically after a few seconds. If the videocassette still will not eject, seek assistance from a Canon Service Facility.