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View Full Version : Problems converting analog to DV with old sony camcorder (DCR-TRV320)



Matt Agnello
01-18-2008, 09:13 AM
Would appreciate any help with this as websites with info about this camera are scarce.

I've been using a Sony DCR-TRV320 digital8 camcorder (bought from eBay) to convert analog hi8 and video8 tapes to DV and transfer them to DVD. I've only done two tapes so far, and they worked perfectly. I now have a box full of tapes to do, and when I came back to the camera, it played them with horizontal static lines as if the tapes were corrupt or as if the tracking were off. I thought it might be just the one tape, but I've tried three with the same result.

There was probably a week or so time period where the camera sat on my desk without being plugged in or touched. I've hunted through the settings to see if there's something amiss, but I couldn't find anything.

These are old tapes, so it's possible some dust got on the heads or something. I'm going to attempt to clean them with a cleaning tape once I purchase one. But I was wondering if anyone else had run into this problem and had a solution.

Edit: The manual says to keep the camera away from strong magnetic fields. I had the camera sitting on a desk with several external hard drives, a laptop, two speakers, and the occasional cell phone (iPhone). As I understand it, speakers have shielding to prevent their magnetic fields from affecting the surroundings. Is it possible that one of these items damaged the camcorder?

Matt Agnello
01-18-2008, 10:36 AM
Confirmed that the tape heads needed to be cleaned. Unfortunately finding a tape head cleaner for a digital8 camera is not an easy task. Luckily, though, I didn't need one: some canned air sprayed onto the drums seemed to clear the problem right up.

And after reading stuff online about dry tape head cleaners, I'll probably never use one.

LightningFilms
01-18-2008, 10:40 AM
If it really comes down to it - any Best Buy or Circuit City should be stocked with Maxell D8 tape head cleaners. Once again, If It Comes Down To It. lol