HELP! Why do I have a Red X on my screen

[clayllama137]

I have a DVX100a which usually works just fine, but the other day i had a little scare. A little red circle with an "X" shape in it appeared in the upper left of my viewfinder, i revewied the footage i had been shooting and it was fine until about the time the circle appeared and the whole frame froze up and things got stuttery and half the resolution lines were missing or mixed up.
I changed tapes and things went smoothly for a few minutes until the same thing happened again.

Why would i be getting this problem, and what can be done to fix it?

Thank you very much for any assistance.

 

[The Engineer]

Step 1: Read the manual.
Step 2: Get the heads cleaned.

 

[tsand19151]

I think that means your heads need cleaning....stick around as I'm sure someone will prove me right or wrong......

 

[clayllama137]

I will check the heads. Is a head cleaning tape ok and safe to use? How would you recommend cleaning the heads most effectively?

Thanks.

i will read the manual, too.

 

[andy_starbuck]

There is a sticky in the forum that is a guide to cleaning the heads.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=6888

I'd *never* use a cleaning tape. They are usually abrasive and can damage the heads.

There are two kinds of lubricant used on miniDV tape -- wet lubricant and dry lubricant. Mixing the two can foul the heads. So pick a tape type/brand and stick with it.

 

[PaPa]

meh, i used the cleaning tape, and thank god for it, i almost had a heart attack.. WHY?

Well after about 60 hours of use on the heads, i started getting exactly as you described, all my footage had huge resolution loss, loss of sound, lines everywhere and it just looked like a wreck. I was scared because:

there was no red X on my screen, which made me flip out. I knew perfectly well that when the heads need cleaning or what not, that the red X would come up. Except there was nothing there. Quite a fright.

i been always using Maxell's DVM60SE since i can remember, and finally went to best buy and the only head cleaner they had was a JVC mini dv head cleaner, i bought it, ran it two or three times to get them nice and clean, and finally it worked again, havent had aproblem yet and im closing in on 100 hours.