Posted by Dave (208.4.19.5) on March 27, 2004 at 21:24:31:
Hello!
I just found this forum while trying to get some online troubleshooting ideas....here's my story:
I have a Sony Handycam Model CCD-F401 (HI-8 format). It's not a very new camera, but has been gently used (perhaps an hour or two per year).
Today, I recorded some footage, and all went well. I returned home, connected the camera's audio and video outputs to my home VCR's inputs (as I've done in the past), and viewed the footage. Everything was just fine. I then decided to connect it to the input of a different VCR, so I disconnected it from the first VCR, carried it into the next room, and connected it to the inputs of the other VCR.
For the first minute or so, the picture appeared on the TV, but erratically, alternating with no picture. Finally, I got nothing but a blank screen. Also, there is no image during playback in the camera's viewfinder, whereas normally upon playback, images can be viewed through there. So, it almost appears that the video (and audio) signals aren't making it to the output of the camera itself.
Am I maybe overlooking something simple, or does it sound pretty major? Could dirty playback heads cause such an extreme situation, going from a perfect picture to no picture or sound at all?
Sorry for the lengthy post.....any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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