PD170 irregular tape capture error
 

Every once in a while I get a capture error while attempting to capture the whole tape shot in my PD170. It happens once every three tapes and once it happened 7-8 times on one tape. I can usually fast forward once second and the remainder captures fine, unless it encounters another error and then I repeat. It does not matter what camera I capture the tape with, if there is an error it always occurs in the exact same spot. Anybody else seen this and any idea if it is more serious than dirty heads? I do regularly use a cleaning tape but I get this error every once in a while.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Patrick

How old is the camera? How many hours on the drum?

About 16 months old and low hours (under 100).

I doubt I can really help much, but one thing that occurs to me is what kind of tape are you using? If it's standard consumer grade, you might want to bump up to Panasonic MQ tapes (as far as I can tell, best tapes for the price).

I hate to say it, but it sounds like you may have to send the camera in to Sony for repair.

I would send the camera for a head service.

Choose your tpe manufacturer and stick with it.

Different manufacturers use different coating on their tapes and this can play a factor on your heads.

Cheers