HELP! Damaged Camcorder tape - need to rescue it

JonnyXXX

Hi All
I am playing an old camcorder tape on a brand new camcorder. On the camcorders LCD screen, it frequently reverts to blue screen indicating that the tape is damaged. (heads must be ok as the machine is new). sound is perfect. when i click pause and replay, the picture always comes back temporarily. the picture plays intermittently throughout. Is there anything I can do to rescue this recording? I cannot find a function to turn off the blue screen option to see how bad the recording actually is.

Thanks

zilog_jones

When this happens, have you tried physically looking at that part of the tape to see if there's anything on it or it is creased in any way? Be careful not to touch the tape while doing this of course!

It sounds like the camcorder has a low threshold for poor signals, i.e. when the picture gets to a certain level of badness it just gives up trying to display the picture.

What tapes are you talking about? MiniDV or 8mm, and if 8mm are you playing an old analogue tape on a Digital8 camcorder?

MiniDV is particularly bad at getting any picture out of a damaged tape from my experience, and due to the small nature of the system it's quite possible a badly screwed up tape can damage the heads so be careful. It's less likely with 8mm tape, but probably still possible.

How old is the tape, and what sort of conditions was it stored in?

JonnyXXX

The tape is 6 years old and its a Hi8 tape. it looks in v good condition when i open it. but it was played in a camcorder a few years ago that had dirty heads. it doesnt look damaged in anyway. the camcorder is a Hi8 analogue Sony camcorder and is brand new. your right about the low threshold and going to blue screen. thats proven when you pause and play again...the picture always come back temporarily. any ideas what i could do to improve it?

zilog_jones

Maybe the heads on the new camcorder got dirty from something on that tape? It sounds similar to what I saw happen to a new VHS VCR - an old cheap crappy tape was put in, fudged up the heads, and any other tape played in it after would show frequent loss of picture (going to blue screen).

Have you tried playing or recording other tapes on it since putting in that tape?

If it is just that tape that's causing trouble, I dunno if there's much you can do with that equipment. If it's some video you *really* need you could try getting it transferred by someone with a professional Hi8 deck - one of them might have a better chance at getting something playable out of it.

Also, I was not aware Sony were still selling new Hi8 camcorders! Wow.

Ghost Train

My only suggestion, if you fast forward the tape fully to the end, and rewind back to the beginning, it might loosen the old tape, wrapping it up more smoothly/evenly on the spools. Otherwise it might just be the new camcorder has trouble with reading the old recordings and is being fussy

JonnyXXX

yep, argos are selling the Hi8 camcorder! Its the first tape i placed into the brand new camcorder so i dont think its the machine. Will try the fastforward and rewind idea. its just frustrating that you can see picture when you pause and play again and then it dissappears. thanks for the help.

zilog_jones

Could you try a different tape or record a new tape on it though? I would not be surprised if the old tape already clogged up the heads - it's quite possible. And there is the slight off-chance it is actually faulty.