Panasonic PV GS-85 not playing tapes, recording on tapes and still capture are fine.?

Question

Thing is, the camcorder won't play any Mini DV tapes. I've been recording on the 3 tapes I own in LP mode since I bought it.

The first problem was repaired without costing a penny (it was under it's warrenty still), that was the dislocated chassis (lost a tape due to chewing).

Now the camcorder won't playback ANY tape, regardless if it's set to SP or LP mode. Recording is fine regardless of tape or SD card.

When playback is done, the display looks like this (sorry, it's all in text) when using any tape. There is nothing wrong with the playback device at all. It might be a jammed head but i'm not quite sure.

LP 0h00m00s00f

--:--:--:--
--/--/--

I'm asking if you or anybody else has encountered the same problem with your panasonic pv gs-85 camcorder or something similar.

The good and best guess I have is, the head is jammed and it's not making contact with the tape. The record head does make contact OR maybe it's the same one which plays and records.

This problem occurred after pausing the tape. The camcorder, like always, stopping after 5 minutes to protect it.

Once I got back, I resumed and nothing showed on it's LCD display or in movie maker. I even reset it and reset the CMOS info (camcorder settings) to defaults. Nothing improved, nothing played still.

Rugratzzzzzzzzzzz · Accepted Answer

Maybe they realigned the heads, so thay now your old tapes will not play?

If you have just got it back from being repaired then I suggest that you call the people who "fixed it" and have a word, it could be a fault associated with the repair (They Broke something else) Tell them whats going on. 

Clean the heads, try a new tape. Just a suggestion

Good luck

RR

DSV · Answer

I tend to think the playing head has had the bomb altogether , if the recording is doing ok , then the guides and other functions associated  with playback should be fine - if the camera isn't chewing tapes . Additionally if the camera isn't even registering on a minimal level the playback and any message from tape playback whatsoever this is a very good indication that there is a fatal problem on the playback feed to the camera's computer (other words it isn't getting it). As an adviser I would suggest you don't get it repaired , 
although parts for a playback head isn't that expensive the labour and possibilities of additional problems that may be present would be a risk which would probably not be worth the turmoil. keep on using it as a web cam and invest in another camera down the track particularly one which doesn't have moving parts such as a hdd or sdhc hybrid

? · Answer

A MiniDV tape should play in any MiniDV camcorder. Was the tape recorded in LP mode? LP mode isn't part of the MiniDV standard, so you can't guarantee being able to interchange tapes recorded like that. I've never heard of "Super mini DV" - sorry. Is your friend shooting in HDV? That uses the same tape (albeit made to a higher standard), but the format's different.

Panasonic PV GS-85 not playing tapes, recording on tapes and still capture are fine.?

3 Answers