Sony DCR-TRV 260 sound issues?

Question

I have a Digital 8 Camera listed above.

Recently the playback gets a little jumpy, it will skip around but a slight tap the the side will fix that, but now the problem is that its not playing back the sound. Now im worried because Im not sure if its not Recording the sound or simply playing it... Its realy old and out of warranty so any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Did you record the tapes in the same camcorder your are using to play them?  If not, you may be using the wrong 8mm camera for the wrong tape.  Use a Digital8 camcorder since it can handle all of the 8mm cassettes: standard 8mm, Hi-8, and Digital8.

If this is the correct camcorder, you may also solve the issue by using a cleaning cassette.  These cameras did not always have a system to automatically sense when cleaning was needed.

If you use a cleaning cassette - be sure it is for 8mm cameras, and Be VERY Sure to follow the directions carefully.  If the directions say to use the cleaning cassette for 10 seconds, use it ONLY for 10 seconds.  Cleaning cassettes are very rough and can damage your heads if used more than necessary.

If this does not help, then it means your tape are so old that the tape itself is falling apart or losing the magnetic signal.  There is nothing you can do to fix this since the data is already lost.  Consumer level DV tape has this same issue.