On Sat, 24 Feb 2001 14:32:23 -0500, "Prodigy" wrote:

> I recently purchased a Sony DCR-TRV11 and am having a problem with drop
>outs in the video I record. I am averaging about 2 "drop outs" an hour. By
>drop out I mean the typical blocking effect you get with digital video when
>you loose the video signal due to dirty heads, etc. These drops out only
>last about 1 second. I have even once received an error condition telling
>me to clean the heads. I have since cleaned the heads and that hasn't
>helped. I have also tried changing to a different brand of tape which also
>didn't help. Is it out of the ordinary to have drop outs in the Mini DV
>format? I have called Sony for this issue and they suggested that I have my
>camcorder serviced. I am not too thrilled about this considering the
>camcorder is only a month and a half old. Any replies/suggestions would be
>appreciated.

Changing tape brands alone has been known to cause this...
Have the camera serviced - this is not normal performance
for Mini-DV. The almost-invisible single-small-block
repeating the same area of the previous frame for one-frame
duration type of dropout can occur more often with the newer
(type II) Sony tape than was typical with the older Sony
tape, I've found, but most people don't spot this subtle
type of dropout. Really obvious ones, like what you describe,
are normally VERY rare - maybe once in a hundred
hours or so...