Need some Mini DV help

[windkist]

My son has a digital video camera and this weekend he accidently left tapes on the counter of our motorhome and they fell into water. They will not play now. Is there anything we can do? I believe the camera is not working well now either I assume it became dirty from the tapes?

HELP!

thanks, Leah

[RFBurns]

Hi!

Unfortunately, not much can be done with water logged mini-DV tapes. Once the tape comes into contact with any liquid of any type, it turns the surface of the tape into a very sticky substance, which in turn makes all of the tape inside the case turn into a big reel of stuck tape. If you attempt to move the tape in any way, the surface of the tape, which is magnetic, will simply peel away along with the video.

[windkist]

Hi!

Unfortunately, not much can be done with water logged mini-DV tapes. Once the tape comes into contact with any liquid of any type, it turns the surface of the tape into a very sticky substance, which in turn makes all of the tape inside the case turn into a big reel of stuck tape. If you attempt to move the tape in any way, the surface of the tape, which is magnetic, will simply peel away along with the video.

Thanks for the info. I was afraid it was the end of those tapes. Luckily we purchased a 3 year warranty package with the camera and have plenty of time left. Do you think cleaner tape would help or should we just forget it and send it to repair?

thanks much,

Leah

[RFBurns]

Hi

It is risky to attempt to run new tapes into the machine at this time. What I would do first is run a cleaning tape in the camera first. Run it a few times to make sure any water residue that might have built up on the video drum gets removed. Hopefully no large water droplets fell into the camera from the tapes. If there is, the camera's DEW sensor will detect it and prevent the camera from loading a tape or sometimes even turning on.

If you are not sure if the camera is ok, I recommend it be sent in to Sony's repair center near your area. Visit http://esupport.sony.com and enter your unit's model number to see what flat rate repair charges would apply. If you have warranty, just fill out the info on the request service page of the site above and you should be able to get it serviced.