Hello, Had the same problem with my camcorder but fortunately I paid 59 extra for the extended warranty, circuit city repaired the device the ticket said CCD board changed, if you consider that the CCD and the tape mechanism are the more expensive parts of the camera, you will probably end paying more than $250 for the repair, just add $50 more and buy a good Canon camcorder this JVC's are a real crap. I love JVC products (Hava a CD Jukebox and a DVD-A Player working for more than 5 years without a single issue) but is better to keep away from they camcorders ... Thanks