Thomas, I am not sure but my first concern is how long that tape had been inside the unit before you went to use it? FYI: if the tape was stored in the unit and is now jammed up..that may have been what lead up to the problem. Just keep in mind in the future (regardless of brand you own) to not store the tape inside the camcorder when you store it away for any length of time. Also remove the battery from the unit to keep the battery from draining power. If storing the tape is not the issue..then maybe the tape you had was defective and jammed up after you put it in. It is hard to say. Either way...keep removing and replacing the power source (this resets the microprocessor) and then try to go thru the eject process over and over. Sometimes it will work if you are persistant 10-15 times or so. If not..then the tape jam is a service issue. The next thing to consider is if it is worth repair. The DVL120 is about 6 years old or so...new models are pretty reasonable on line and at the stores. If troubleshooting does not help..check out BuyDig.com and see the different brands/models they have. They also carry a great extended warranty thru Mack Camera for 4 years and usually under $70-80 bucks. Hope this info helps.