I am not familiar with the Sony model but I am sure it is fine. I totally believe in extended warranty coverage. Should you have a problem with your camcorder, do not force anything. If normal troubleshooting does not work..take advantage of your warranty coverages. FYI: Some good general advice is to not store your tape inside the camcorder when not in use and remove the battery when you are done and ready to store the unit away. Try not to use TDK or Maxell tapes...they are problematic for some reason. I would suggest Sony tapes or even Panasonic or JVC. All work great in digital camcorders. Also, if you have a problem during recordings...always try to remove the tape you are using..power the unit down...remove the battery or power source..replace the power source and try a NEW tape. What this does is reset the camcorders microprocessor and allows the camcorder to start new and hopefully without an error code or symptom. Trying a new tape always allows for the chance the other tape you were using may be faulty. Believe me...tape faults are very common and with both items (camcorder and tape) being mechanical...if one of them has a mechanical problem..the other won't run right either. Hope all this info helps and enjoy your new camcorder!!