JVC has had a special free repair offer on this manufacturing fault running for about the last 30 months or so but unfortunately this expired at the end of Dec 2007, so all anyone can really do now is to pay out the exorbitant charge (approx over half the original cost price) to have it repaired, or contact JVC by letter and "plead your case", which may work as its still the same manufacturing defect that caused the problem in the first place, and this caused by faulty CCD modules (supplied by Sony) being fitted into a multitude of JVC models. It should be pointed out though that the offer only applied to original purchasers of the camcorder, and who possessed documentary evidence to prove same.