Sony Handycam issue - repair/replace?

You can find many people here got the same problem even after repair.

I contacted Sony this morning about the problem with my TRV250 blank screen and viewfinder. After talking to two people about this defective product, the first resolution on their part was for me to pay $269.00 for the repair. After informing them that I felt they were taking advantage of me, I was transferred to another customer service rep who said she would waive the $53.00 parts cost and only charge me $216.00 for the labor. I contacted Steve Berk concerning this new proposal from Sony. They will not get another penny from me. By the way if they do not know about the defective part, how do they know the exact price of the part? sugar4013

My DCr -trv 19 also get the same problem...is joining class action will solve the problem ? what will we get ?

Dont throw you camera away PLEASE RECYCLE!!!

I reminder to those with failed cameras: Don't throw it away. You may need it for the class action lawsuit.

Interesting.... I have TWO BROKEN SONY Door Stops. A 6 month old DVD-101 and a three year old TVR-11. Two different problems and the SAME REPAIR PRICE! I have noticed $269 as being quoted for other repairs as well. SONY=garbage!

Please let me know how can I joing in this class action.

I had my DCR-TRV250 A LITTLE OVER A YEAR. WENT TO MY WIFES GRADUATION AND WHEN I TRIED TO RECORD THE BLACK SCREEN OF DEATH. IT WILL RECORD AUDIO. IT PLAYS THE VIDEO BACK JUST FINE.

I GUESS SONY DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS ANY MORE.

I'm calling Sony today after ready these posts. Same thing happened to my camcorder.I was a loyal sony consumer for many years, (sony vaio, sony digital camera & sony camcorder) I am now through with sony!!I am also calling Steve Berk to inquire about the class action suit and emailing BBB to submit a complaint. I urge everyone in this forum to do the same...

I've had this camcorder for no more than 6-8 months and now I get the blank screen. This is simply propostrous.

A-

I have had this Video camera for 2 years then it died. I tried emailing Steve Berk and calling but have gotten no response from him. Has anyone else? Is it a legit lawsuit or is it someone yanking our chain?

TRV33, less than a year and a half old, now a paper weight. What a POS! This is quite aggrivating especially after finding out how many people are having problems. Is the law suit legit? I'm in if it is but I want to see a copy of the filed petition before joining in.

Yes, the lawsuit is legit. I spoke with the paralegal on this last week. They sent me a questionnaire to fill out, which I did and emailed back to them. Also, since I purchased my Video Camera with my Gold Mastercard I checked out the extended warranty protection with it and I am covered! I got lucky. I suggest everyone check out how they bought their video camera and see if you have the extended warranty protection via your credit card, like I do.

Camera is just 1 year old, and I used it maybe 5 times. Just took it out of it's case, and screen is black. I too called Sony, and was told to send it to their repair place .. which will cost me $300.00 I am MAD. Looked online and found this forum of people having the exact same issue - hope the class action suit is for real, because I wll join it!

My camera is about 2 yrs old. It happened intermittantly at first but within a few days I could only get a black screen in the lcd and viewfinder. Audio is fine and playback is fine. I contacted Sony and they acted like they had never heard of the problem and suggested I either pay $300 to have it fixed or perhaps buy one of their new cameras with better features.

After reading this forum and learning that the black screen is one of the known "features" of the Sony camera I purchased, I don't think I will be purchasing anything Sony anytime soon. I will try them again tomorrow and if I get nowhere I will join the class action and contact the BBB. It's funny you think it's better to spend the extra money to by a "top" name brand you can trust and this is what happens.

It appears that the black screen problem is with the TRV's.

Has anyone had trouble with the HC's? The other forums rave about the HC90. I believe this is new so maybe the problem hasn't reared it's ugly head.

I am looking for a camcorder to record my son's senior year varsity games. The fields are lit but I want to be sure that I have a clear picture. In addition, I need a good amount of digital zoom.

Then I need to record youth dancing competitions that are very dark except for the stage.

I do not want a lemon!!!

Thanks,
Chippette

I too experienced the imfamous "black screen of death" with my Sony TRV. I recently purchased a panasonic and so far so good. Some friends got a cannon about a year ago. They had to send it back twice as it had some sort of playback problem. It was fixed under extended warranty and they love it now. The rule is ALWAYS buy the extended warranty! Consider the camera only as good as the warranty that comes with it. I am an electrical engineer I know it should not be this way, but it is for this kind of product. I got a 5 year extended warranty from Best Buy with mine for only $100 more.

Well I recieved a TRV 250 for a wedding gift, used it only on the honeymoon...never have been able to record since then. Judging by this string though, at least I am not alone!

I just had the same problem. I was setting up my TRV250 to record, everything looked great then suddenly the screen filled with horizontal lines. Eventually the lines went away and the screen was black. If I switch to the Nightshot mode and film a lightsource, the light shows up as a fuzzy ghostly green image. Sounds like I have the same problem as anyone else. Sony said that they had never heard of this problem and that a repair would be $269. I bought the camera new for cheaper than that. I contacted Steven Berk about the class action suit and received a copy of the complaint and a questionaire for me to fill out. I would recommend everyone else doing the same. Sony should take responsibility for what was obviously a design flaw.

Sony announced that it will fix the CCD problem free of charge http://earthlink.com.com/2100-1041_3-5888161.html?part=earthlink

For those of you with a DCR-TRV250, Sony has decided to fix these models for free, they even pay the shipping. I had read several posts about Canon repairing a similar problem for free so I decided to give Sony one more chance before I went out and bought a new (non-Sony) camcorder. To my amazement, the telephone tech was aware of the problem (unlike the previous tech I talked to who said he had never heard of this problem). I was given a shipping label and work order number. Here is an official Sony release.

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/news-item.pl?mdl=DCRTRV250&news_id=95

Thanks Sony for finally taking responsibility. I hope that repair includes a CCD that is void of the original design flaw.

We have a dead CCD in our DCR-TRV22. A scan of the Sony customer service page reveals that the TRV19 and TRV22 are also covered. I'd imagine other DCR models manufactured prior to March 2004 (as per website) are also covered.

This certainly restores my faith in Sony!

It is not just the 250 that is covered. I have the DCR-TRV38 and they reimbursed me for my repair. Call the 800 number and ask for coverage, more than likely it will be covered.

I have a DCR-HC40 within warranty that they claim does not suffer from the bad CCD issue, and they want to charge me the $216 repair cost to fix mine.

Argh! Anyone else out there with this camera having this same issue?

The refused to fix may camera and I spoke to with levels of customer "dis"service. I will not purchase another Sony product. I can't believe that I purchased the highest model in the line and yet they are only fixing the cheaper models for free. Sony SUCKS!

Hi,
I have a black screen which does not record. It does replay recorded stuff. I called Sony and they're asking for 216 USD for labor. This model number is not covered under their recent decision to repair some of the other models free.

I am having the same problem as all of you here. My screen is all distorted and in a green shade. My Husband bought me this DCR-TRV250 for Christmas in 2003. I only used it a few times. Now it is useless. I can not record on it but can play back. I contacted Sony about the problem and they said Sony has never heard of any of the camcorders having a problem, lol. I should try to set it back to factory settings, with no instructions on how to do that by the way, and if that doesn't work bring it back to where he bought it. After reading many posts here, I can see that it is better to just buy a new one. I will ask for another one but it won't be a Sony. I will not buy any more Sony products ever again. My Husband paid a lot of money for this piece os junk. I have no idea how to fix it and no help from Sony. If anyone has come up with a solution, please let me know. Thank you!
Marie