Sony Handycam issue - repair/replace?

I have one of the Sony DRV-TRV250 but i did not get the CD with it. Would you consider selling them to me. Virginia

Hi guys.
Finally I got my TRV38 fixed here in Brazil. However, I had to find my sale receipt to get it repaired. I wrote to all the possible places that I got (Sony in USA, Brazil and so on) to try to get it fixed without the receipt, but they gave me different answers to the same question. It seemed they did want to get fixed. I even talked on the phone for more than 30min to the manager here in Brazil to solve that, and he adviced to write an email to the FAQ. No way to get it done either.
Anyway, and LUCKILY when I bought my unit, I bought another one for a friend of mine and he had a copy of the receipt.
It took less than a hour to get repaired, at no cost, otherwise it would have been around US$ 250.

I thank all of you for this discussion because it helped me a lot to understand a bit more about the problem and to discuss with Sony. Anyway I do not feel confortable with Sony anymore because all of that.
I got my unit back which is working again, however, the question is:
How long for?

I wish all the best to the ones that are still in the line.

Antonio

ccd died last week. called sony.50% off flat labor rate is all they will offer. the only problem is,i won't have a video camera for maui next month. gee i hope the kid's have a photoghrapic memory.i'm finished with sony. almost everything i own is sony.so much for loyalty.

Did Sony offer the half price? What number do I need to call? Thanks for any info!

Hi every one,

I have DCR-TRV19 trash and that is almost 2 years old. Last month we went a trip to Wisconcin Dells and there we opened it to shoot.Guess what next we were encountered the same Black Screen Dead problem just like you guys. Later I spoke to Sony tech support about this and they simply told me that this is a rare case and they never heard about it. And i was told to send the camcorder to Sony service center along with $269.00 flat rate for repair. I was shocked for their response. Anyway this was a great gift from Sony to their loyal customers.

We had the same experience with Sony on this. I'm wondering if they are specifically telling their staff to respond to this problem with the "rare problem, not heard of this" response on purpose. My sense is that, once a lawsuit is initiated, it's darned if you do, darned if you don't. If you do admit a problem, the lawyers jump on it as an admission of fault. If you don't admit to the fault, you alienate your customers. I still think the better thing would have been for them to admit their fault and recompense affected consumers. However, now it's in the lawyer's hands. If this one turns out as other class action suits, it's pretty likely that most of the consumers in the class will get very little after a settlement is agreed upon. However, you can bet the lawyers will make a nice sum.

Hi Craig,
in your message, you?ve said that a lawsuit is initiated. I live in Brazil and I would like to get more information about that, because now my unit has been at Sony headquartes in Sao Paulo. I am sure about the problem, but I would like to have arguments to support my discussion with them when they call me back.
Thanks

Search above in this thread to find the entry "Class Action" where you will find a description of the class action lawsuit and the name of the lawfirm handling this. There is also a class action lawsuit in Wisconsin, which I believe is separate (since it only covers consumers in Wisconsin). This one can be found here:

http://www.sheller.com/Practice.asp?PracticeID=175

Download the brief (a PDF file), since it contains much useful information regarding the suit as well as the discovery conducted by this lawfirm. They "allege" that the failure has occured in thousands of Sony digital camcorders with the 1/4" HAD CCD chip and describe exactly the condition that my camcorder is afflicted with. This document alone should be very useful to you.

However, when I spoke to one of the Sony reps, I referred them to this document, even reading excerpts when they ignored my plea for them to view the file. This was after they told me they had never heard of this problem. Their response was, "well, it's 10 months out of warranty, so we can't help you." Tell it to the judge, Sony!

Apparently, Sony seems to be having some trouble (beyond that noted here). I read in the business news this morning that Sony is laying off 10,000 employees due to weak sales in its consumer electronics division. Apparently, flagging sales of its CRT-based TVs and PS2 game console have been part of the problem. I am sure that competition from Canon, Samsung, JVC and Matsushita for camcorder market share can't help. Sony has plans to farm out all of its CRT manufacturing to China. I wonder if this might be their motivation to put the "black screen of death" issue with their camcorders behind them. It seems that now they intend to aim toward HD CCD chips in their camcorders. While I think this is a nice idea, it would seem to me that a better position for them is in the disposable camcorder market. It would seem they've already got this market cornered!

Hi there,

I'm from Aus, Sydney. I got trv22E. Had about ten (10, yes T.E.N) tapes recorded with this camera. I just got to Surfers Paradise with my kid and familly for an anniversary holiday trip, booked tickets for theme parks, checked that camera is working, checked again.. eirgh....hhmmmm

hit the web and got hundreds of ('unauthorised', ''unverified') hits on the issue! How disappointing.

I had a x_other_brand_x cam for over ten years before buying this one, got through all my youth and drunken days, trips, weddings, school holidays, campings - never a problem. On the other hand, sony cam was pampered in a special hard bag, at a dry and cold place with a very consistent humidity and temperature. It just doesnt make any sense.

It doesn't take much to put two and two together. There is a generic fault with the range of products as corners were cut in manufacturing to get the 'el cheapo' with the big brand sticker out.

I wish you all the best with the class action, it is well overdue and a right thing to do. I am also disappointed to see the responses you have been getting from their support. It is quite blazee and unprofessional.

and yeah, I am switching back to x_other_brand_x since this one doesn't work EXACTLY when I need it the most.

The class action filed in WI is not seperate from the one Steve Berk is handling. Lawyers often team up with other attorneys in cases like these. Considering Steve is in DC he teamed up with lawyers in WI.

I have a DCR-TRV38 and I called them today after their announcement yesterday. They are reimbursing me my $269.00 repair fee. Call them if you have the CCD problem. They will make it right it appears.

Sony has recently published on its "support site" about the "blank / distorted" lcd / viewfinder problem with its digital camcorders. I have just got put in a work order for Sony to service my DCT-TRV22 "distorted image" ( CCD ) problem using this website

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/news-item.pl?mdl=DCRTRV22&news_id=95

Hope they repair it well and "free of cost" (repair+shipping) ..

Hi guys,
Finally Sony repaired my trv-19 cam having Black screen problem at free of cost. I am very thankful to Cnet Forum and the members for getting Sony to notice the real defect.Thanks to Sony.

If you have already paid for repairs, ask SONY to reimburse them for you!

Just spoke w/Sony customer service. They gave me a work order # and said they would fix for free. They are even sending me a box to ship it in. I'm glad I didn't run out and get a new one! At least they are recognizing the fact that they were going to need to fix these camcorders or have a growing number of ex-sony customers. If you have this problem with your camcorder call there customer service 1-866-703-7669.

Just wondering if anybody has had their camcorders fixed without their original sales reciept? I have a TRV-250 black-screen special myself! But no sales slip.

I was on the phone with Sony yesterday and they never asked me for a sales receipt. Just call them and tell them your problem. Also, tell them about Sony offering to repair it because the two techs that I talked to had no idea about it untill I directed them to the Sony web site. I would suggest going to the web site and reading the Support News for the DCR-TRV250 so you can tell the tech you speak to, if you haven't already been to the site. Good luck!

They didn't ask me for one.

Hi Every one!

Finally Sony got the message with all your support. Thanks guys. I called Sony yesterday and they are going to repair my TRV- 19. No receipt needed, shipping and handling completely covered as per the rep I spoke to. awaiting for the package box to be delivered. Hope evrything goes well and wish you all good luck.

My TRV19 exhibits a similar problem to all those described except that the center third of the lcd screen and viewfinder is distored and green from top to bottom in both record and playback modes. Same issue is output to video out as well as laid onto a tape if recording is done. This was verified using a friends camera for playback. Camera is only about two years old and probably only ran 15 tapes or so. Sony says "tough luck", I agree with a pettition for a class action for a similar repair to the one they are doing on the digital eight (I think thats the model) At this point I'll take any suggestions I can get to recover this thing. Hate to throw it out - it's too new for that.

Hi All,
After a good news, now I am facing a problem with the receipt. Here in Brazil they are asking me for the receipt. The problem is I have lost it. And today a had a discussion with a guy on the phone who told me that without receipt, no way.
Any idea?
I have tried to write to Sony (email support to see if I can get any help on that).

I would say you will probaly have to call Sony to get any results. I have emailed them before they announced their offer to repair my camcorder with no results. They sent me a receipt yesterday telling me they have recieved my camcorder. Go to Sony.com and look for phone number. Maybe if you buy a phone card it won't cost you a lot of money to call them. Good Luck!

HEY GUYS, i jus bought sony comcorder for like 150 bucks, i am pretty new at this stuff.
but right now i cant find the right type of memory card to put it in and where to put in the camcorder actually.
so it would be helpful, if u guys show pe how to do it
or better yet if u have a pic of where to put it in.

I have had a DCR TRV250 for a couple of years now and never knew it took a memory card. If someone knows this, I would like to know also. Did someone tell you it takes a memory card or did you just assume this? I have no idea and was just looking at mine to see where it would go but can't find it. I hope we both can find out.

I have the same problem as you, here in Rio de Janeiro, with a JVC. Seems that many JVC cameras have this problem, because JVC use Sony ccd. I have also lost my purchase receipt. JVC Brazil are being difficult with me.
Did you resolve your problem with Sony without a purchase receipt? If so, how did you do this, and what did you agree with them?
Thanks for any info you can send.

After seeing the release posted by Sony stating they will pay for repairs due to the 'black screen' issue, I called them. The first person I spoke with went through all the troubleshooting again, didn't know anything about Sony fixing them for free and transferred me to another department. This new person went through all the troubleshooting again and gave me an address to send the camera to and said I would have to pay for repairs. I came unglued. Then he changed his story and said I would only have to pay for shipping. Before I could contact the service center to see if Sony would indeed cover the repairs, I got a phone call directly from Sony (I recently sent a letter to Sony's VP stating my frustrates and telling him to check out this thread), he is sending me a prepaid label and said Sony would fix my camera. Stay on them, once you talk to the right person, things should happen. It only took me two months, three letters, four phone calls, three emails and one hour on the phone last night, but I think we are finally starting to get somewhere... we'll see.

Jodie