Hey everyone! I've got a problem with my Sony PD170 tape heads (at least I'm 99% sure it's the heads). I've used the camera for about the past three years and for the past few months I've been experiencing some problems when attempting to capture my footage. The footage ends up looking pretty distorted and there's numerous pops in the audio. In fact it looks exactly like the frame on page 157 of the PD170 user manual under the section "Cleaning the video head." So i bought the Sony DVM12CL head cleaner and ran it through. At first ( a few months ago) it worked, but now it's pretty much useless, the heads continue to produce distorted images. How can I fix this? Can I take my camera into a professional and have them clean the heads or are there other options?

Thanks in advance,
DJ

__________________
www.punkrockvids.com

How many times did you use the head cleaner, you may need to do several times, but only for 10 seconds each. I had the same problem and ran the head cleaner 5-6 times with tests in between and it fixed it.

Sounds like it's just tune up time. Could need heads but I'd be surprised. The tape tension drifts off. TG1 adjust arm and the supply reel at least. Alignment adjustments. Good cleaning and you'll be as good as new. Head cleaner won't help for any length of time.