Hi, I'm using the Sharp VL-Z300 camcorder. I recently I found that whenever I'm recording onto miniDV, some parts of the recording will contain mosaic vertical squares and squeeky sound. It happens in the beginning of recording, and in the middle of it. I've tried using TDK MiniDV headcleaner to clean it 3 times. But it still doesn't solve my problem. I have another problem is that around 40 minutes into recording, it will prompt me to eject the tape, which is 60 minutes long. What are causing all these problems? Are there any ways I can solve them? Thanks

The mosaic squares is caused by the loss of signal. The premature ejection message is probably caused by excessive takeup tension. The cause for both is probably sticking tape. Try fast forwarding and rewinding the tape before use. Otherwise the tape transport needs adjustment.

Thank you very much. I just taped 23 mins of still footage using a tape I had only recorded once. Before that, I cleaned the head one more time and did fast forwarding and rewind of that tape. The image has improved (still some mosaic at the begining). And there are still some squeaky sound ocasionally. Do I need to get the video head replaced?