JVC GR-DVL505U Digital Camcorder

We got this 3 yrs ago. For the price we paid, it was packed with features and performed well for the most part. We didn't bother with the included software since we had Pinnacle. A year ago (2 yrs after purchase) we had blotches and blackouts on tapes when viewing previously taped DVs. Went through and scratched up bunches of tapes before trying out the head cleaners. Things were ok until few months ago. The motor to eject and receive the cartridge started to get stuck. After jiggling few times, even brute force, it would be ok. Now this past weekend, after we tried to use it to tape our son's birthday party, it degenerated to the point where it's 'eating up' tapes and it takes several minutes of coaxing to get the tape to go in or out. Time for a decent burial me thinks.

We bought our camera new and thought it was GREAT! We took pictures with it mostly and did take some videos of holidays and our kids' programs, ect. Now 2 years and only 6 mini-dv tapes down the line we get an error message stating "head cleaning needed". Well we went out and bought the "needed" head cleaning cassette and ran it through. The next time, and every time since you get into taping about 5 minutes and that same message pops up. JVC's customer support is terrible. All they can say is, "take it to an authorized service center apparently your heads are bad. Well for us the closest one is 120 miles away. Add that to the cost of $50-$100/hour labor plus parts to get it fixed, are you nuts? You can probably buy a new camera by the time your done. As others have stated in their reviews, the software compatibility is also another issue they won't help you with. Just keep searching on the net and you'll eventually find someone that can help you with that problem. I am very disappointed with JVC and I wish people would wait a while before they write these reviews. People writing them a month or two after having their product is good to explain all the nice features, but how is it working now a few years down the road?

We bought the JVC GR-DVL505U Digital Camcorder a couple of years ago. The first year was great. It did what it's supposed to do. That's why I still give it some stars.

But on the second year, it started flashing a lot of error messages, constantly ask to clean head, and sometimes DID NOT record at all without any indication on the screen. We found out later when we tried to view the tapes. At first, we thought it was just a bad tape, but it happened to every single tape. In one of the tapes, we found more than half blank/skipped sections. It's so sad and frustrating because we're trying to record our baby's 'first everything'.

We're planning to get a new one. We can no longer depend on this camcorder to capture the important moments. I guess 2 stars is too generous because I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone.

After purchasing my digital video camera in late November of last year and creating exactly 2 video tapes, the camera stopped working and began generating an E01 error message. After digging out my paperwork, I was dismayed to learn that the warranty covers a year in parts but only 90 days labor. I brought the unit to JVC's recommended service center and was quoted a huge repair bill to re-align and overhaul the camera. After buying the camera less than a year ago I just don't know if I can bring myself to spend the additional money to `make it actually work'. If you have to buy this camera make sure you get the extended warranty.

camcorder is definitely up there with the best. but why pay $ for it used, when you can get it new on hsn for about the same price.