I have a 7 year old Hitachi model VM-H955LA 8mm Video camcorder. It
has been fine up to yesterday.

When placing a new or a used/already recorded tape into the camcorder
and trying to either record on the new tape or play back an already
recorded tape, I get a flashing "tape" in the viewfinder. The battery
is fully charged and/or the camcorder is plugged into the power supply.
It doesn't make any difference what power source is used. If I try to
record without a tape being in the camcorder, I get a "no tape" in the
viewfinder, so I know the camera knows when there is a tape in the
unit. If I push the fast forward button, the tape starts to FF, but
then stops in 1/2 second or less. If I hold the FF button down, then
the tape will FF. The same is true for reverse, it only works if I
hold the reverse button down.

Before I drive and shell out $$ to the authorized Hitachi service
center which is 20 miles away, I thought maybe someone in the group
would have some ideas. I have lots of experience in TV repair, but none
in camcorders. SInce the video channel is ok based on what I see in
the viewfinder, I am hoping it will not be TOOO expensive to repair.
If anyone has a $$ limit that you think I should not exceed for repair
costs, I would like that opinion also.

TIA,

H. R. (Bob) Hofmann