Frequently Asked Questions

We specialize in the machines most shops won’t touch anymore. On the VCR side: the professional Panasonic AG-1980 and AG-5710, most late-model consumer VHS VCRs (late ’90s onward), and DVD/VHS combo units. On the camcorder side: Sony 8mm, Hi-8, Digital8, Mini-DV and HD camcorders, plus the Sony GV “ClamShell” playback decks.

Not sure whether we take your unit? Email your make and model to support@avrepair.com and we’ll tell you straight. You can see the full lineup on our VCR Repair and Camcorder Repair pages.

We’re a ship-in service, anywhere in the U.S. Fill out our quick request form, pack your unit well, and ship it in. Once it arrives, we inspect it and email you an estimate. If you approve, we do the repair and ship it back to you. Simple as that.

Yes — we charge a $30 estimate fee, and it’s waived if you approve the repair. It’s not mandatory to pay it up front, but if you do, it’s simply applied to the balance due. If you decide not to proceed, the $30 fee plus return shipping (if you’d like the unit returned) is all that would be due.

We send you a secure invoice through Square that you can pay online with a card — for the repair once you approve your estimate, or for the estimate fee and return shipping if you decline. Nothing is due up front unless you choose to prepay the estimate fee.

Please do — and check more than the price. Before you ship your equipment to anyone, including us, look the shop up with the Better Business Bureau and read their Google and Yelp reviews. Pay attention to two things: the complaint history, and whether customers say the price they were quoted is the price they actually paid. A low number from a web form means nothing if it doubles or triples ‘upon inspection’ — once your unit is sitting on their bench and they know you want it back.

For the record: our BBB rating is A+, our estimate terms are spelled out in plain English above, and the price we quote you after inspection is the price. Our testimonials are unsolicited — and verifiable.

It depends on the unit and what it needs — we’ll give you a realistic timeframe right along with your estimate, so you’re never left guessing. Standard repairs move as quickly as parts and proper testing allow.

Our full Bullet Proofing service for the AG-1980 and AG-5710 runs about two to three months, start to finish — because there are no shortcuts in it, and we won’t pretend otherwise.

Absolutely — we stand behind what we do. Standard repairs are covered for six months, parts and labor, and our full Bullet Proofing service for the professional AG decks carries a two-year warranty. See our Warranty page for more.

‘Bad caps’ refers to leaking electrolytic capacitors. Capacitors come in many shapes and sizes, but when one refers to ‘bad caps’ they’re speaking of either electrolytics, or surface-mounted electrolytics.

Electrolytic capacitors and their SMD counterparts (Surface Mounted Device) are heat sensitive and will break down and leak over time. Add to this the unscrupulous companies that made cheap capacitors, and the manufacturing companies that used them to save a buck, and nearly all electronics across the board are or were suffering from bad caps — including automotive electronics, computer motherboards, and game consoles. This is but one of the ‘dirty little secrets’ that the manufacturers don’t talk about. Imagine if the car industry were held to account for the bad caps in the ‘electronic brains’ or electronic dashboards. Or if the camcorder manufacturers were held to account for the products they made that went bad shortly after the warranty was up — all because of a fairly inexpensive part, the electrolytic capacitor. Many companies chose to stop using them in their designs altogether. Smart move.

When a capacitor begins to physically leak, a caustic substance (electrolyte) slowly oozes out and begins to eat away at the circuit board, and anything else it touches nearby. If the circuit board has multiple layers, this problem is exacerbated and can destroy the board very quickly. If (and this is a big IF) we’re able to get to the unit in time, and IF the circuit board isn’t irreparably damaged, we can remove the old capacitors and replace them with new, high-quality, longer-life ones. We only use long-life, high-quality, high-temperature capacitors that are currently available. Depending on the year, make and model of the audio/video equipment, that determines how many capacitors inside need to be replaced. Some models have hundreds of bad caps; others have fewer.

None of these tapes are manufactured anymore, so what you’re buying today is new old stock — and quality matters more than ever. Fuji and JVC tapes are excellent. Better still, the Professional version of any brand — including Sony — is a higher-grade tape with roughly half the error rate of the regular version, and it’s easy to spot: Professional tapes come in odd lengths. A regular Mini-DV tape runs 60 or 90 minutes; the Professional runs 63 or 83. That odd number is how you know. Often only a dollar or two more, and well worth it.

Some to avoid: Sony Premium tapes have known compatibility issues with Canon camcorders, and we don’t recommend Maxell or TDK. In a pinch, any of them will do — just don’t make a habit of it.

One more thing most people never hear: use a tape once. DV has no erase heads — it simply records on top of what’s there, and the error rate jumps whether you can see it or not. If you must re-record, never exceed three passes.

Only when you actually need one — never on a schedule or as routine maintenance, and that goes double for the digital decks. Head-cleaning tapes are abrasive; every pass wears the video heads, and nobody makes these heads anymore.

The signs you need one: no time code, no playback picture, or banding/pixelation spread evenly across the picture. When you do use one, follow the directions: 10–15 seconds, no more than twice in a row.

For VHS machines: never use a wet-type head cleaner — with or without the liquid. The cloth material can catch the video heads and crack them outright. Dry head cleaners only.

Not always — and we'll never pretend otherwise. When bad caps leak, they don't just quit; the electrolyte eats into the circuit board, and on some units the damage goes too far to bring back — or the repair would simply cost more than the deck is worth. Certain older and higher-end machines are especially prone to it.

When that's the case, we'll tell you straight, even when it's not what you were hoping to hear. That honesty is the whole point — we'd rather lose the job than take your money on a machine that can't be saved.

Got an older or premium VCR you're attached to? Email us your make and model before you ship. We'll give you our honest read on whether it's worth the trip.

Maybe — and honestly, maybe not. Many of these machines are now 15 to 25+ years old, and for some specific models the parts simply aren’t available anymore. The best thing to do is email us your exact make and model. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can get what yours needs before you ship it. See our Camcorder Repair page for the families we service.

Packing is everything — most shipping damage comes down to a unit that could move inside its box, and all the insurance in the world won’t replace your machine. The short version: give it room, cushion every side, make sure it can’t shift when you shake the box, and tape it up tight.

We’ve put together a full step-by-step guide — box sizes and crush ratings, the styrofoam-sheathing trick, ejecting any video tape cassette before you ship, and how to tape it up right. Read our Packing & Shipping Guide →

Ship to: AVRepair, 723 NE 412th Ave, Old Town, FL 32680. Please fill out our request form first, so we have your details on the way in.

Sorry — no. Beta units are no longer serviceable.