Thanks to Gregg and Ron for advice on diagnosing the audio dropouts on my TRV-900 camcorder. For the benefit of anyone else having similar problems: searching the web for cleaning ideas, I found and followed the instructions here: http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/trouble/capclean.html http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/trouble/headclean.html and my camcorder now works flawlessly again. My camera had the telltale grimy line on the capstan, illustrated in clear photos at the first URL above. Thanks again, Rebecca _________________________________________________________________ Check out MSN PC Safety & Security to help ensure your PC is protected and safe. http://specials.msn.com/msn/security.asp