20 Most Recent Panasonic PV-GS31 Mini DV Digital Camcorder - Page 2 Questions & Answers

change the ccd

Press the reset which is located on the side of your Camcorder. If that does not fix the problem then you have an intermittent Cable/contact that goes from the circuit board to the LCD.

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/support/Cameras-Camcorders/Camcorders/MiniDV-Camcorders/Operating-Instructions/model.PV-GS9.O#ts

http://panasoniclostfocus.blogspot.com/
Common problem with Panasonic cameras. Read comments from other owners at the above blog and send a description to me at the blog. I will post it. Also check 3CCD USER.COM

Your heads are dirty , clean with a cleaning tape.

Have you got the drivers installed as well some management program like windows movie maker or you can try www.panasonic.com for drivers and software.

Nice camera you can record directly to the 3.5 inch mini dvd's available virtually anywhere including walmart and Fred Meyer, those mini dvd's are playable on your computer and you can copy the files on them to your computer by placing them in your computer cd/dvd drive right clicking on them hitting explore highlighting the files you want to copy right click on them hit copy open the file you want to put them in and right click in that file and hit paste. You don't need cables, just put the disc in your computer. Be sure to read in the manual how to close the disc before you take it out of your camera or your computer won't recognize it.

I called Panasonic directly today & asked about the Vista driver for the GS31. No such driver exists, but they are trying to develop a driver specifically for Vista users of this camcorder. Finally the mystery is correctly answered & solved for us Vista owners! woooohooo !

I just added this to your original post as well.

Ok follow along once more =)

1. Open device manager
2. Right click the device and select - Update Driver
3. Select - No Not This Time press Next
4. Select - Install From a Specific Location Press Next
5. Select - Dont Search , I will choose the driver to install Press Next
6. There is now a check box with - Show Compatible Hardware - Remove the tick from that box
7. Browse to where the INF file is and selct it.
8. The list should now show all the hardware listed in that INF.
9. Select the one you want and click NEXT
10. You may get a warning about it not being the right driver etc etc, just ignore it and keep pressing Next.

Sorry for the late reply, but the email servers here are not telling us when responses have been posted at this time.

Could be you ccd, charged coupling device, eye of camera. May be pricey to repair. go to panasonic on line for quote

first you must "import"the video from the camera to your computor. second edit it with "movie maker(xp & vista) or i-movie(mac) or any other vid-editer of your choice,finaly "render(or save-as)mpeg4,wmv,avi,mpeg2. -it's your choice,whichever ends up under 1gig in file size,and under 10 minutes in leanth(you-tube limits) finaly,upload to the site!,good luck!

Hi There, You need to use your firewire cable from the camera to the computer. You need to have a large or seperate hard drive to accomadate the video. You need to have editing software, and not the ones that came with your computer, but something like Pinnacle Studio 09 which is pretty easy to use. About $149.00 USD.
Hope this helped. mr cicmo

Hi There, Your camera does have a firewire output to go to your computer. To send video to the computer, you need to have a large or seperate hard drive. You also need to have some editing software: and not the ones that come with your computer. Something like Pinnacle Studio, around $149.00 USD. This is the easiest software to use for non professional people like us.
Thanks, me cicmo

Hi There, There is no external mic input on that model camera. The only way to do it is you will have to take the front panel off the unit and disconnect the flat mic/audio cable from the front panel. If you do this, tape up the connector so it won't short out the unit. If you had external mic in, you could put a dummy plug in and that would cut the sound from the internal microphone.
Thanks, me cicmo

No solution to your problem but I need help as well. I have the same problem as you with the camers not turning on. So anyone reading this please help us!

First try a cleaning tape, if that doesnt work it most likely the tape path is out of alignment and you will have to send it in for repair.

try hitting it with your palm to pop the door open.

Sound like the wires running to the screen have a short or they become disconnected

The usb is only used for the still pics and for the webcam. You need a DV cable to upload vid.