Samsung SCD23 mini DV camcorder problem - bad ccd?

[theblueline]

Hello,

I have a Samsung SCD23 mini DV camcorder. It was manufactured in August 2003. I have found in other forums people having the same problem as me.

The problem I am having is that while recording the LCD will go black and will only show white and gray blobs when the camera is pointed at light, like the ccd is bad. The playback of the recorded video shows exactly what the LCD screen is showing, whispy gray and white blobs of light. If I take the battery off and turn it back on it goes back to normal.

The other problem is that when the LCD is working correctly the video recorded sometimes look "blocky" almost like watching video over the internet with a dialup connection.

This camera only has about 5 hours of use. Samsung won't warranty it. I have been reading about the faulty ccd s that are out there and all the camera manufacturers that are replacing them for free. Samsung is not listed as one of those. How do you find out who made the ccd for this camera?

At first I was confident the ccd was bad and that is something I can replace myself. But now I wonder, if the LCD is showing good video but the camera is recording "blocky" video wouldn't the ccd be working correctly? Any ideas? Thoughts? Thanks to whoever uploaded the service manual and schematics.