I got a Hitachi DVD Cam (BX35A) for Christmas in 2006. I used it rarely-for vacations and special holidays, etc. The total hours of use is 3 hours-6 half-hour DVDs of video. I have taken very good care of it and treasured it as the fine piece of electronics that I supposed it was. The last time I tried to use it (after sitting in the cupboard for a few months, I tried to put in a new DVD disc and the door wouldn't open. Repeated tries, resets, etc. Did no good. I called Hitachi and they had me send it to a repair facility-CC Bell in St. Louis MO. I included $65 just to have them look at it. After some time, CC Bell contacted me and told me it would cost between $300-400 to repair the camera. This is about the cost of NEW CAMERA!!! I called Hitachi customer service, went through a couple of service people before finding a manager. I told them I shot only 3 hours of video and that the camera was essentially brand new! They offered no help whatsoever. I own several still cameras, a clunky old VHS Sony, a Sharp Mini-DV, and numerous old film cameras. All of these sturdy old dinosaurs still function quite well thank you. I did some dollar calculations for the time I spent with my Hitachi and I found that I spent about $133/hour to shoot the video with their product. At $133/hour I believe that I could have gotten a professional production company to have filmed it for me. I am totally unhappy with Hitachi and their stance concerning their products. I will not be looking at Hitachi for any products that I will purchase in the future. I would advise all others to beware!!!
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