About a month ago, pretty much the entire tape transport problem disappeared. Check out the tape transport forum listing at Pana3ccduser.com. I got mine on April fools day and it is the best camcorder ever. Picture quality is amazing, on par with any camcorder up to around $2000. The 16:9 mode is better than most camcorders under $2500 and the Procinema mode is also a great bonus. The LCD is very bright. 4 way ring works great as well. I agree with camcorderinfo.com that's it's the best value in a camcorder ever made.

Was delighted to recieve this camcorder, after waiting
a few months to buy it. However, upon use I found that
it was inoperable. The zoom did not work and there was
a constant need to "reset" the camcorder.

I had read the glowing reviews, wonderful feature
accounts, as well as the outstanding video performance
evaluations. However, if the camera has to be sent
back, none of the video performance, features, or
reviews mean anything. The only thing that matters is
that I am out a camcorder (for some weeks) as well as
$1,500. I am not sure which is worse.

Superb cam, picture quality is excellent - so is handling.

According to several reports in internet unfortunately large quantity seems to be affected with tape transfer noise, the one I bought too. For more info see www.akuutti.net

Kind Regards,
PKa

Just got mine today and it too has the tape transport problem. Looks like Panasonic is not listening since this one just shipped in from the factory. I have an RMA in progress with the vendor and will update on the status of the replacement.

Potential buyers should be aware that there is a tape transport problem with some PV-GS400 camcorders and that Panasonic has acknowledged this problem. I had problems with TWO different PV-GS400s (I returned a defective unit and the replacement was also defective). When I played back tapes recorded with these camcorders, I noticed a grinding, periodic mechanical noise that could be heard through the speakers of my TV set. This noise was clearly audible and annoying - it wasn't subtle. When I put the camcorders up to my ear, it was clear that the grinding noise was NOT the kind of noise that a healthy tape transport should EVER make. This is extremely bad news, since mechanical problems usually get worse over time (possibly after the warranty expires).

An internet search revealed that many other PV-GS400 owners have also reported this problem. Since Amazon.com guidelines prohibit the use of URLs in product reviews, I'll recommend that you do an internet search using the search terms "panasonic" and "tape transport" in order to find a great deal of useful information about this problem. To see a letter that Panasonic issued addressing this problem, use the search terms "panasonic", "tape transport", and "QC issue".

The bottom line is that this problem appears to be widespread,despite Panasonic's claims that only a small number of camcorders are affected. Although Panasonic is offering warranty servicing for defective units, I'm not happy with the idea of buying a top of the line, $1000+ "prosumer" camcorder and ending up with a camcorder that is essentially "factory refurbished".

No one who discovers that their PV-GS400 has this problem should just "live with it". Either return it, or if you can't do that, then get it serviced by Panasonic (and hope it doesn't break down again after it's out of warranty).