Hey Arockerdude, When I take the tape out of my Sony Hi 8 (TRV318) and connect the power cord, the camera stays ON. It also will display a yellow icon in middle of screen with an X through a tape (to let you know tape is missing). I pressed the "display" button (not in menu, button next to my counter reset) and that yellow "no tape" icon disappeared.
Meanwhile, I have similar question. What is the very best picture quality color CCTV camera out there? Let's say I have $1,000 to spend. I also need at least a 10X and perhaps 20X optical zoom (lens) on this CCTV camera. Is there anything out there that looks as good as my Sony 1 Megapixel MiniDV, or my Sony Hi8 camcorder?
Thank you,
Gary