I need help.
I just received my vixia hv30 from a buyer on ebay.
When I turn the camera on, it automatically cycles through a series of effects.
It starts off by looking normal for about 1 second then a series of fine vertical lines appear and then it goes into a pyschedellic pixel mode for another second or two then back to normal. it never waviers from this cycle. I have tried recording to tape and these effect show up..I have tried the reset button but nothing seemed to happen. I have made sure the effects are off in the menu. I am starting to think it might be a sensor problem. I think I recall something about a demo mode..maybe this is the problem. The camera plays back old dv tapes fine.
Can anybody offer there opinions??

Can't speak to the HV30, but the HV20's I've had never did anything remotely psychedelic...

Reset should take it out of demo mode if that was the problem - reset typically restores factory defaults, and I don't think demo mode is the default...

It must be a defective CMOS sensor. If it appears in your recording, it's most likely recording garbage data from the sensor.

But just to make sure it's that, does the OSD (the indicators on the LCD such as the Record Pause or Record logos) remain in place and not scramble along with the scrambled image?

Yes...I am sure now it has to be the sensor.
I have a new one on the way from the states.
I will have to wait a few more days..