MiniDv tapes that I recorded with a Panasonic PV-GS120 will play properly in my new cannon. The video is fine but the audio either keeps droping every few seconds or hisses, crackes and pops, or both. I was thinking that maybe the bit depth and Hertz could be different but as far as I know they are both 16 bit 48khz.

It may be a track alignment issue. MiniDV tracks are recorded in narrow, helical-scan tracks, especially in the slower (EP) mode. It only takes a very slightly different alignment in the mechanism between the devices for there to be problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniDV

Well that is a problem. The only reason I got MiniDv was so I could play my old tapes. I was going to transfer a box full of tapes to my computer, then to DVD. Thats not happening with this camera.

You may want to ask to borrow miniDV cams from your friends. Many have one, even if gathering dust in a closet. You will likely find one that will read your tapes. Then, I recommend you put them onto HDD and maintain/manage them there forevermore.

I took the old tape and the camera back to Best Buy. I put the tape in one of the display models and it played just fine. It was a Sony. I explained the situation to the sales guy and they let me swap it.

When I finally get a Blue Ray burner, which may be a while, I could burn my old videos to one of them in a data format, so they would stay in the original editable form. To put them all on a hard drive would require me to me to buy and extra 1TB model, which I guess I could do.