grey bars on lcd monitor?

i have a problem with my...Sony Super Steady Shot Network Handycam. its a 1.5 megapixel digital camera, probably 4 years old and ive never had a problem with it. well my family and i are going on vacation next week and i busted the thing out of its case and popped a mini-dv tape in and hit the play button. first the picture didnt show, then, when it did, there were gray bars that were going horizontal across the lcd monitor. i hooked it up to my tv and the bars were still there. im not sure if its a problem with the actual recording part of the camera or if the thing is busted or something, but if i could get some input it would be great....
thanx very much,
Calendarman