[GizzaJob]

I am in the market for a replacement dv camcorder. I was intending on getting a mini-dv camcorder with firewire and analogue in/out. The later requirement is so that I can archive vhs tapes to mini-dv and/or the computer for later archival to dvd. THEN I noticed that there are a few dvd-rw models on the market. Sony has atleast two and Hitachi has one that is dvd-ram/-r. The prices are less than the mid-range models that record to tape. Could someone tell me whether the quality of these dvd camcorders is as good as their similarly priced tape models. A disk-based camcorder is obviously more future-proof and robust though the disks will be more expensive. I would probably not consider the dvd-ram model. If the quality is the same then I only need to check if they have analogue in/out (I'm fairly sure that they have firewire). Any advice welcome.

[dlefebvre]

From what I read, those DVD camcorder encode the recorded material in MPEG-2. The recorded DVD is compatible with most domestic players. Apparently the picture quality is great, but they are not supported by many editing software. I coud be wrong since I don't own one. They seem a good solution to make transfer from analogue sources to DVD (not full size DVD by the way). But you don't have the flexibility of editing your stuff then burn it from your computer.
The only thing I know for sure is that Sony is offering 3 different models and none has a FireWire connection...

[buddhabelly]

Originally posted by dlefebvre:
From what I read, those DVD camcorder encode the recorded material in MPEG-2. The recorded DVD is compatible with most domestic players. Apparently the picture quality is great, but they are not supported by many editing software. I coud be wrong since I don't own one. They seem a good solution to make transfer from analogue sources to DVD (not full size DVD by the way). But you don't have the flexibility of editing your stuff then burn it from your computer.
The only thing I know for sure is that Sony is offering 3 different models and none has a FireWire connection...

I concur. If you want to edit anything afterwords, don't use these cams. They basically record a DVD that's ready to play in a settop player. Apps like iMovie, FCE, and FCP cannot edit MPEG-2 content. It requires conversion, and if you do that, you will end up losing quality in the end.

The most obvious reason to me for the lack of firewire port is because the content is recorded directly to a disk that could be inserted in a computer or DVD player.

[GizzaJob]

Thanks for that. This was information that the shop "assistant" neglected to tell me. I will buy with caution. Probably a mini-dv model.