Hi all,
I'm new to camcorders, I've never used one and I'm trying to get educated on what's out there. I see my basic options as far as zoom, media types, capacity, etc. but I have a few questions.

1) Are HDD camcorders considered a "safe" bet? Have they been on the market long enough to establish a reliability track record? I like the fact that I get a much larger recording capacity and don't have to mess with tapes every 60 minutes (recording over something by accident, etc.).

2) I have a high def television (1080i) but no HD-DVD or bluray. I'd like to get into high def recording but I'm not sure it's worth it at this point. If I purchase an HD camcorder, what determines the format (HD or Bluray) once I create a DVD? Do I have a choice in this? I'd hate to invest in one technology only to have it phase out.

3) If I do go HD, can I create a standard def DVD to watch today on my standard DVD?

4) Will the software I need to create a DVD in the proper format be supplied with the camcorder? I just purchased adobe premiere elements in anticipation of video editing (I got a bundle deal with photoshop elements which I use quite often) but I assume I'll at least need a driver to get the data from the camcorder to the PC. At that point, I have no idea what I'll need to know with the various ways to create DVDs and various data formats.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

Chris

[redsox_mark]

1) Are HDD camcorders considered a "safe" bet? Have they been on the market long enough to establish a reliability track record? I like the fact that I get a much larger recording capacity and don't have to mess with tapes every 60 minutes (recording over something by accident, etc.).

Like any HDD they can fail; though they seem to be pretty reliable. You do need to think about your backup strategy.

2) I have a high def television (1080i) but no HD-DVD or bluray. I'd like to get into high def recording but I'm not sure it's worth it at this point. If I purchase an HD camcorder, what determines the format (HD or Bluray) once I create a DVD? Do I have a choice in this? I'd hate to invest in one technology only to have it phase out.

HD-DVD and Bluray have both different physical discs and use different types of laser, as well as different software structures. With the right software and burning hardware you'll be able to create either from any 1080i camcorder.

3) If I do go HD, can I create a standard def DVD to watch today on my standard DVD?

Yes, by downconverting in software, or in the case of HDV tape cams, downconverting in the camera.

4) Will the software I need to create a DVD in the proper format be supplied with the camcorder? I just purchased adobe premiere elements in anticipation of video editing (I got a bundle deal with photoshop elements which I use quite often) but I assume I'll at least need a driver to get the data from the camcorder to the PC. At that point, I have no idea what I'll need to know with the various ways to create DVDs and various data formats.

The AVCHD models tend to come with some basic software. Less so with the HDV ones. You won't need any drivers. premiere elements should do all you need, at least for HDV (tape). I don't believe even Premeire Elements 4 handles AVCHD though.

Thanks Mark. I need to do some reading on the HD formats. I also would see myself very regularly downloading data from an HDD recorder to avoid a failure that would corrupt my video. So, maybe MiniDV would be the way to go after all.

Again, I am a noob here with camcorders, I've never used one.

I have it narrowed down to the Canon HV-20 and HG-10. I see some reviews that call out the data format of the HG-10 to be difficult to work with. Other than that, my other concern is transfer speed. When I transfer from MiniDV, does the 60 min. tape transfer at realtime speed? i.e., does it take 60 minutes of wall-clock time to transfer the entire tape? How would that compare with the HDD?

The manuals don't tell me much, other than to fire up the included software and initiate a transfer.

I would appreciate any help!

Chris

[senu]

Originally Posted by ChiselMan

Again, I am a noob here with camcorders, I've never used one.

I have it narrowed down to the Canon HV-20 and HG-10. I see some reviews that call out the data format of the HG-10 to be difficult to work with. Other than that, my other concern is transfer speed. When I transfer from MiniDV, does the 60 min. tape transfer at realtime speed? i.e., does it take 60 minutes of wall-clock time to transfer the entire tape? How would that compare with the HDD

The tape Transfer speed is real time and from HDD a matter of a few minute via drag and drop. Exactly how long would depend on how large the footage is in Data terms though given that 5 Gb will transfer faster than the full 40 Gb
Be aware that once on the PC neither format has any time advantage
This is particularly if you then render them to different formats.. Time taken for that is unavoidable

Thanks Senu, that's what I expected. I understand that HDV (HV20) is supposed to be "easier" to work with than the HG-10's AVCHD. Can anyone qualify this with examples or other information?

[senu]

Originally Posted by ChiselMan

Thanks Senu, that's what I expected. I understand that HDV (HV20) is supposed to be "easier" to work with than the HG-10's AVCHD. Can anyone qualify this with examples or other information?

HDV is easier to Play and edit on Less well specified PCs than AVCHD.
HDV also has second or third generation Software.And most can use modest PC Specs (in todays terms)

AVCHD software is at most 9 months old..

You are not quite comparing the Hv20 and HG 10 though .What you ask will apply to any HDV ar AVCHD camcorder

Sony Vegas Movie studio Platinum 8 is probably one of the least hardware spec software for editing AVCHD
Simply put. Unless you have a core Due PC with Igb of RAM you may find fluid playback of AVCHD material a painful experience. This also applies to editing
You might want to download AVCHD and HDV material ( or get some via a CD /DVD off someone here) and download a trial version of Ulead video Studio 11.5, or Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8 and try this out for yourself on your own PC
Much better than anyone describing it