[rhubarbe]

My plan was to archive my 60i AVCHD (Panasonic) footage to a media player's HDD, and this is indeed what I have done.

The media player doesn't like having a HDD in it much (too hot) and I can't stream HD bandwidth files over SMB from my NAS.

While I am content to let my ripped DVDs reside on an NRAID NAS setup - hey, it's only old films and TV programmes, I am not prepared to take such a cavailer attitude with my camcorder footage.

Now that BD seems to be going to win, I am prepared to dive down the path of HD (I bought a Toshiba Betamax VCR in 1982 so please, no jokes). By a pleasant coincidence, the Panasonic DMP-BD30 (plays PAL and NTSC both) has just been announced for the UK, and it has an SDHC slot.

So, I can view my rushes by slipping the SDHC card out of the SD7 and into the SDHC slot in the BD30 to allow the wife to watch video as soon as we have shot it; then later I can archive the footage to BD disk for secure, long term archiving - BD also allows rapid FF and RW which you can't do in a media player.

What do you reckon?

[slowpoke]

wow, this new anasonic machine would certianly make things easier!

[rhubarbe]

Mind your Ps and Qs, Slowoke.

Yes, it would, wouldn't it but unlike the older DMP-BD10A that it replaces, the BD30 doesn't decode HD audio formats (enabling 5.1 analogue bypass for those who know about audiophile things) and so one would need one of the new HD AV Receivers. There are some about - new Onkyo's, but they won't physically fit in my stack.

An' of course, i still don't know if the SDHC slot would play my 60i video...

[slowpoke]

Ive got an Onkyo 674 so i think that would decode to 5.1 for me...

Any idea on price? tempted to just get a PS3 but the wife may kill me!

[rhubarbe]

The DMP-BD30 is on at AVLAND for £299. Nice price, but I'd need towait for the BD50 if I want to use it with my Naim AV2 (BD30 doesn't have the HD audio decoders).

Either that or buy a closeout BD10A.