As stated , Quality wise they are very close
But
You are comparing different formats
The Sony has newer technology; Does that make it better?

Hard to say
Sonys nearest similar model, The HC9 was endowed with similar less but a sensor and processor a little less advanced making comparison very uneven
Unsurprisingly as they didn't want to make an HDV model with identical innards as their flagship AVCHD model at the consumer level where they are trying to outmode tape
On thier Pro /Semi Pro range HDV is still very alive.
Simple answer: Although results are more similar than not , they are both very good but not directly comparable
A bit like comparing Mindisc and MP3 audio