Hi

I would like to ask people's advice and opinions on what i imagine are going to be some very newbie questions to you!
I have bought my first camcorder just before christmas. It's a HD camcorder that i know at the moment i probably will not get the best out of as my pc is too slow for editing etc (if i want to edit, not sure if i will) But i needed to buy a camera that would last. The camera i bought is a Sony HD-SR10E and am very happy with it. My wedding last year was filmed on the older model of this so i know what it can do.

My pc is a single core 2.6ghz pc so watching HD footage is out as it is all jumpy!
My main tv is a 32" but non-HD and i only have a standard dvd player (this will of course change over the years)
I do have a 19" Sony tv which can handle HD and it is linked to a PS3.

There are 4 settings to record in on the camera:

HD FH - 16m 1920 * 1080
HD HQ - 9m
HD SP - 7m
HD LP - 5m

What do you recommend that i record on? Does it make much difference? Is it like a digital camera where you should always take photos at the highest setting!

If i was to record in a higher res' then to watch the videos i will either need to use my PS3 or convert them to a lower format or put them on a dvd (obviously this will be a lower res') in your opinion what are the best ways to do this? I currently have some software:

Roxio Creator 2009 Ultimate
VoltaicHD
Oxygen AVCHD Player
VLC Player
Nero 8 (Vision etc)
Tunebite

I have lots more questions but these are the two mains ones before i can really get to play and experiment with the camera. My Mrs is pregnant and is due in May so would like to know what i am doing by then! This is the main reason for getting the camera in the first place.

Any help / advice / opinions i would be most grateful!

Matt

[Mr Lazy]

Originally Posted by mattfraser

What do you recommend that i record on? Does it make much difference? Is it like a digital camera where you should always take photos at the highest setting!

Yes. Always record in the highest setting. There is no point buying a HD camcorder and then recording in a lower quality (even though the HQ mode will probably be more than acceptable). Remember that once recorded, there's no going back.

Nero 8 is able to make 'AVCHD disks', that is, high def video on normal blank DVDs, which will play back on your PS3 in high def (though only at 720p which I'm assuming your 19" LCD is).

Update: I just checked the Roxio website and Creator 2009 Ultimate can make AVCHD disks as well.

Thank you Mr Lazy. Will set it to the highest res'
Hope one day i will be able to afford a higher spec' pc so i can edit it!

Cheers for your help!

Matt