Which HD DV is better?

Question

Hello. I currently own an old DV camera that runs on Mini DV tapes with no port to PC and I hate it. Therefore I'm looking to purchase a DV camera that runs on a PC compatible bases which allows me to transfer videos directly to my PC. I believe the options are DVs that run on memory cards, hard drives or DVDs. The videos would ultimately be stored on a storage medium such as DVDs since the videos are for looking back in the future as memories. I would like to know which kind of DV would be ideal. I was thinking a DVD DV since it will ultimately go on DVDs anyway but then a hard disk one has much more compacity. But if I record on a Hard disk one, I may have to chop the video into bits in order to store on the storage mediums. I a worried the mem card option would not have enough capacity for my records (although I am basically making videos of 1-2 hours length max.) Can someone please advise as to which option I should take? Thank you very much.

Answer 1

If you want to archive your video you've already got the best solution - MiniDV!  It's the cheapest in terms of bytes/$ and it's also the most robust and reliable for long term storage. You said you've got no way to connect it to your PC, but ALL MiniDV camcorders have a firewire port.  If your PC hasn't already got one you'll need to install a firewire card. They're cheap, easy to install and readily available. You'll also need a firewire cable.  Once everything's connected you can capture and edit the video with Windows Movie Maker (should already be on your PC), save it as DV-AVI (it's under Save on My Computer, Best quality show more choices, Other settings) and then write it to DVD using DVD Flick.

Answer 2

the international protocols for miniDV requires that your camcorder have a ieee1394 port. it is there. you might need a slight upgrade on your computer to add the serial port.

you are all set to make DVDs, forget the computer. run the camcorder out to a DVD recorder directly.

if you are producing shows by computer editing, then save the result by back-feeding to the camcoder, with a "print to tape", again through the ieee1394 port. Then you can make DVD copies off the archive tape any time without firing up the computer again.