lynnwood42 Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Question, I am interested in buying a DVD camcorder to use for personal use. I have never had a camcorder before, but have heard that buying a DVD camcorder would be better than buying a Mini DV camcorder,,.....is that correct? Which DVD camcorder would someone recommend. I am looking for one that is 'reasonably' priced. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper8168 Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Actually, you are incorrect, in my opinion. 1) DVD quality is inferior to tape. As a general rule, MiniDV is 2.5 times better than DVD (25mps vs 10mps) in terms of quality. MiniDV is regular old DV like we use in the studio. 2) DVD is much more fragile than tape in that DVD scratches easily. 3) Tape takes a longer time to load into the computer for editing, though it doesn't really bother me. Connection is simple - just a USB or Firewire cable usually. 4) It's argued that tape is more expensive per minute than DVD (referring to DVD-R, not DVD-RAM or DVD-RW), though the way camcorders write to DVD wastes a lot of usable space. This translates to shorter record times on DVD's. A big thing for me is that tape is reusable. I'm constantly going over stuff that I don't want to keep, which probably lowers the overall cost of the media. Also, at this moment at least, tape is easier to find than the blank mini DVDs. 5) The only universally supported DVD format is DVD-R in that most stand-alone players will play back the discs, though you have to check to be sure. Almost all current editing software recognizes MiniDV and many recognize home-recorded DVD-R. Apple handles everything, so you are covered there. But if compatibility is an issue, MiniDV wins there, no question. 6) Battery life is shorter on DVD cameras. There may be a time when DVD is better than MiniDV, but I don't think it is here yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper8168 Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Sorry about the Apple bit - I just this morning answered a similar question for a friend of mine who has an Apple. I just cut and pasted the response I gave him for you here. Ignore the Apple computer thing unless it applies to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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