I need cheap HDV camcorder.

High def camcorder.........Plz read on!!?

• I'm thinking of buying a Sony HDR-HC9E HDV (mini dv) Camcorder but do I need a special dvd writer to make high def dvds or can I just compress the clips to normal dvd?? Also do I need high def mini tapes or is normal dv fine? Would you recommend a high def mini dv camera? Many thanks

• Answer:

  a lot of good questions. in fact HD is not truly a product ready for the consumer market. if you intend to make DVDs as the final product, they can be made from miniDV including widescreen versions. starting from HD won't really make a difference. The saving and editing of HD material is also a largely unresolved issue. how will you watch HD content? on you DTV? is the camcorder the only way you have to play out HD? if so then can you edit a program that can be loaded back to the camcorder (for playback) in a format the camcorder can read? saving HD on DVD rom is not a practical idea. a DVD will save less than 4 GB of data. That is less than 20 minutes of HDV data. Of course this can be further compressed, but then it will not playback in the HDV camcorder. Editing is not easy in any mpeg2 HD format although HDV probably has the most support. As to tape, miniDV tape is HDV tape. if you buy from the corner store, i would only buy tapes marked HDV simply because that assures you it is relatively new tape stock. tape has improved, a dropout with miniDV is a slight glitch, but with HDV it can be a train wreck. HDV will probably drive the market place to develop unified HD systems, but the jury is still out even on that point. remember, while DV was developed to replace the VHS/video 8 market, it never got to be the home VCR and movie player because it was eclipsed by DVD. It is quite possible that new technology HD devices, perhaps TiVo like video servers, will become the next video home companion.