Help with HD Camcorder selection

will have feature requirements similar to standard definitions camcorders:

1) MiniDV tape based.
2) Mic-in jack

There will be other things to investigate - and I encourage you to do so - 1080i vs 720p vs 1080p, Optical zoom range,

It is assumed that the "table stakes" are common to all:
HDMI vs component connectivity
Firewire port for transfer
color/white balance
manual controls: zoom, aperture, focus, volume - the trick here is ease of use and accessibility.
There's more, but you get the idea...

Don't forget tripod, lenses, filters, external mics, sturdy case, extra high capacity battery (or 2), shock mount for external mic, Firewire port on your computer, additional (external) hard drive space (high def video takes up 3-4x more space on a hard drive than standard definition video). Perhaps you have lots of this stuff with your current rig that can be reused (not the battery) with a new rig.

I would not look at DVD-based or hard drive based high definition camcorders because they typically (not always) use AVCHD compression and that's does not seem to be getting very good reviews. There is an exception in a JVC hard drive based high definition camcorder - but I have just never been a JVC fan...

Boil it down:
Canon HV20
Sony DCR-HC7

... my opinion, anyway...

Tell us about your shooting situations. What and where will you be shooting? Do you record for long periods of time? What are the specs of your computer?

Windows or Mac OS?