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General discussion

mini DVD

Jul 23, 2006 1:06AM PDT

I just bought a palm camcorder for my wife. She insisted that she didn't want bells and whistles. Just take the movie, take out the disk and play it in my dvd player.

When I went to purchase it, the salesman told me that mini dvd recorders were being phased out an recommeded mini dv, or hard drive.

I bought a mini dvd Panasonic dvr-d3000 anyway.

Is this guy right? What are the ramifications if he is?

And finally, do you feel I purchased a good recorder for home use (home movies, birthdays etc.)?

Thanks,
Gordon

Discussion is locked

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Salesmen
Jul 23, 2006 4:54AM PDT

Let me guess, Best Buy?? Circuit City??
Do you really think they know what they are talking about??
Mini-dv has been around for over 10 years. It seems to be the one on the way out.
Dvd cams are still fairly new and seem to be extremely popular. They are not going away anytime soon.
Hard drive cams are the most recent craze. They are not nearly as popular as dvd cams.
I don't think you should worry about the salesman.

As far as your last question, thats up to you.
If you like it, you like it.
Any camcorder is better than none. You can't go back and replay those birthdays if you didn't capture them on your camcorder.

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(NT) (NT) It was Best Buy!! LOL ! Thanks.
Jul 23, 2006 10:06PM PDT
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The guy was right.
Jul 23, 2006 7:12AM PDT

DVD cameras are trouble from the getgo. If I were you, I would try to take it back.

Hard drive recorders are better, but still use a high level of compression to get the recording time that they advertise. That means lots of limitations if you want to edit the video. It also means that you still have to find a way to get the video off the hard drive, and burned to DVD.

MiniDV is still the best, and probably will be for a long time. It stores lots of detailed data that allows the best editing, and best final video burned to DVD. It is also the most difficult because the process of producing the final DVD is more complicated.

The technology is probably moving toward hard drive or flash drive storage, but it's not there yet.

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Dvd cams
Jul 24, 2006 6:30AM PDT

Kiddpeat,
It is obivous from your posts that you really dislike dvd cams.
That is fine, but please explain why as others on here are new.
"DVD cameras are trouble from the getgo" is not really a valid explanation.
"Hard drive recorders are better"..... Why??

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Perhaps you've missed all the posts that have detailed
Jul 24, 2006 2:03PM PDT

the problems with DVD camcorders? Here are a few:

don't get a DVD camera. john

DON'T GET A DVD CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!

There are many similar ones from John, and, as I recall, similar comments from Bob Proffit.

There are many problems including very limited recording time, losing the whole recording session if an error is made in recording or closing, great difficulty in getting the video into an editable form if editing or movement to a conventional DVD is desired, and reproduceability (making copies) among others.

All of these have been discussed at various times on the forum including responses to those unfortunate people seeking help with their DVD cameras.

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dvd cams
Jul 24, 2006 2:27PM PDT

ok

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dvd cams
Jul 25, 2006 6:05AM PDT

I am just curious what percentage of dvd cam users have such horrible problems.
I wonder why it is not noted that mini-dv cams have problems too.
(The Sony class action thread on this site.) (The Canon "tape eject" error on other sites)
DVD, HDD, Mini-dv all have their share of problems. But, I don't think its fair to say that every dvd cam is bad.
DVD cams sold in the USA last year far outnumbered any other media.
Of course, the people who come here for help are usually having problems.
I just would like to be fair to someone who is a new user.

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The number of miniDV cameras that have problems is
Jul 25, 2006 12:03PM PDT

miniscule.

Most of the problems with DVD cameras are structural. They occur in all DVD cameras, and they are quite serious.

I don't know where you are getting your sales numbers, so I can't comment. I've certainly not seen anything like that.

Being fair is giving people good information. Telling them that DVD recorders are the best type, or that minDVs are obsolete is not good information. It may be fair to note their convenience factor along with potential problems, and actual limitations.

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dvd cams
Jul 25, 2006 1:44PM PDT

Actually, I use mini-dv.
I prefer mini-dv.
I recommend mini-dv.
I don't recommend dvd over mini-dv.
I simply stated to the original poster that if the dvd cam they got was what they were looking for, then good for them.

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Then why ask me about it?
Jul 25, 2006 3:48PM PDT

I also responded to the original poster.

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dvd cams
Jul 25, 2006 4:05PM PDT

I was just stating that it is not fair to knock peoples decisions because you would not make that decision.
If a dvd camcorder is something they want, it may be perfect for them.
Its not for you, its not for me.
But, lets not try and say its not for everybody.
Obviously, a lot of people like them.

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The guy asked which one was right.
Jul 26, 2006 11:23AM PDT

I answered his question.

End of discussion!

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dvd cams
Jul 26, 2006 1:21PM PDT

I must have misread.
I thought they asked if mini-dvd cams were being phased out.
I also thought the question was if they got a good cam for their purpose.
My mistake.

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Didn't mean to start an argument
Jul 27, 2006 5:31AM PDT

Whoa, Whoa, Guys and/or Gals. No need to fight. My question was quite simple:

MY WIFE wanted a palm corder with ease of use. Also ease of reproduction.

These were my criteria. I was hoping to find out whether the model I bought was going to meet those requirements without serious problems. I expect some glitches with any product. But will the support be there a few years from now. That's all...Happy

I am aware of the war between mini-dv, dvd, and hard drive, but I think mini dvd is the way for my wife. "Gotta keep the wife happy, or ELSE"

Thanks for the interest.
please keep the thread going, the more I learn, the better.

As Always,
Gordon

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DV vs DVD Shopper-Confused-Yes!
Jul 27, 2006 5:43AM PDT

Being in the market for a new camcorder these days is not fun at all. I too am confused about DV vs mini DVD vs HD vs Harddrive, etc. I know someone who repairs camcorders and has knowledge about the industry. He told me the DVD camcorders have a lot of problems and have not been perfected; Sony seems to be the best company for asking opinions on what improvements can be made. He said that Canon is very hard to deal with (unless you are some big conglomerate), and that tape is still the best way to go; this was confirmed by an owner of a big photo shop by my house as well as a few forums I have read up on...but that would not stop me from buying one if thats what you really want. Personally, only having the capability to record on 30 minutes would put me into distress (in the middle of taping a good soccer, volleyball, football game-notta). I feel as long as you purchase the expensive extra warranty-who cares! But it is after the warranty runs out then your problems will begin (as it did in my case owning a Sony TRV120 that played both analog & Hi8 digital format and being left without a player and lots of tapes to get tranferred over). Bottom line...as long as you get your data transferred onto DVD - you should be okay for the next 15 years!

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Please keep this thread going - It Helps A Lot
Jul 27, 2006 9:51AM PDT

Thank you to all that have contributed. I seem to have hit a nerve, especially with folks shopping for camcorders. Love to hear more. I am learning bunches and I hope others are too.

Thanks again
Gordon

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dvd
Jul 27, 2006 10:22AM PDT

What else do you want to know??

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Which is the best medium
Jul 28, 2006 8:31AM PDT

Since you asked.......

I have a nagging question, and it goes back to the post where the mini DVD is limited to a half hour (double sided disks can give you an hour with a brief interuption).

I have cds and dvds. All the movies I watch are on dvds. Yet, I find that they are often scratched or just go digital for a second.

I grew up in the generation of vinyl record. They often scratched or skipped just like the dvds.Other than digitizing the information I don't see the advantage. True the storage space is larger and the delivery of product is usually better, but why aren't they covered like the old 3 1/2" floppy?

Now we have mini dv. doesn't remind you of something called a casette tape? How about a key chain hard drive or an IPOD? Can I plug it into my dashboard to listen to music?

Considering that this thread has revolved around types of medium to store your movies on, I invite you to express your thoughts on how medium types have gone full circle?

There's always the conspiracy theory that it is intentional in order to make more money. But I bet you have a little more to say.

Sorry for the length
As Always,
Gordon

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dvd cams
Jul 28, 2006 11:27AM PDT

Mini-dv is still the best, there is no question.
Mini-dv also provides as excellent back up for your footage.
Dvds have been reported to fail after a couple of years.
This is not a very effective back up solution.
Hard drives are good, but scary. I would be concerned about a hard drive inside of a cam failing. They are new, so its hard to say.
Like I said, I prefer mini-dv.
They offer the best picture quality, best editing options, great for backup, and fairly inexpensive.

The future is going to bring more dvd cams, more hard drive cams, and more solid state cams (memory card, etc). I don't think mini-dv is going anywhere soon, but its days appear to be numbered by the recent trends.