Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

MiniDV or DVD

Apr 30, 2005 12:54AM PDT

I've read alot of posts that's been posted on this site and pretty much, I've been able to pull in some type of info from each comment. However, I'm still stuck as to which route I should take between the MiniDV and the DVD camcorders. Now just to let you know...I'm just in need of a camcorder for family and vacation purposes. Basically, all I need is a camcorder that'll give me a very good picture quality, easiness to use and will provide no hassle when I decide to watch it later on. At the same time, I want something that will give me maximum record time. I like the idea of using the DVD camcorder for the simple fact that you can record straight to a DVD disk and watch it as a normal DVD. But I'm hesistant because I've heard that you can only get as much as 20-30 minutes of max record time on one disk. Can someone provide to clarity and feedback on this. I'd gladly appreciate it.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Do you want to edit your footage?
Apr 30, 2005 10:34PM PDT

If you do not want to edit and you have plenty of money to spend on the mini disks, go for the minidvd.

If you want the highest quality footage, full control over editing, cheaper media, the ability to overwrite your media, go for the minidv.

With minidv, you will have to have a DVD burner to create DVD's as well as a firewirecard and cable for transfer to your PC. Luckily, these things can be found for cheap these days.

- Collapse -
I don't believe overwriting a miniDV tape is recommended.
May 1, 2005 8:24AM PDT

I've had mixed results. In one case, a PC wrote back to a miniDV. It played OK in cameras, but, when a Mac tried to capture the video, the audio wound up really garbled. If have reused tapes in a camera, but it is not a recommended practice. Besides, the tape is probably your sole long term backup.

- Collapse -
overwrite
May 1, 2005 9:09AM PDT

Whether it is recommended or not is one thing but it is entirely possible. It is entirely impossible to overwrite the DVDs.

- Collapse -
What about the length of recording time? DVD or MiniDV?
May 3, 2005 7:34AM PDT

With DVD's, I heard the max you can record on a DVD disk is roughly 20-30 minutes. I want something that'll record anywhere between 1-2 hours of straight record time on one disk or tape? Is it safe to assume that MiniDV is the route to take?

- Collapse -
recording time
May 3, 2005 3:10PM PDT

I believe that you can record up to one hour in the lowest of three video quality settings on most dvd camcorders. However, if something is worth taping, you probably don't want it to be on the worst quality setting.

- Collapse -
miniDV tapes usually record for 60 minutes, but do so at a
May 5, 2005 11:40PM PDT

very high quality level (about 13 gigabytes). Direct recording on DVD cannot equal this especially since most cameras do not use a full size DVD. There may be longer tapes available.

With miniDVs, compression may not occur until the video is rendered to mpeg2 and burned to a DVD.

- Collapse -
Impossible to overwrite dvds? How wrong...
May 3, 2005 3:07PM PDT

You can re-use mini dvd-RW 1000 times or more. They are a bit more expensive at roughly $20 for a 3-pack, but you can re-use them over and over and over. Yes, the record time is only 20 minutes on the highest picture quality, but that's about the only drawback. Use a mini dvd-rw, pop it into your dvd player. Or pop it into your computer, copy the video files onto your hard drive, re-format the disk and start over. Very easy in my opinion.

Sony's new cams are also able to record in dvd+rw, which doesn't even require finalizing to play in most dvd players. Only drawback: mini dvd+rw discs are not available anywhere yet.

- Collapse -
not Viable
May 4, 2005 3:25PM PDT

"They are a bit more expensive at roughly $20 for a 3-pack"

I didn't even count this as a viable alternative. Also the not available in stores thing is a bit of a turn off.

Also note that you cannot stick a miniDVD in a MAC laptop. It will ruin the drive.

- Collapse -
Not Viable??? What???
May 4, 2005 4:11PM PDT

If you have an objective view of any kind, this is a great option for those people who don't want to mess with downloading massive amounts of raw video to their computer.

You can find the mini dvd-rw discs anywhere, ranging from $11-$20 for a three pack on amazon. How can you possibly say you don't even consider it a viable option when you can use re-use the discs 1000 times? Your claims of expense hold no merit whatsoever.

The mini dvd+rw discs are not available yet, but the -rw discs work perfectly fine, even in the newest cams that are capable of recording in dvd+rw.

Many people in these forums are very biased towards dv, and have based their claims on the first couple lines of the dvd cams. I agree that if you want to do a lot of editing, have tons of time, tons of hard drive space, and want professional quality results for something other than playing your movies on a dvd, then dv is the way to go.

If you simply want to shoot and play and don't have time or drive space to mess around, then a dvd camera is a perfect option.

- Collapse -
Viable
May 5, 2005 8:52PM PDT

(I) as in me didn't find it viable. With MINIDV tapes, you do not need to overwrite because the cost of the media is so low compared to MINIDVD. The option is there though. I never overwrite my MINIDVs because I do not have to but if I wanted to I can.

Correct, if you don't want to edit and don't want to mess around with computers, you just want to point, shoot, and watch, MINIDVD is your best bet. It will cost you more with lower quality results but that is the trade off. They are getting better where quality is concerned and the disk prices will fall.

A very good investment for a lot of people.

- Collapse -
MiniDV and the DVD
May 4, 2005 2:27AM PDT