Expert Guide to DVD Camcorders

Thinking about a mini DVD camcorder? You're not alone, it's a rapidly growing sector of the camcorder market, with Hitachi, Sony and Panasonic all making more than one mini dvd camcorder.

These camcorders differ from regular digital video cameras in one important way - they record video onto mini DVD discs, rather than DV tape. This has a number of advantages. DVD discs are more robust than tape and won't get chewed up in the camera. Although this is thankfully a rare occurance, it scares me every time I here a strange noise coming from my camcorder, so it's with bearing in mind.

The second advantage is that DVD discs are random access, compared to tape on which everything is recorded sequentially. This means that there's no need to rewind and fast forward to find the clip you're after, just select it from the menu. Some cameras even allow you to perform basic editing functions on-camera. An additional side-benefit is that a mini DVD camcorder doesn't have tape heads to get worn or dirty as happens in regular mini DVD cameras.

And thirdly, you can easily watch your home movies by removing the DVD from the camera and playing it in practically any DVD player.

However, there are negative factors to. The most siginificant one is that video is encoded as MPEG-2 on a mini DVD camcorder, as opposed to DV format. This means that it needs specialist software to edit - you can't just use your regular video editing program (unless it specifically supports MPEG-2). And if a Mac user you're out of luck, as there are no MPEG-2 editing applications for the Mac.

Also, mini DVD camcorders tend to cost more than similarly specified mini DV cameras. And the media is also more expensive. However, if you don't intend editing your movies and don't mind the extra cost, a mini dvd camcorder does offer extraordinary convenience.

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner, a site which aims to cut through the confusion surrounding HDTV and provide surfers with up to date, accurate and easy to read information on HDTV.

Coping with a Serious Data Loss from your Computer Hard Drive

Data loss is an expensive reality. It's a hard fact... Read More

Setting up a Network -- Wired or Wireless?

To Wire or Not to Wire Wireless networks... Read More

Thumb Drives - Great New Technology!

The ability to easily move data from PC to PC... Read More

The Road Ahead

We live in an area that has begun to... Read More

An Inexpensive Solution to Securing Public Access Computers

Offering secure public Internet access is not as easy as... Read More

Laptop Computers and the PVP Effect!

Roll over lumbering desktop computers, the limber laptop is here,... Read More

At War With The Internet

When it comes to sales of technology products over the... Read More

5 Ways To Backup Your Data...

The data on your hard drive is the most critical... Read More

Power and Your PC

The power coming into a computer is the most critical... Read More

Your Business versus Mother Nature

Business Consultants earn hundreds of thousands of dollars every year... Read More

You Can Prevent Computer Slowdowns & Issues

Most people understand preventive maintenance like changing the oil in... Read More

Laptop Computers Instigate Classroom Revolution!

Have you noticed that laptop computers are beginning to dictate... Read More

Recordable DVD Formats Explained

Picking your way through the ton of information available on... Read More

Expert Guide to DVD Camcorders

Thinking about a mini DVD camcorder? You're not alone, it's... Read More

DVD Recorders: Getting Started

IMO, these sd work 'like a VCR' as far as... Read More

TiVo: An Introduction for the Few Who Dont Know Yet

TiVo will change your life... for the better. Plain and... Read More

Video Encryption

What is Video Encryption?Video Encryption is an extremely useful method... Read More

Basics of RAID

A couple of the recent Tech Tips from www.geeks.com have... Read More

Bluetooth Basics - Bluetooth Technology Tutorial

Bluetooth BasicsBluetooth technology is nothing new, but in many respects... Read More

ABCs Of DVD Drive Abbreviations

The number of different formats available in DVD drives can... Read More

ATA vs SATA

Hard Drives: ATA versus SATAThe performance of computer systems has... Read More

How To Choose A Computer Case

Things to Consider When Choosing a Computer CaseIn the past,... Read More

Introduction to Dedicated Servers

A dedicated server is a single computer on a web-hosting... Read More

Special Events Recording in DVD Players Age

The proliferation of portable DVD players has dramatically changed the... Read More

Best DVDs for Your Personal DVD Player

When bought personal DVD player, the very next thing to... Read More