Hard disk VS MiniDV Transfer time

[ianpaice]

Hi ,

New to video and looking to buy my first Video Cam.

Was told by Harvey Norman salesman that if I take a 2 hours video recording with a MiniDV cam, it would take 2 hours to transfer to computer for editing! Is that true?

Does that means if I buy a Hard disk recorder, transfer to computer will be much faster?

What are the pros and cons of each format?

I only need do simple editing and transfer to DVD format for playing in DVD players.

Thanks

 

[jaegersing]

Hi ,

New to video and looking to buy my first Video Cam.

Was told by Harvey Norman salesman that if I take a 2 hours video recording with a MiniDV cam, it would take 2 hours to transfer to computer for editing! Is that true?

Does that means if I buy a Hard disk recorder, transfer to computer will be much faster?

What are the pros and cons of each format?

I only need do simple editing and transfer to DVD format for playing in DVD players.

Thanks

It is true that MiniDV takes longer. A one hour tape takes one hour (not possible to have a 2 hour MiniDV tape however).

It is true that files from a hard disk recorder will transfer much faster, maybe a few minutes max for one hour of video.

BUT, depending on the format of the hard disk recorder video files (e.g. AVCHD) it might be necessary to go through an additional conversion stage before you can edit them. The salesman will not tell you about this part, so please beware.

Pros of MiniDV tape:

Cheap tapes, automatic backup of your footage.
DV files easy and fast to edit.

Cons of MiniDV tape:

Tape dropouts.
Long capture time.

Pros and cons of other format: What format is the camera you are looking at? Not safe to generalise, so please specify.

 

[ianpaice]

Thanks. I am looking at JVC Everio camcorders. I think its good since transfer from cam to computer is fast. But I need to do basic editing like removing unwanted frames etc. Is the JVC MG37 or MG 275 good choice if you happen to know these products?

My idea is:

Shoot
Tranfers to computer quickly for basic editing
Then transfer to DVD disc to share with family members on their regular DVD players.


PLs advise. Thanks

It is true that MiniDV takes longer. A one hour tape takes one hour (not possible to have a 2 hour MiniDV tape however).

It is true that files from a hard disk recorder will transfer much faster, maybe a few minutes max for one hour of video.

BUT, depending on the format of the hard disk recorder video files (e.g. AVCHD) it might be necessary to go through an additional conversion stage before you can edit them. The salesman will not tell you about this part, so please beware.

Pros of MiniDV tape:

Cheap tapes, automatic backup of your footage.
DV files easy and fast to edit.

Cons of MiniDV tape:

Tape dropouts.
Long capture time.

Pros and cons of other format: What format is the camera you are looking at? Not safe to generalise, so please specify.

 

[jaegersing]

No I'm not very familiar with these models. I did a quick search and the video format was not obvious. But check out the user comment at the link below.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/JVC-GZ-MG37-Camcorder-Review.htm