question about DVD camcorders

[Gedeon Deák]

We are trying the JVC Everios. Yes, you should back up. We're using a  
raid for that in the lab; cards and drives are cheap enough that it's  
not prohibitive to put one together. However, for later back-up the  
file transfer rate is way faster than the capture rate from mini-DVs,  
so if you're recording a lot of data from the field, there's a  
significant time savings compared to mini-DVs.
The video quality is about as good/bad as the average mid-priced  
consumer-level DV (e.g., not as good as "pro-sumer" cameras, but way  
better than 1/4 CCD mini-cams...the Everios give "true" NTSC in the  
highest-quality mode, or something like it). The Everios are small  
(no tape mechanisms), so they're less obtrusive than most mini-DVs,  
which is nice for observational studies.
Can't yet speak to reliability, durability or customer service on  
Everios. So don't read this as an endorsement but as an interim  
update from a new user. Anyone who's really interested can email me  
back in another month or so, & I'll provide a more detailed critique.

On Jun 15, 2006, at 6:35 AM, Jeanne Wilcox wrote:

> Has anyone used the newer camcorders that record to a hard drive?   
> My understanding is that the video can be downloaded via USB to a  
> hard drive on a computer.  This sounds great, although I am worried  
> about not having something like a mini DV for a permanent archive.   
> I was thinking of keeping the archive files on a server that is  
> backed up regularly, and then keeping the working copy on a series  
> of compact hard drives that connect to a computer via USB.   
> Thoughts?  Have others been thinking about this?
>
> Jeanne Wilcox
> Arizona State University
> --------------------------
> MJ Wilcox
> Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Device
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: info-childes at mail.talkbank.org <info-childes at mail.talkbank.org>
> To: info-childes at mail.talkbank.org <info-childes at mail.talkbank.org>
> Sent: Thu Jun 15 05:52:47 2006
> Subject: Re: question about DVD camcorders
>
> Dear Info-CHILDES, Yvan, and Misha,
>     Internal mikes are never going to be as good as external mikes.
> The noise on a miniDV camera is not the only issue, although it is a
> factor.  It is just that the internal mikes are typically not very
> good.  I should add that digital taperecorders that record to flash
> memory do not have a motor noise issue at all, since nothing is being
> transported.  I have found that mike built in to the Edirol digital
> recorder is actually the first internal mike that seems acceptable.
>     Please please don't record to the DVD format, if you plan to do
> further analysis of your data.  It is a highly proprietary format.
> Someday, we will probably be able to "crack" the code for the DVD
> format in terms of linking to programming, but who knows when?
>
> --Brian MacWhinney
>
>