can i make regular dvds with this camera? I do not have a blu ray player, or a hi def tv, i want to get a hi def cam corder since at some point i am sure that regular stuff will be phased out. Will i still be able to make regular dvd's and play this on a regular tv? can i make regular dvds with this camera? I do not have a blu ray player, or a hi def tv, i want to get a hi def cam corder since at some point i am sure that regular stuff will be phased out. ... » Read More can i make regular dvds with this camera? I do not have a blu ray player, or a hi def tv, i want to get a hi def cam corder since at some point i am sure that regular stuff will be phased out. Will i still be able to make regular dvd's and play this on a regular tv? « Show Less
251264
You can make regular dvd's with this camcorder. Since my computer is slow. I purchased a Sony DVD Direct Burner and it works great. With the burner I do lose the ability to edit the videos and it burns in real time....if your video is an hour it takes an hour to burn. The quality is fantastic and it also can burn slide shows from various memory cards.
329104
I had a similar dilemma. I just had a baby in December and wanted a camcorder for home videos. After hours of research I decided the Sony DCR-SR300 was the best HDD camcorder out there and bought it... so far so good! It also takes great pictures, although with each video you're limited in the number of pictures you can take (don't know if it's the same issue with the JVC Everio).
232220
you will need a media player that can do blu-ray. There are some free ones out there; however, PowerDVD14 by cyberlink runs specials all the time and you can get it relatively inexpensive. I think I paid like 80 dollars for mine and it runs fantastic. The player itself (the item on amazon) is stupendous. I highly recommend it. You also need to make sure your resolution on your screen can handle hi-def. If you have an HDMI output more than likely you do, if not check and make sure your resolution is at least 1024 by 728 Good luck
2145900
I found some information today in the AVS forum on this topic and posted it here... Hi Guys, I just tried the following and it worked very fast: Nero Vision 5 (Part of Nero 8) Make DVD &gt; AVCHD Add Video Files Next Menus to use: Do not create menus Next Next - Audio Smart Encoding ratio: 100.0 % - Video Smart Encoding ratio: 100.0 % Write to Hard Disk folder This creates the same structure as the camera in a BDMV folder. Replace the BDMV folder on the SD card with this one and the camera plays it. To follow up on this, if you add clips back to the card/camera using the foregoing method, the clips DO show up in the thumbnails and you CAN take new video and the new video will just be added as separate clips/thumbnails. It works GREAT! Although the above instructions are for Nero and I've only tried it in Nero, I would imagine it *should* work with any video editor that allows you to create an AVCHD DVD without menus by saving the output file to the pc rather than to a disk and then just moving the resulting BDMV folder to the card/camera.
2168894
Plays back your vids beautifully on your HD TV directly from the camcorder, just make sure you use the correct input jacks on the TV. Won't record tv thru the jacks, as far as I can tell. In a pinch you can steady it on a tripod and point at the tv screen to record--comes out pretty good.
1415363
That usually has to do with the process you used to make your DVD, the settings used, what software you used etc. I'll need more information and details. There is tons of advice on authoring DVD's on forums like DvInfo.net and Camcorderuser.net. DvInfo devotes a whole sub-forum to the HMC Series camcorders. Give it a try. You could get a lot of general answers but for specifics you'll need to dial this all down to your NLE and DVD authoring program. Good Luck.
1008400
One of the posters talks about the picture quality while using non-HDTV. I think he said he has it in a trailer, so no HDTV. Also, this unit doesn't have an S-Video connection, which is what is needed to get the best quality standard def. picture (at least that's my understanding). Which tells me that this unit is really not intended mainly for standard def viewing. Vizio, Sharp, and Philips make some units still with S-video connections. Maybe some others do, too, but so far I've found only those three brands. And if I had to guess, I would guess that eventually they'll all stop putting in S-Video connections, as more and more people start subscribing to HDTV.
1662555
Yes! You will need to buy a specific burner. It will be regular bd, dvd or cd compatible too.
2138459
Hi Basketball Mom, I have 3 or 4 of these cameras and love them. I have no problem burning a DVD on my computer. Also have the RCA burner which is slow but works great. Always an option if you can't do it on your computer.
2094861
Hi Dan, Let me try and address each of your questions separately. Question 1: This camcorder has the capability of recording either SD or HD. If its recorded in HD, you can transfer it to varous PC software packages in HD and down convert to SD for burning to DVD. Sony Vegas Movie Studio + DVD, Pinacle Studio Plus 10.5 and Ulead DVD Movie Factory can handle HD and create standard DVDs. No known software products for HD DVD and Blu Ray. Question 2: If you want to record in HD and output to a standard Mini-DV tape in SD format, you should look into one of the software products above to do that for you. I don't know if a firewire connection will work. Question 3: Yes. See the list of software products above. Please note that the software listed does not include professional grade software costing $400 and up. Additional software packages in this price range can handle HD editing. Also note, if you are looking into software for HD, check the system requirements of the software against your PC to see if you have enough horsepower to use it before buying.
478276
Thank you Paulo for your inputs.Can you tell me wich is the best brand and model ( in HD format) to upscaling my Standard DVDs??? with the capability to reproduce dvds in free region??Tk you
160546
Thanks Mark. I have since noticed that the owner's manual for what I think is a predecessor camera (Sony HDR-HC1) is available on amazon. It says that that camera can transfer images recorded in HD to a camcorder or other firewire compatible device that records in SD and convert the images to SD. Assuming that's true for this HD3 as well, then even if my computer and TV are not up to HD editing, I could convert the images using my existing camcorder and edit the SD version, while preserving the HD originals for the day my computer and TV can handle them. I have a son who's growing up fast and I'm eager to start capturing images in HD. Any idea whether a 1080p camera is around the corner? Thanks Mark. I have since noticed that the owner's manual for what I think is a predecessor camera (Sony HDR-HC1) is available on amazon. It says that that camera can transfer images recorded in HD to a camcorder or other firewire compatible device that records in SD and convert the images to SD. Assuming that's true for this HD3 as well, then even if my computer and TV are not up to HD editing, I could convert the images using my existing camcorder and edit the SD version, while preserving the HD originals for the day my computer and TV can handle them. I have a son who's growing up fast... » Read More Thanks Mark. I have since noticed that the owner's manual for what I think is a predecessor camera (Sony HDR-HC1) is available on amazon. It says that that camera can transfer images recorded in HD to a camcorder or other firewire compatible device that records in SD and convert the images to SD. Assuming that's true for this HD3 as well, then even if my computer and TV are not up to HD editing, I could convert the images using my existing camcorder and edit the SD version, while preserving the HD originals for the day my computer and TV can handle them. I have a son who's growing up fast and I'm eager to start capturing images in HD. Any idea whether a 1080p camera is around the corner? « Show Less
451037
Do you have a VCR or a DVD player?This device has the option of making a disc in various quality modes and ACVHD dubbing for high definition files. The disc recorded in the ACVHD dubbing mode cannot be played back on a regular dvd player....you would need a blue ray player. The disc recorded in any of the other modes can be played back on a regular dvd player.Since I have a Sony high def camcorder I usually record a ACVHD disc and a HQ disc since some family members don't have blue ray players.
888138
On page 146 of my copy of the Image Mixer 3 SE Software Guide I found some information about writing back to the camcorder.It has to be AVCHD standard only and I guess you need to use Canon Image Mixer 3 SE to do the editing. There are other limitations in the guide.I have not tried this yet. I write my edited movies to AVCHD on DVD-R and play on PS3, Blu-Ray Player or computer.One thing I like is the on-camera "Playlist". Even without a computer you can select specific clips and then play them in sequence.Of course you can't trim an individual clip but you can tailor the presentation of clips to a specific audience and then change it again and again....No tape ! I love this Non-linear stuff ! On page 146 of my copy of the Image Mixer 3 SE Software Guide I found some information about writing back to the camcorder.It has to be AVCHD standard only and I guess you need to use Canon Image Mixer 3 SE to do the editing. There are other limitations in the guide.I have not tried this yet. I write my edited movies to AVCHD on DVD-R and play on PS3, Blu-Ray Player or computer.One thing I like is the on-camera "Playlist". Even without a computer you can select specific clips and then play them in sequence.Of course you can't trim an... » Read More On page 146 of my copy of the Image Mixer 3 SE Software Guide I found some information about writing back to the camcorder.It has to be AVCHD standard only and I guess you need to use Canon Image Mixer 3 SE to do the editing. There are other limitations in the guide.I have not tried this yet. I write my edited movies to AVCHD on DVD-R and play on PS3, Blu-Ray Player or computer.One thing I like is the on-camera "Playlist". Even without a computer you can select specific clips and then play them in sequence.Of course you can't trim an individual clip but you can tailor the presentation of clips to a specific audience and then change it again and again....No tape ! I love this Non-linear stuff ! « Show Less
1168522
The format the camera uses for video is different than that used on DVDs (ones playable in a DVD player), so conversion is necessary. GREAT Freeware (NOT trial, totaly free forever!) is DVDStyler. Allows creation of DVDs with custom menus from many different video file formats - search "DVDStyler" online.
1543499
I thought that if you burn to a RAM disc after editing you can't finalize? My panasonic machine let me edit out commercials on RAM discs but then I couldn't use the disc in another player. So if you use those discs with this player can you play them in another DVD player?
1735039
Does anyone know how to get your dvd to change to long play so that I can get more recording time I can't get mind to change from sp to anything else. Thanks Darlene