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Kent Fitzgerald
06-08-2007, 11:26 AM
How important is a DV output (aka Firewire, IEEE-1394 - all the same thing, right?) on a hard disk digital camcorder?

I'm shopping for a camcorder for an upcoming trip to my ancestral homeland of Switzerland, and I've narrowed the field to the JVC GZ-MG255 or 555 and the Panasonic SDR-H200. Sony is out, just because I can't get used to the touch-screen LCD.

The Panasonic seems to get the nod for it's optical image stabilization and 3 CCD sensor, but it lacks a DV output. The JVCs have DV out, and I like the idea of duplicating digitial-to-digital from the cam to my (Samsung) DVD recorder.

So my questions are:

Is there good reason why Panasonic doesn't have the DV out? seems like a conspicuous omission.

Will I get just-as-good results using the S-video connections on the Panasonic cam and DVDR (seems to me that digital-analog-digital would produce some degradation)?

Do USB to DV adapters exist? Do they work?

Any insights will be much appreciated!

Kent

Jim Becker
06-08-2007, 11:54 AM
The FireWire tends to offer much better quality and faster transfer. And on my Sony HC90, the FireWire connection is the one that the software prefers, too. (My Sony has been an outstanding camera, too...)

jeremy levine
06-08-2007, 3:28 PM
....

The Panasonic seems to get the nod for it's optical image stabilization and 3 CCD sensor, but it lacks a DV output. The JVCs have DV out, and I like the idea of duplicating digitial-to-digital from the cam to my (Samsung) DVD recorder.

So my questions are:

Is there good reason why Panasonic doesn't have the DV out? seems like a conspicuous omission.

...
Kent

This review implies it does have digital out via ( usb I think they mean USB 2 )
http://reviewsonlineguide.com/digital-camcorder/2007/panasonic-sdr-h200/

Kent Fitzgerald
06-08-2007, 3:59 PM
Thanks for the replies. To clarify, the Panasonic cam has a USB 2.0 output, but not Firewire/IEEE-1384. My DVD recorder has Firewire/IEEE-1384, but not USB.

HOWEVER, it just occurred to me to look at my notebook PC, and what do you know, it has a DVD burner, so I can use that instead. Problem (I think) solved!