How to choose?

Wonerdering how to decide between Hard Drive Camcorders versus DVD camcorders, then you are not alone.

When choosing a camcorder there are many features which are important such as the battery life, image quality, memory, size and warranty to name a few. In this review, we won’t be talking about those, but will spend most of the time weighing up the recording formats. Which is better, a camcorder that saves to a hard disc drive or one which saves to DVD?

By the time you complete this article, you’ll be able to decide.

Hard Drive Camcorders
Main Advantages

Space:
oNo need to worry about running out of space on your tape or DVD while recording. (Although the hard drive will fill up eventually)
oRecording directly to the HDD gives you more recording time than DVD disks in most cases. On average you can enjoy as much as 12 hours of recording depending on which HDD camcorder and video quality you choose.

Compatibility:
oYou don’t have to worry about disc compatibility, media or file formats.
oWhen you save your files to the camcorder hard disk drive, files can be moved, deleted or transferred, just like with your PC.

Flexibility:
oYou’ll have the flexibility to arrange or rearrange the order of your play list or favorite clips when showing off your movies and footage.
oCamcorders include hard drive protection to prevent your data from being damaged in the event of a dropping accident.

Main Disadvantage

Battery life:
oMany of the camcorders have a short battery life, so even if your hard disk allows you to record for a long time, the battery would need recharging frequently and this could be annoying.

DVD Camcorders
So how does this format fear in the hard drive camcorder versus DVD camcorder review?

Main Advantages:

oYou can record straight to 8cm DVD disks, so there is no tape to rewind. The camcorder would automatically find space and begin recording your fresh footage.
oMany compatible DVD formats are now available.
oIndividual scenes can be stored in easy-to-access play lists that are displayed as thumbnails.
oEnjoy your home movies on your home computer, Playstation or home DVD player.

Main Disadvantages:

Compatibility:
oDVD camcorders and home DVD players are not always compatible, although manufacturers are working hard to rectify this problem.

Comlexity:
oEditing DVD movies imported from camcorder to PC is not always easy, but again the manufactures of DVD camcorders are working on the bundled software to make things easier for you.
oYou must finalize discs before being able to play them in a disc drive. Some camcorders make this process easier than others.
oIf any data is damages, your disc is virtually useless as you won’t be able to play it.

So there you have it, the hard drive vs. DVD camcorder review. Now you can see the pros and cons of each. Of course when making your final decision, it does come down to your preference. But at least now you are armed with a bit more info to help you decide.

Related posts:

1. Which Camcorders Takes the Sharpest Picture?
2. Comparison of camcorder media types
3. Mini-DVD and Mini-DV – What’s the Difference?

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 2:24 pm and is filed under Camcorders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.