I had originally bought the Panasonic VDR-M50 and was extremely pleased with the camcorder. The only reason why I returned it was because I wanted to do a lot of editing on the computer. I'm now using the 200 and am really pleased.

Back to the mini DVD - It's perfect for the person who wants to tape, do a little bit of editing and then copy to a DVD. The only Ram discs I used was Maxell but I had no problem using Fuji DVD-r in the camera. With either type of disc, I would transfer to the PC, edit, and burn a full size 4.7gb DVD-r (I used TDK and Sony without any problems.) I used Power Producer Gold or Power Directer to do this. You can get trial downloads at the Cyberlink website. You're spending a lot more money for Ram discs.

If it weren't for my need and obsession to play with editing, I was very happy with my DVD cam. Outside picture quality was excellent. It did as well as or a bit better than most cameras in this price range indoors. Changing discs (and finalizing DVD-r) was a snap.

If you're having these problems with the Hitachi, I would exchange it for the Panasonic or get in touch with the company. No reason why you shouldn't be able to record DVD-r.