I would like to buy a DVD camcorder to film my family growing up. I have looked at all the threads here and at reviews and feel as confused as ever

I want as little messing about as possible as I am just a complete techno phobe, I want to be able to record and then put the DVD in my DVD player and watch it !!!!!!

I have narrowed down my thoughts and am looking at getting a Sony DCR - DVD201E Camcorder, I have read about its faults but feel it still would meet my main need ie no messing about with it and simple ish to use

What really confuses me on reviews is the DVD RAM and DVD - R (I think they were the terms). Also, I see Mini DV's recommended alot but can't work out what the difference is between them and a DVD you can just put straight into the DVD player, some things I have read seem to say you can do this and some seem to say you can't

I know the one I have chosen seems overpriced (from what reviews say) but if I can use it I would rather pay a bit more as would hate to spend less and never be able to understand it (still can't pre-record on my video player and I'm only in my thirties not nineties !!!!!)

I would really, really appreciate some advice as I would like to buy one as soon as I can

Thanks so much !!!!!!!!!!!

Ellen

Ps - can you get these sorts of things in the sale after christmas as they are so expensive !!!!!!!!!!!

There aren't many people that try to answer questions here, that know anything about these new camcorders? Those that do know something about them are most likely to be found in this forum so I moved your post here and left a redirect in the General forum.From what I know about these terms from using my set-top Panasonic DVD recorder DMR-E100, I use DVD-R when I want it to play in a DVD player (either mine or someone else's). It has to be finalized before it it will play in a DVD player but it will play in your camcorder or my recorder before it is finalized. But nobody else can play it. Before it is finalized, you can keep adding new video to the disc until it is full. After it is finalized, nothing more can be added and a DVD-R cannot be erased. Your DVD camcorder should be able to finalize your DVD-R's by using it's menu commands somehow?

DVD-RAM is an erasable, reusable disc that doesn't need to be finalized but most DVD players can't ever play it. I am not sure where you would ever use it? Those that have a computer which contains a DVD-RAM drive (not many do) can use them to transfer video from the camcorder into the computers hard drive for editing or combining with other video to fill a full size DVD-R. The little mini-size disc's that DVD camcorders use are only about 1/3 the capacity of full size DVD-R's but they probably cost about 10 times as much as the full sized ones which can be routinely bought on sale now for around 40¢ each.

Most editing computers have firewire ports that are looking for digital video that meets the IEEE1394 standard. MiniDVD camcorders don't output that form of DV so it won't be easy to download video from a DVD camcorder to a computer. Probably using a recorded MiniDVD-R or MiniDVD-RAM would be the easiest but it might be hard to find software for the computer to do the job?

I hope someone else here can fill you in on the details of what all is involved. I have never seen or used one of these camcorders so I am only going by what I have seen others post about the problems involved.

If you want something simple to use and mail away your master DVD's to friends or relatives, this is probably the best way to go. If you want to edit, make copies, combine 3 minidiscs into 1 full sized disc, then you might be biting off more than you can chew with a DVD camcorder?

Dave

Ellen, I purchased the Sony mini DVD201 last July and I am very happy with the camera in terms of ease of use and portability to Sony DVD players. The mini dvd's I purchased don't come preformatted so if you want to record more than 24 minutes of good quality video you need to purchase several mini DVD -R disks and format them ahead of time. Otherwise, the event is continuing on and you are waiting for the camera to format the new mini DVD. To avoid the time loss while the camera is finalizing the mini DVD, I just remove the mini DVD and put in a new pre-formatted mini DVD. You don't miss as much of the action that way. Then when the even is over you can put each of the mini DVDs in the camera and finalize them. This is nowhere near as simple as the old Sony 8 mm tape handicam I used for 20 years before upgrading to the new stuff. I have recorded some events on lower quality (LP) and it was acceptable and I got 47 minutes of recording before the disk was full.

So far as price, take a look at some of the online advertisers and you can save some money. I got mine from savebigbigbucks@yahoo.com and couldn't be happier. Of course, you give up the convenience of being able to take the purchase back to the store if something is wrong. Sony makes a good product and you shouldn't need customer assistance. With most online advertisers, you can pay for fast shipping and get it in a day or two if it is in stock. Mine took a little longer because it wasn't in stock at that time.

Now, for the bad news. The mini DVDs are relatively expensive. I use the mini DVD -RW disks and then transfer the data to the larger DVD. That requires that you have a computer with a DVD writer, not just a DVD player. You could have your computer upgraded if you don't have a DVD writer. I tried several programs before settling on Ulead's My DVD Studio because it was the only one I tested that would put movies and slides (the Sony still photo capability) on the large DVD. I expect that this medium will go through several format changes before things settle down. You may have to move or copy your favorite home videos to newer formats several times just to be able to see them on your state of the art home entertainment system in the year 2020. It may be like trying to view your grandmother's 8mm movies on today's entertainment systems.

George

Thanks for your comments George. I have no doubt that many people are enjoying their DVD camcorders. I have no experience with them and unfortunately a vast majority of posts in these type of forums are either negative or people trying to solve problems (Not just DVD Camcorders). I thought VHS was great when it eventually came out. Shooting Super 8mm film sure was expensive...


Rich

Where I said I used "Ulead's My DVD Studio" I should have said Sonic's My DVD Studio. My DVD Studio will put a movie and a slide show on the same large DVD. Whereas Ulead's software will put a movie on one large DVD and A slideshow on another large DVD. I didn't like that feature. The Sony DVD 201 allows both movies and stills to be recorded on the same mini DVD. I haven't gotten far enough to see what happens when you try to put a mini DVD that is full of stills on a large DVD. I did encounter a message saying that 100 was the maximum number of slides in a single slide show but many slide shows could be put on the same DVD. How many? I can only guess.

George

Dear Ellen, ah yes I feel your pain! I too went through what you are going through now before I settled on the Sony 201 so let me help. First, I am not a technophobe, I am more of a technogrump so I have begrudgingly fought my way through this whole morass of terminology to get to where I am. Lets take things item by item.
1. Camera. The 201 is an ok video camera, there are many better ones out there for better prices however as a "point and shoot" the Sony is great and I have no complaints.
2. Media. As I said there are many better comparable cameras out there but they mostly use MiniDV which is a TAPE format. To get it on to DVD you have to load the digital information from the tape on to a computer (capture) then use special software to re-format it and burn it on to a DVD. As a technophobe I think you should be wary of that whole process! The mini DVD's that the 201 produces can be finalised in the camera and put straight into a DVD player and should play. I say "should" because there are two different types of DVD format. They are + and -. "Most" DVD players handle both and also "most" DVD players handle the mini DVD discs these days. Provided you have a modern DVD player from a good company you will be fine. From other posts on this board I get the idea that the mini DVD's are considered expensive, well I guess that is a relative term but personally I don't think so. Then again, I live in Taiwan so it may be different where you are.
3. Quality. As I said the 201 is a good, not great video camera but the final test is what you see on your TV screen and as far as the 201 goes you will be very pleased. I think part of the reason is that the camera is already recording in the format that is going to be used for playback on your DVD player. I just point and shoot, bang it on the DVD player and it looks great.
Finally the camera comes with a very good manual separated in to two sections: 1. The idiot section with many pictures, few words and mild terminology (that's the one for us) and the geek section for those days when you are feeling more adventurous.
Finally, once you start to get used to using the cam you will get the desire to start actually editing and making movies. Remember that when that time comes you will need to invest in a reasonably powerful computer to handle working with video as well as good software to do that. The software provided with the camera is terrible but right now you don't need to worry about it and additionally there is always help on this board. Hope that helps a bit.

Hey Hellen

I got my SonyDVD301 for almost the same reasons as you. Currently I have only had my cam for about 4 weeks. My 301 and the 201 your looking at from what I read are about the same. As this is my first cam, I don't have a clue about all the geek stuff that can be involved with camcorders. My 301 is very easy to use, but I had a problem with my first DVD-R I recorded on and have not been able to recover the lost images that I can still view on the LCD (read my "Bad Media Woe's," post. So do yourself a favor if you get this cam, get the DVD-RW's they work great! I plan to use them over and over again, put my video on my pc and burn copies to normal sized dvd's to send out to family members! Here comes the next problem you could run into with a dvd cam, if your dvd player is older it may not see your disc. In the end, what ever you buy, make sure there is a great return policy! For me being a beginner in this world of video, I am loving my cam! I have gotten some really good shots of my son and the night vision on it works great (some great shots of him sleeping)! I like the controls on my cam, well placed in my view (could be even better, but good enough). I do plan on doing some basic editing to remove stuff like when your moving round and the cam is getting everything else but my family! lol

Good luck

Adam

i use the dvd201 and only had it a few weeks too. i bought it for the ease of use and the short space of time it takes from filming to watching it on the DVD player.

I use dvd -RW and i must be one of the few that is actually happy with the imagermixer software that it came with. i have used both imagemixer and windvd (windvd came with my dvd burner), to edit or burn the film to a larger DVD.

and whilst the still image photo is only one mega pixal it is good enough for me also. here are some still shots i have taken with the dvd201

all the pictures of the rose is from my rose bush that recently bloomed : dvd 201 still shots

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i use the patented Sony Blinkers. i find that it filters out all the unwanted noise Bid-Alot Auctions

Thank you all SO, SO much for your replies, which were really, really helpful , I was amazed by how much information you gave to me so thank you for taking the time to give me your advice and own experiences

I do think the Sony 201 is the right camcorder for me and am going to go ahead and purchase it. Feel much better for making my mind up !!!

Razco, I was really impressed with the pictures you had taken, the quality was really good and much better than I had hoped it could be.

Adam, it was really good to hear that you were pleased with your night shots and I will defo get the DVD RW's!

Lance, thank you for all your technical guidance which helped me understand things much more.

George, thank you so much for your recommendation to try the save big bucks site, I did take a look and was amazed by the prices, unfortunately they don't ship abroad and I am in the uk but I will now shop around a bit and try and find a good price, it was good to hear that you are pleased with the 201.

Dave, thanks so much for your in depth explanation which helped me alot and thanks for moving my thread so that I got more responses, that was really kind of you.

This site is excellent and you have all really helped me to understand things better and feel reasurred the 201 is the right one for me.

Take care and have a really Happy Xmas and New Year !!!!

Ellen