I'm incredibly close to purchasing the 505 but there's one dealbreaker. The output DVD absolutely MUST have the timestamp for the entire duration of the video. This is for business purposes. I was this close to purchasing the 403 until I read that it doesn't have this feature and it as an absolute necessity. Does anyone know if the timestamp is available on the 505? Many thanks.

This is a problem on all digital camcorders. MiniDV seems to have more workarounds for this than MPEG2 (which is the format used by all DVD and HDD camcorders). Read this thread on this subject:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t109485.html

Regards

Mike

Based on what we're going to use it for, MiniDV is all but out of the question. Don't get me wrong, there are great products out there but it's our process that requires DVD. Are there any options or products with timestamping built in to the camcorder itself. Again, many thanks.

I have a 405 and the timestamp is continuously recorded as a subtitle. I.E. When I play the DVD if I hit the subtitle button on the DVD player I can see the timestamp.

Is this true for just the 405 or the 505 (and possible 403)?

The feature is called "SUB-T DATE". Here is a link to manual. According to page 67, the 505 has this feature.

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/Ma.../158DDVD505.PDF

http://www.docs.sony.com/release/DCRDVD505.pdf


Rich

__________________
FireWire Survey

Thanks for everything so far, everyone. Is the term "sub-t date" only used by Sony for this feature? Just so I can search for the same thing from different manufacturers. I did take a look at the 405 guide and it also has the Sub-T Date feature listed (almost in the same spot in the manual as the 505 humorously enough) but we're looking for about four or five recommendations. Again, thanks so much.

Renaissanceman:

I believe "sub-t date" is a Sony term. As far as the DVD camcorders the Sony DVD403 is a very popular camera as well as it's replacement DVD405, the 505 also seems to have good comments. In other words, I would personally stick with those units if I just had to have a DVD camcorder.


Rich

__________________
FireWire Survey

Thanks, everybody, for the assistance.