I am considering purchasing the HDR-SR1 and I have some concerns. Should I be correct in assuming that I would be able to burn the HD Video to either HD-DVD or Blue-Ray disks or am I going to be stuck with Blue-ray only. I don't want HD-DVD to win the High Def DVD wars and leave me stuck with Blue-ray Technology only. Also I have tried to play the *.M2ts files on my computer and they are very jumpy. I have turned off all background services but this did not help. Any suggestions. And how do I convert the *.M2TS to a full 1080 video and 5.1 audio file?

You can't burn it to anything right now as there are no editing/authoring packages that work with AVCHD yet. Plus, you are going to need a dual core processor to play it back at full frame rate.

Archanot, dont consider buying it untill they make decent software that will be able to play avchd (*.m2ts) files on PC. After that stage is reached, then worry about whether u can burn onto hd/bd dvd. Besides, whatever the outcome of bd vs hd is it shouldnt really effect you. Even if ur stuck somehow, theres nothing stopping u from setting up a cheap entertainment PC nexto your HDTV to play back some avchd clips directly off PC. As i said, this is after that stage has been reached, ie proper *.m2ts file players have been made for windows.

So if I wanted to purchase a Hard drive Camcorder, and my two choices were the HDR-SR1 with HD and SD, or the DCR-SR100 with SD. Price is a bit of a consideration, but mostly I want quality. I plan this to be my last camcorder, unless it breaks. For the near future I would be burning video to standard DVD's as I am now. My assumption is that I can record in HD burn in SD and store the HD for later when the computers are capable. I don't plan to do much real editing except what cuting and pasting I do in the camera. So that being said should I get the HDR-SR1. I suppose another important question would be would the HDR-SR1 create better or worse SD DVD than the DCR-SR100. And which has the better supporting features.

Archanut,
IMO, if you want a camcorder for the future, it should be HD quality. The difference is enormous. I have a Sony HC1 and love it. The HC3 is smaller and lighter. Both store Mpeg2 HDV on tape and several video editors can handle HDV.

Considering the SR1, as Guy said, there are no video editors (right now, yet) that can edit, or even just transcode, AVCHD video files to other formats.

The only tool available is the Motion Picture Browser that comes with the SR1, which cannot edit the AVCHD. It is only able to playback AVCHD and can export only downconverted (standard definition) Mpeg2, suitable for burning on a standard DVD.

The picture quality of this downconversion is unknown and there is no way to control the video/audio properties of the downconverted file. Comparisons to the SR100 would be pure speculation.

Quoting myself,
Is there any other reason not to get the HDR-SR1.

The Sony software that comes with the UX1 plays AVCHD on your computer and will convert it to MPEG2 and you can then do what you want with that. It will also write AVCHD DVDs or standard DVDs. This UX1 is VERY flexible, in that it can record natively to many different DVD formats and for the casual user all this talk about editing isn't really even an issue. Don't let people scare you away from these, the best consumer video cameras yet made. The images are INCREDIBLE, your friends will be so freakin jealous.

I was very excited about this camera after reading the reviews, and purchased one. I've decided to be patient with the pro software dilemma, and hope that everything catches-up soon.

Here's an issue that I'm not so patient about:

I attached an external mic to my brand new HDR SR1 and immediately noticed a hissing noise coming through the headphones. When I hit record, the camera starts buzzing. The noise DOES record to the hard drive, and is apparent on playback. I have since tested other types of quality mics with the same outcome (dynamic & condenser).

The reviews that I've read only praise the fact that the HDR-SR1 has an external mic input. This feature is one of the reasons that I bought this camera.

I have contacted Sony and am waiting for their response, but was wondering if anyone else is experiencing this problem.

Thanks!

Have you tried adjusting the MICREF from Normal to Low?

I tried hooking a pair of condensers to the external mic jack and they were LOUD and there was noticable noise. They were picking up all kinds of crazy room noise and there may have been some noticable hiss just in general. I'm a big fan of the Cool Edit Pro noise reduction feature to handle problems like that.

If you're looking to record something like interviews you could try using a microphone with better background rejection.

-Esotic

I can verify that the MICREF setting to low worked for me. I picked up the ECM-HW1 bluetooth mic today and was disapointed with the sound quality until I set the MICREF to Low, otherwise the sound is full of noise.

I get decent sound out of the ECM-HW1, but it feels a bit cheap for a 199$ MSRP unit. I'd be upset if I paid full retail for the unit. In fact the belt clip for it cracked when I was installing the batteries in the mic. I wish the unit was a bit more solid. Any suggestions for a higher quality wireleess mic for the HDR SR1 if I out grow the ECM-HW1?

Check this thread
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t132634.html

Any suggestions for a higher quality wireleess mic for the HDR SR1

Probably any would do. There would only be problems how to mount them.
I atached separate nand holder on cam and put receiver on it.

you'll need adobe premiere pro 2, mainconcept mpeg pro 2, a kick *** computer

open up a mainconcept hdtv project
import your mt2s file
you'll need to convert it because your computer wont be able to handle the file without stuttering
hit file, export, movie
hit settings and choose maniconcept mpeg as file type
hit compile settings and adjust as need be then ok
check all settings are ok in export settings and make sure you check deinterlace video in the rendering section
thats it hit ok and save as an mpeg file then import this file back into your project and you can do whatever you want with it

I am new to the HDR-SR1 camera and have experienced the same chopiness of the video playback that many in this thread have experienced. Did any of you have a successful solution to overcoming this problem? Thx

Have a FAST computer. Plain and simple.

__________________
Sony UX1 HD camcorder owner.

I picked up my SR1 2 days ago. It has amazing graphics. I am so impressed it's crazy. I researched everything, Sony is the lead by far so blueray is here to stay. You need a 2.8 ghz processor or faster plus at least 1500-2000 gigs of ram to handle ANY HD ANYTHING. That is why your computer is slow. Conversion is difficult moving upwards, not downwards in quality. I am building a website for owners of HDV camcorders (any codec) for anyone to use. I bought 60 domain names form godaddy.com. Be patient, it will happen.
Glenn