Hitachi DZ-HS300A Camcorder Reviewby John NeelyPublished on May 2, 2007 4:00 PM 
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Compression (4.0)
The Hitachi DZ-HS300A (Review, Specs, $0) uses MPEG-2 compression when recording to either HDD or DVD, a codec that allows playback of footage on most home DVD players. Three video quality settings are available: XTRA (3-10 Mbps, variable bit rate), FINE (6 Mbps, fixed bit rate), and STD (3 Mbps, fixed bit rate). The maximum recording time available is tied to bit rate, and it has an inverse relationship to video quality so that at the best-quality XTRA setting, about 110 minutes of video can be stored to the onboard HDD, while about 18 minutes can be stored to DVD. At FINE, the figures are 180 minutes for HDD and 30 minutes for DVD, and at the lowest-quality STD setting, 360 minutes for HDD and 60 minutes for DVD.
The MPEG-2 compression used by the DZ-HS300A to record standard definition video compresses at lower bit rates than DV, and on average, MPEG-2 does not perform as well. The big draw of MPEG-2 is versatility and convenience. It is compatible with numerous media types including HDD, DVD and flash, and discs recorded by the DZ-HS300A (and finalized) will play back immediately on many home DVD players.
Media (8.0)
The HS300A deals with numerous forms of recording media. It's an HDD/DVD/SD hybrid camcorder with the ability to record video to the 8GB HDD or a DVD disc, and stills to an SD card. The SD card is not included. Also, stills cannot be recorded to the HDD or DVD. It's certainly structured to back you up when the HDD fills up or a disc has maxed out - simply switch to the next available recording format. And, with the ability to dub straight to DVD from the HDD in-camera, the HS300A saves time.
However, the average DVD disc lasts 14 minutes, the maximum recording time on an 8GB HDD in the highest quality setting is 110 minutes. These are some significant limitations. Just be sure to purchase a lot of DVD discs and have patience--dubbing from the HDD to a DVD takes time. On a DV/HDV camcorder, tapes last a good 60 minutes and can then be swapped out with ease. Even a 30GB HDD camcorder provides an ample amount of recording time. The HS300A is for short home movies that can be thrown onto a DVD and played within a span of 7 minutes.
Editing (5.0)
The bad news is that clips recorded to the HS300A’s hard drive show up as .VRO files when dragged and dropped onto the desktop. The following programs possess the capability to open .VRO files: InterVideo WinDVD Platinum, CyberLink PowerDVD, NVIDIA NVDVD, AVS Video Tools, and AuthoringWare DVD Integrator. We were able to import .VRO files directly from the HDD via USB and into CyberLink Power Director Express (a leftover NLE included with almost all JVC Everio camcorders). However, since the program was reading the files directly from the hard drive, the process was slower than a board meeting run by tortoises.
Have no fear—here’s a little trick you can execute to avoid this process: drag and drop your .VOR files to your computer, then rename the file extension to a .MPG or .AVI. Now you can import and edit—without the need to capture—in programs like Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro.
The supplied software, ImageMixer 3, does not provide a whole lot of post options. Its primary focus is to import recorded stills from the HDD onto a computer, and includes a rudimentary, stripped-down editing function that simply prepares the clip for DVD authoring.
Stick with your tried and true NLE.