JVC GZ-MG37 Camcorder Review

Compression (5.5)
The GZ-MG37 compresses video into the MPEG-2 format, with 2-channel Dolby Digital audio. There are four quality settings for video, which correlate to the maximum data transfer rate. All bit rates are variable under their maximum rate, which saves disk space if the picture has few moving objects in it. At Ultra Fine, the highest setting, the maximum data rate is 8.5 Mbps, the same as DVD camcorders. In Fine mode, the maximum is 5.5 Mbps; Normal is 4.2 Mbps; and Economy is 1.5 Mbps. All JVC HDD camcorders have similar specs in this regard, and all DVD camcorders share the same 8.5 Mbps ceiling. MiniDV, by comparison, has a fixed (non-variable) rate of 25 Mbps.

The video, when copied directly from the camcorder’s hard drive via the Hi-Speed USB cable, has a .MOD file extension. If seeing the video is your only concern, playing these files in any media player is simple: manually change the file extension to .MPG. The problem with this process is that the audio portion of the clip is lost.

Stills are saved in the JPEG format in two qualities, Fine and Standard, at one resolution, 640 x 480.

Media (4.0)
The GZ-MG37 records video and stills to a 30GB internal hard disk drive. With this enormous capacity, the camcorder can store about 430 minutes (7 hours) of Ultra Fine video, 640 minutes (11 hours) of Fine video, 850 minutes (14 hours) of Normal video, and 2250 minutes (37 hours) of Economy video.

The HDD can be connected to a computer via a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable (included), and accessed like any other external hard drive. In this way, it could potentially serve double duty as a portable storage device for files.

The HDD itself is protected by a floating suspension system and a special drop detection system that shuts the camcorder down in less than a second when it detects a falling motion.

We had quite a bit to say about the HDD last year when JVC took an aggressive step forward into the solid state camcorder world. For a recap, we’ll just say that camcorders will obviously become a tape-less, DVD-less technology at some point in the near future. The technology is growing at both ends. On the high-end side, you have P2 cards, which can hold extremely high quality video, but only in small increments. And on this side, you can record 37 hours of really, really bad video. The history of technologies tells us that the twain shall eventually meet.

For now, the upper limit of 8.5 Mbps bit rates are too binding. The video quality on this camcorder is poor, even by DVD standards.

Editing (4.0)
The GZ-MG37 comes with four software programs: Digital Photo Navigator v1.5, PowerDVD 5 NE, PowerDirector Express NE, and PowerProducer 3 NE. 

The first program, Digital Photo Navigator, is a still photo management program. As this camcorder has virtually no still features, you probably won’t need much in the way of a photo management program.

The PowerProducer welcome screen.

For an in-the-box editing program, PowerProducer is a very good program. It allows you to produce a movie disc, transfer video from the camcorder directly to disc, or edit a disc. The disc production is a simple process that would allow even the least experienced user to navigate the channels of DVD authoring. First you select your final medium: DVD, VCD, SVCD, or VR disc, and the capacity. Unfortunately, you are limited by having to choose the aspect ratio from the beginning. The program then allows you to import clips from the camcorder (audio intact!), as well as other sources. It even offers a capture feature to grab footage from a DVD. Simple Menus and chapters can be added, but don’t expect it to look like a Hollywood product. 

Output options in PowerProducer.

PowerProducer's content management page.

PowerDirector Express NE should look familiar to anyone who has used a nonlinear editing (NLE) program. There is a window for clips, a monitor, and a timeline. That’s not to say that PowerDirector can match an Avid system, but it beats what most manufacturers ship with their camcorders. For those unfamiliar, clips are dropped into the timeline, where you can re-order them, change the duration, and other edits. You can also adds transitions and titles. First timers: beware. Your audience’s patience for terrible transitions is limited. Use them sparingly. 

PowerDirector has all the familiar NLE features.

PowerDVD is a DVD and media player similar to Windows Media Player or RealPlayer, but with more limitations.