Panasonic VDR-D200 Camcorder Review

Compression (5.0)

Like most DVD camcorders, the VDR-D200 uses MPEG-2 compression at a maximum bit rate of approximately 8.5 Mbps.  This is a low bit rate when compared to MiniDV compression which has a much higher fixed bit rate of 25 Mbps.  In our tests, MiniDV camcorders consistently deliver better video performance than DVD camcorders, due largely to their higher data rate.  The fact that DVD camcorders deliver relatively low quality video is an important consideration, and the reason that historically the format has appealed primarily to the point-and-shoot market.

As with Panasonic’s other VDR series camcorders, the VDR-D200, offers three video quality settings which correspond to different bit rates and recording time per disc: XP at 8.5 Mbps or 18 minutes per disc, SP at 5 Mbps or 37 minutes per disc, and LP at 2.5 Mbps. or 75 minutes per disc. Audio is compressed using Dolby Digital’s AC3 compression format, at a bit rate of 16 bit (48 kHz/2 channel).

Media (5.0)
There Panasonic VDR-D200 supports two primary media types, one for video files and the other for still images. Video files can be captured to several 8cm (3”)DVD: DVD-RAM (Ver. 2.1), DVD-RW (Ver. 1.1/2X-SPEED (2X-1X), or DVD-R (for General Ver. 2.0) formats. All of these formats are single layer formats, but a few camcorders from competing manufacturers now support dual layer (DL) discs, including Canon’s DC22.

Still images are captured to SD memory cards which are available in sizes ranging from 8 MB to 2 GB.  Given the fact that the camcorder is not capable of capturing stills at a resolution higher than 640x480, larger SD cards are not likely to be appropriate for use with this camcorder.  DVDs and SD memory cards are both popular media types, and can be found everywhere from supermarkets to box stores.

Even though the VDR-D200 can accept multiple DVD- formats, working with each type of disc involved some troubleshooting during our tests. We found it difficult to transfer footage we had shot on a DVD-RW disc to our PC, and we’ve run into similar problems on other Panasonic camcorders with the format. DVD-R discs were less problematic, but they can only be written once. DVD-RAM discs seem to be the most stable and cost-effective option, but few DVD players, and only some PC’s are compatible with the format. We had to install a DVD-RAM driver in order to work with footage shot to the disc.

Editing (3.0)

If you plan on doing extensive post-production work with your footage, you should think twice before selecting this or any other DVD camcorder.  MPEG2 footage is notoriously difficult to work with, and importing it into most professional grade NLE’s (non linear editors) requires clip conversion or rendering.  MiniDV or HDV footage is much easier to work with, which is another reason, along with high compression levels, that DVD camcorders have not been embraced by serious hobbyists or professionals.

The VDR-D200 does ship with several applications that enable rudimentary post-production of footage shot with the VDR-D200.  The DVD-RAM Driver is software that must be installed on your PC in order to configure the camcorder as a drive for DVD-RAM or DVD-RW (VR format) discs. The DVD-MovieAlbum CopyTool is used for disc duplication, and DVD-MovieAlbum SE is a basic editing program that can be used only with DVD-RAM discs.  DVDfunSTUDIO is a basic DVD authoring program that enables users to create simple DVD discs for playback on consumer DVD players.