Sony DCR-DVD505 Camcorder Review

Audio is compressed into Dolby Digital 2/5.1 channel sound. The built-in mic set up is described in more detail above (see the “Audio” section), but essentially, there are two sets of stereo mics, and the camcorder converts those four streams into 5.1 channel sound.

Stills are recorded in the JPEG format to either MemoryStick Duo, MemoryStick PRO Duo, or a DVD disc in two qualities, Fine and Standard, and six sizes: 2304 x 1728 (4.0MP), 1600 x 1200 (1.9MP), 640 x 480 (0.3MP), 2304 x 1296 (3.0 MP widescreen), 2016 x 1512 (3.0MP), and 2016 x 1134 (2.3MP widescreen).

Media (5.0)
The Sony DCR-DVD505 (Review, Specs, $664) records video to DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. A 30 min 1.4GB DVD-R disc comes included in the box. Parsing the differences between formats can be difficult for beginners and even for regular camcorder users. We’ll try and give you a quick breakdown here.

DVD-R is the simplest format. The discs are one-time use only, and available in more than one capacity. You record until it’s full, and then you pop it into a playback device (home DVD player, computer, or the camcorder itself) and watch the footage. DVD-R does not allow erasing, but it is the most universally recognized format, so most every type of playback device will accept it. You do need to finalize the disc before playing it elsewhere.

DVD-RWs are a fixed capacity of 4.7 GB, and can be rewritten about 1000x over. Within the DVD505, there are two recording modes for the DVD-RW, which can be selected in the menu: VR and Video. Stay with me now; it’s gets a little complicated. In the DVD-RW VR mode, you can delete or edit stills and video clips at any time in the camcorder. You must finalize the disc in order to play VR footage back on other devices, but, the manual indicates, that device must be DVD-RW VR compatible. Be sure to check your playback device before using this recording mode. If you have space left on the disc, the VR format allows you to pop it back in the camcorder and record more footage without unfinalizing.

The other DVD-RW mode, Video, only allows you to delete the last clip you recorded. Finalizing a disc in this mode will allow it to play on most DVD devices. When you want to use it again, you must unfinalize the disc.

The third media choice is DVD+RW. DVD+RW discs do not necessarily require finalizing, though it may be necessary for certain purposes, which Sony lists as: creating DVD menus or Photomovies, playback on computer DVD drives, or when little is recorded on the disc (5 minutes of HQ, 8 minutes of SP, and 15 minutes of LP). +RW supports random write access, meaning that data can be added or deleted without wiping the entire disc. In the camcorder, however, you can only delete the last clip you recorded when using DVD+RW. Again, compatibility is not guaranteed for any playback device, so check the specs before you commit important footage to any format.

That’s the wrap-up on video. For more detailed explanations of each format, I recommend searching our website or the rest of the web. There’s plenty of information out there.

Sony, of course, uses its own brand of still media rather than the more universally popular SD cards for still capture. The DVD505 uses MemoryStick Duos and MemoryStick PRO Duos for recording stills. No stick comes included, but they are available for purchase in capacities up to 4 GB. You cannot use the full sized MemorySticks that you may have purchased for an older Sony camcorder. Sorry.

Editing (3.0)
The DVD505 ships with Picture Package version 1.8.1. The software allows you to do three things – copy clips and stills from the DVD onto the computer’s hard drive, copy clips and stills directly to another DVD (copying), and creating absurd little video collages set to an assortment of pre-loaded MIDI music tracks. This proved amusing for a little while, but its not an editing software that one could use for anything of merit, not even for prepping video for a presentation or similarly simple task.

Copying files over from the DVD to the computer is easy. There are no options however, for compression rates or file conversion types. Usually, DVD files are saved with a .MOD extension. Manually changing the file type to .MPG allows you to open the files in most video players. In doing so, however, the audio track is lost.

I thought that this problem might be avoided by using Sony’s Picture Package to copy files over. No such luck. When the video clips arrived in my destination folder, the audio was still missing. If DVD camcorders didn’t have these problems so often, we might be inclined to stop holding fast to MiniDV.

The main menu page for the Picture Package software, which ships with the DVD505.

Picture Package acquiring the video clips from the DVD, which is in the camcorder connected via USB to the computer.

Video clips acquired, now ready for copying onto the computer's hard drive.