Sony Handycam DCR-DVD810 Camcorder Reviewby Jeremy StamasPublished on Nov 20, 2008 1:30 PM
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Compression (4.00)
The Sony DCR-DVD810 uses an MPEG-2 compression for video, which is the established format for standard definition camcorders that record to non-linear media (DVD, hard drive, flash memory). MPEG-2 is an outdated, inefficient format and its implementation will eventually be discontinued. With the flood of HD camcorders, which use varying types of MPEG-4 compressions, MPEG-2 will soon be obsolete.
The three quality settings on the DCR-DVD810 are: HQ (9Mbps), SP (6Mbps) and LP (3Mbps). You should probably do most of your filming in HQ, unless you are shooting something where video quality is of little concern. Unlike Canon, Panasonic, and JVC, Sony keeps each video clip as one, unified file with an .MPG extension. This makes working with the footage on a computer much easier. Most editing software and media players will handle the clips with ease.
Media (10.00)
The DCR-DVD810 is the Swiss Army knife of camcorders when it comes to media options. The camcorder can record to 8cm DVDs (often referred to as mini DVDs), 8GB of non-removable flash memory, or to Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. With three media options, you can tailor your recording based on what you want to do with the footage. If you're filming a concert for a friend and want to give them a copy right after, shoot on DVD and hand the disc over at the end. If you're traveling light and don't know how much filming you'll be doing, bring along a few Memory Stick cards to record to. The 8GB of internal memory works best as a backup, and it will always be there—even if you have no cards or DVDs to capture your precious images.
DVD is only one of three media options on the DCR-DVD810.
Even though the DVD810 is marketed as a DVD camcorder, the two other recording options on the device work far better. DVDs don't hold much footage (20 min. at highest quality, compared to 115 min. for the 8GB of internal memory), they scratch easily, they're large (in comparison to the minuscule Memory Stick Pro Duo cards), and they need to be finalized before they'll work on a regular DVD player. The camcorder works with the following discs:
DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R, and DVD+R dual layer.
The DVD810 doesn't allow still images to capture to DVD, which is another place where the camcorder's internal memory comes in handy. In comparison, Canon's standard definition DVD camcorder, the DC330, has no internal memory and requires an SD/SDHC card to save still images. The DCR-DVD810 also has a dubbing feature, which allows you to copy video files from the camcorder's internal memory or Memory Stick Pro Duo cards onto DVDs right inside the camcorder. This is a good feature if you enjoy having your footage on DVD, but you don't like recording directly onto the discs.
The camcorder takes Memory Stick PRO Duo cards.
We like the 8GB of internal memory on the DCR-DVD810 so much, we wish Sony would make the exact same camcorder—only without the DVD drive. This would put Sony in direct competition to the Canon FS100, FS10, and FS11—three flash memory camcorders that include varying amounts of internal memory. The DVD8190 is, surprisingly, the only standard def model from Sony that has any internal flash memory (the HDR-UX20, an HD camcorder, also has 8GB of internal memory). The step-down model from Sony, the DCR-DVD710, has the same specs as the DVD810, except it's $50 cheaper and lacks the internal memory.
Below is a table of approximate recording times for the various media:
| HQ (9Mbps) | SP (6Mbps) | LP (3Mbps) | |
| DVD-R (single layer) | 20 min | 30 min | 60 min |
| DVD-R (dual layer) | 35 min | 55 min | 110 min |
| 2GB Memory Stick Pro Duo | 25 min | 40 min | 80 min |
| 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo | 55 min | 80 min | 160 min |
| 8GB built-in flash memory or 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo |
115 min | 170 min | 325 min |
Editing (6.00)
The Sony DCR-DVD810 comes with Picture Motion Browser 3.0, a very basic software that helps you import clips, perform minor edits, and organize your footage. As long as you're recording to flash memory, the .MPG files created by the DVD810 should be no problem to import into your preferred editing software. Some manufacturers (Canon, JVC, Panasonic) save video clips as .MOD, which can be a hassle to work with and often must be converted before they can work with any media players or editing programs.
Transferring video from recordable DVDs isn't as easy a process as working with clips stored on flash memory. Files simply cannot be dragged and dropped off of the discs, so you'll have to figure out a method for your editing software to import the footage. Many programs may not be able to import from DVDs and the process could be slow and infuriating. Our recommendation is to record to the camcorder's internal memory or Memory Stick Pro Duo cards if you plan on doing any editing—after all, you can always burn that footage to DVD using a computer.
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