Puddy Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 I'm not ready to jump into the HDD fray yet but do want a smaller camcorder than the Hi8 to take on vacation. Was all set to go with the minidv when I found out that most of them don't have USB inputs (the JVC did however) and that something called 'firewire' is the standard for transfering the movies to my pc. Then I told the salesman that my pc was a Dell and he said that Dell doesn't have 'firewire' inputs. So unless I get the JVC I won't be able to tranfer the movies to my pc easily. I initially selected the minidv technology because word has it that the DVD's only record about 30 minutes on high quality recording whereas the minidv is 60 minutes. Maybe I'm putting too much weight on putting the movies on my computer. I have a dvd recorder so maybe I just burn those from the minidv? Anyone have a preference between the two and why? Oh and I'm probably going to spend between $275 - $350. The HDD's look like the wave of the future but the cheapest is $500 which means probably $800 for a decent one so I'm going to wait awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 (edited) You can buy a firewire card and install it in your own computer for less than $20. (I just did this two days ago on my own computer--took all of 4 minutes.) For example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16815124003 (Although, in your case, check with AAA to see if you have coverage for this service.) Edited May 27, 2007 by wiegie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 Recording directly to DVD would work... but: - The quality is less than miniDV - The media is more fragile - recording time is less Firewire can be added as a PCI card or a PCMCI card in a laptop if your computer doesn't have it. I bought a PCI card for like $30. I doubt that even the JVC would be able to transer video via USB unless you recorded it at low quality on the media card (instead of tape). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 Don't sweat the Firewire (Also called IEEE 1394). You can buy an add-on card to upgrade your system if you don't have a firewire port Newegg Firewire Card Firewire is the preferred method for transfer of A/V (and has been for at least 10 years) because it's faster then USB. I find it very odd that Dell doesn't support Firewire (looking at their website they do, even on the low-end model) How old is your system? Have you talked to Dell? You may have it and don't know it (it does look like a USB port) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted May 27, 2007 Author Share Posted May 27, 2007 (edited) I find it very odd that Dell doesn't support Firewire (looking at their website they do, even on the low-end model) How old is your system? Have you talked to Dell? You may have it and don't know it (it does look like a USB port) The pimply faced kid at Best Buy is the one who said Dell PC's don't have it. This is a Dell Dimension 4600 that I purchased in October, '04. So assuming the firewire isn't an issue, should I go with minidv then? Is it pretty much a consensus? One advantage that I did read regarding the dvd camcorders is you can find areas of the movie quick (like jumping to scenes versus rewind/forward on the minidv). Not sure if that's too big a deal however. Edited May 27, 2007 by Puddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 The pimply faced kid at Best Buy is the one who said Dell PC's don't have it. This is a Dell Dimension 4600 that I purchased in October, '04. So assuming the firewire isn't an issue, should I go with minidv then? Is it pretty much a consensus? One advantage that I did read regarding the dvd camcorders is you can find areas of the movie quick (like jumping to scenes versus rewind/forward on the minidv). Not sure if that's too big a deal however. i have this panasonic minidv camcorder. it's 2 years old, so i'm sure there's a newer version, but i've had no problems with it. (it was around $450-$500 at the time.) one thing to consider: you'll need a lot of hard drive space when transfering video from the tapes. it's been a while since i transfered any video, but i THINK it was about a gigabyte for about 5 minutes of tape. i'd have to go and check, though. anyway, i have an external hard drive that i now dump the tape on to, and then you can reuse the tape if you want. i've also used the mac's dvd-making program to make my own dvd, which is pretty cool, but time-consuming. think about where you'll be using the camcorder, and how often. i can go months without using ours, mainly because Dad is the only one who ever photographs/films anything, and constantly switching between the camcorder and digital camera is a pain. some camcorders have still camera functions, too, but the resolution isn't that great on a lot of them. anyway, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 The pimply faced kid at Best Buy is the one who said Dell PC's don't have it. My 2001 Dell Dimension didn't have firewire and neither did the brand new work Dell laptop I got a few months ago (although my Dell laptop from 2003 did have it). I have no comment about the camcorder as I haven't been in the market for one for several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 one thing to consider: you'll need a lot of hard drive space when transfering video from the tapes. it's been a while since i transfered any video, but i THINK it was about a gigabyte for about 5 minutes of tape. Just about. 1gig = 4.5 minutes 1 hour = 13 gigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 The pimply faced kid at Best Buy is the one who said Dell PC's don't have it. This is a Dell Dimension 4600 that I purchased in October, '04. So assuming the firewire isn't an issue, should I go with minidv then? Is it pretty much a consensus? One advantage that I did read regarding the dvd camcorders is you can find areas of the movie quick (like jumping to scenes versus rewind/forward on the minidv). Not sure if that's too big a deal however. Looked it up, kid was right, no Firewire. Get the card. Has for the Camcorder, don't know, I have never owned one but I would be curious to hear what the best choice would be (I may be in the market by Christmas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rams Fan Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 (edited) The pimply faced kid at Best Buy is the one who said Dell PC's don't have it. This is a Dell Dimension 4600 that I purchased in October, '04. So assuming the firewire isn't an issue, should I go with minidv then? Is it pretty much a consensus? One advantage that I did read regarding the dvd camcorders is you can find areas of the movie quick (like jumping to scenes versus rewind/forward on the minidv). Not sure if that's too big a deal however. Look up your service tag on Dell's site to see what your machine has... Generically, your system specifications are: 1 Display / video VGA, 8 Hi-Speed USB, 1 Serial RS-232C, 1 Parallel IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP), 1 Keyboard Generic, 1 Mouse Generic, 1 Modem Phone line, 1 Network Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX, 1 Audio Line-in, 1 Audio Line-out, 1 Microphone Input, 1 Audio, 1 Audio, 1 Headphones Output Just add the PCI card... Edited May 28, 2007 by Rams Fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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