Best alternative to HD

I really would like and HC1 or 3 but the added computer cost and the fact I can't burn an HD DVD yet or cost effectively even in the near future... can anyone reccomend the best value ain standard def, and more importantly is there a 16X9 recordable camera in standard def? thanks

Due to its really small size, why not get an HC3 anyway, and just record in HD, and the DVD will just play in standard definition until you can get a true HD DVD player in a year or so when the price will decrease by half. That way, in the meantime you have a nice compact camera, with no planned obsolescence once Blue-Ray HD DVD players are cheaper.

Even if you are HD-phobic, I think the HC3 will record in standard def. It is still a hell of a nice camera in standard def.

Yes Dave it right, just get yourself a little HDV camera and away you go. You can edit with any normal computer that can edit normal Mini DV and make normal DVD's.

If you buy a DVD player that can play HD wmv9 files etc then you can make HD res DVD's with normal DVD disk. Cheap as.

Hey Dave, you are back. How did your dive trip go and you rig?

Wags

Just to confirm, on the HC3 you can record in DV, taking advantage of the camera's sharpness. You can also record in HDV and transfer to the computer in DV, the camcorder transcodes on the fly. That way you have HDV tapes that you can go back to once you upgrade your NLE to HD supoort.

Martyn

I've been reading recently that the HC3's SD or SD from HD converted footage is not as good as many SD specific camcorders (mid to low range ones, not only high end camcorders) - has anyone had any experience of this?

Cheers, Simon

I think it depends on what you're looking for.

For sharpness, I think there is a slight improvement when shooting HD and then downconverting to SD. Lots of variables here, but the Sony HC1 does a pretty good job on the downconversion, IMO.

HDV does show more artifacting than DV due to its MPEG-2 compression. The artifacting shows up whether you playback in HD or SD and came be a bit severe when there is a lot of motion on screen.