Community weekly poll: DVD Camcorders... DVD is just a storage format

DVD Camcorders... DVD is just a storage format

There was Beta, VHS, S-VHS, Hi-8, DV, DVD, Hard Drive, Blue Ray etc...
DVD will probably get replaced with the Blue Ray and the likes as soon as the prices for such drives comes down.
For the highest quality video capture, besides a hard drive (FireStore) here is no real alternative to a tape format at this time, there are may attempts to make it easier for consumers however all of these attempts are affecting the quality of the end product.
DVD is a compression format it is already an end product. It has been designed as a distribution format and is ill suited for further editing. Many people actually don't edit their videos and for them this is the answer, also if you are planning for web distribution this format may also work as you will most likeley downgrade the size and quality of your videos to accommodated streaming.
If you are planning on editing your videos and want to have the highest quality possible output the only option is to stick with the tape. Instead of a new DVD camcorder - Invest in a large external hard drive (the bigger the better). As soon as your tape is filled capture it to that hard drive. I'm using Vegas 6 and it will capture your tape and id every scene as a separate file naming it as your tape's name based on the time code (every time you stopped or paused). By next spring of 2007 (when prices are reasonable) with the intel's new core 2 Duo processors all your editing and converting to a high quality DVD will be a sinch.