Be careful about asking about the "best high definition camcorder" without qualification, or some joker's likely to point you at a CineAlta or The Red One or something (though technically, these are video cameras, not camcorders).

But back to your question. I would claim the Canon HV20 was certainly among the best consumer-priced (under $1000) HD camcorders, at least until recently. From Canon themselves, they've replaced it with the Vixia HV30, which is a minor improvement. The HV30 uses the same sensor as the HV20 (and the HV10... I have one of those), but adds a 30P mode on top of the previous 60i and 24P modes, and perhaps some other refinements. You certainly can't go wrong with the HV20 or HV30.

As far as quality goes, that's a valid question, but ultimately, it's not going to be a huge difference. Can you get better audio than an HV30? Sure.. .use any old DV camcorder... DV records audio uncompressed (16-bits, 48kHz), while HDV used MPEG Layer 2 audio compression.. but at a fairly high bitrate. Your best bet on improving audio will be to get an external microphone.. the ones built-in range from poor to bad to downright evil (on some camcorders you can actually pick up motor noise with your built-in mic, though I don't believe that's true of the HV20 or HV30).

For video quality... maybe, but it depends a bit. Until recently, HDV was without question the best quality HD recording medium available to consumers. And there are good reasons to reject other media anyway: Hard drive cameras can be fragile and power hungry, DVD based camcorders only record 20 minutes per DVD in the best quality mode, and even at that, their best quality mode is lower than on other formats. And flash memory was too small and too pricey.

Well, today, I claim you can actually get better video on the very latest AVCHD flash-based camcorders, at least some of the time. AVC was chosen over MPEG-2 for these camcorders (HDV uses MPEG-2 compression) because, ideally, it can give you the same quality as MPEG-2 at 1/2 to 1/3 the bitrate. In practice, though, while this is certainly true of commercial, non-realtime encoders used to make Blu-Ray discs, it has not been true of the on-chip encoders used in consumer camcorders.

But time has passed... the AVCHD algorithms have improved, and some newer models allow higher bitrates. Canon is supporting 24Mb/s in their new models, and full 1920x1080 recording. HDV is 25Mb/s MPEG-2 at 1440x1080, while most sensors in both camera types are 1920x1080... so there's more resolution and no loss from resampling in the flash-based models.

As well, flash memory cards are in price free-fall.. I saw a 16GB SDHC card on sale the other day for $19... I pay about $8 for an 83min pro-class HDV tape... also a 16GB item. So flash, being reusable, is actually going to cheaper these days than tape in the short term.

I would only look at the latest flash-based camcorders as alternatives to tape. Read the reviews, check things like low-light performances, look for 24P support if you're into film-look (or film school), 30P is also a nice option if you do on-line video. I would consider the Canon Vixia HF11 or the new HF S10 or the Panasonic HDC-TM300.

It's up to your.. tape IS still quite fine; both of my HD camcorders are HDV. However, if I added another today, it would probably be a flash-based model.

High Definition, What Are You Waiting On!

If you want to be as up to date as you can be when it comes to home recreation and media, then one of the unexceeded purchases you can make right now is a high definition television set. With every passing day these appliances are seemly more and more inexpensive and convenient to the common being and there are a lot of reasons to buy one.

Many consumers recollect what it felt like to buy their first TV when they were youthful so numerous years ago and this feeling is something that can be relived by getting a high definition TV.

The crispness of the image and the clarity of sound are so much finer than the initial televisions that came on the marketplace that you believe as tho' you aren't watching a television, but are looking through a pane into another world. The images on these televisions are genuinely that crisp and clear.

Most people need to own the biggest TV they can afford, ever since big screen televisions came onto the marketplace back during the 80's. A big screen HDTV can cost a few thousand dollars, but you don't have to have one of these to revel the experience of high definition shows.

What's even nicer is that more and more cable and satellite companies are beginning to feature a tremendous amount of HD stations (although, accessible only to those who desire to acquire them). Unfortunately, if you cannot afford to pay the additional cost to obtain the HD channels on your cable or satellite bill every month, you may get caught using your HDTV to only watch movies that you have purchased on Blu-ray DVDs.

This could be a waste, so unless you can afford to pay for the high definition service your cable or dish company offers, you should stay with your regular television until you can.

In addition to TV's, there are also different components that you can acquire that come with HD technology. High definition video cameras are good for people who would use them all the time, but likely a waste for those people who don't use video cameras really often. Lots of video games are being sold in HD format recently, too.

High definition format will likely be the minimum standard within the succeeding few years, but it may take most of us a while to catch up and hold enough money to get the HD electronics we need. The prices will keep falling down, tho', it might not take as long as you think.

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Jim Williams recommends that you take a look at one of the few HDTV antennas on the market that actually works!
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