Sony HVR-15U and HVR-25U deck with XH footage?
 

Since Canon does not offer a HDV playback/record deck, do Sony's HVR-15U and HVR-25U decks work well with XH footage shot at any frame rate?

Thanks.

Thierry.

A frequently asked question. The answer is: the Sony decks will play back 60i video only (or 50i for EU / AU versions). For the Frame mode frame rates of 24F, 25F and 30F, you have two options. Either use the XH camcorder itself as a deck, or use a Canon consumer HDV camcorder (currently either the HV10 or soon to be released HV20) as a playback deck.

The Canon consumer HDV camcorders support Frame mode playback. They are the "decks" for the XL and XH series; they just so happen to come equipped with lenses and microphones and can double as a camcorder if needed. Hope this helps,

Thanks Chris,

That is a pretty big limitation... How does the HV10 performs as a deck? It's got to be quite slower than using Sony's HDV decks and with limited options as far as HD/SD & audio ouputs?

Thierry.

Hi Thierry, as I said, this is a frequently asked question. Please refer to the wide variety of existing threads which already discuss this topic... you'll find plenty of user feedback regarding how the HV10 works as a deck.

Of course the third option is a hard drive.
Not sure of the Sony decks as far as price goes, but I'm sure it's more than a HD.
C

Thierry, using the camera as a deck is, indeed, much slower than a real deck. It's a pain, but I'm living with it for my personal stuff. If you're not shooting 24p, but are shooting 60i, you can use any Sony HDV deck. But even if you have a 60i project, I don't think it would be worth the money because almost everybody seems to be wanting 24p these days.

Because the camera is so slow in its FCP control, I've been simply capturing everything on the tape. With FCP it will capture all the shots in one pass, and also will break them down into individual shots wherever you started and stopped the camera. But if you're trying to go through a tape and capture in the traditional manner, it's a real pain using a camera. I'm glad we switched to FCP before I got this camera.

The upside to all this is that you can buy a cheap camera to use as a deck that is a lot cheaper than buying a deck. And, sometimes there are reasons to have a smaller, less conspicuous camera available.