Can you believe that that particular section of the Sony site is unavailable to Mac users? Talk about cutting out the market. I wonder what percentage of DVers use Macs...and what percentage of those don't bother to go back to the Sony site ever again.

Even my 15 year-old nieces' personal web page is available to all platforms. Perhaps the Sony webmaster needs to consult with my niece to get up to speed.

John,
Indeed, Sony's professional products Web site is a disgrace and should be considered a red-faced embarassment to that company. Other than complete lack of management attention to detail there's no excuse for its technical and content condition.

Whoa: Don't hold it against all of Sony that some idiot in the company hired a still-more-idiotic web designer to do that job for them. It's awful, it's ridiculous, it's stupid that Mac Users cannot access with IE, but all you have to do is switch to Netscape and it works fine. I keep both browsers open as Sony's webmeister is not the only stupid fool out there....
Scott Shuster
WorldDance New York

;) Don't worry Scott...I'm not sticking pins in my Sony products and doing a hex dance right now or anything. I love their products. But you've gotta admit...for Sony that's a pretty pathetic web site.

Speaking of pathetic...you said the "N" word...brrrrrr. I avoid it as much as possible. Apparently most of the rest of the world does, too. According to recent statistics, 92% use one of the IE browser versions. The other 8% is split between the others. All the more reason for Sony to check statistics and get with the program.

Anyway...looping back to the original post...I'm interested in the new deck coming out. Thanks for the heads up, Ian.

DV players
 

So I'm in the market for a dv player, yet know nothing about them. I really don't want to spend too much ( under $250 if possible), but am looking for something that is a good prosumer product. I'll be using it to play dv tapes on my tv and possible to make dubs. Any ideas which are the best, prices, and where I can find 'em? Thanks for the help in advance.

The cheapest I've seen is $600-ish.
A better idea might be to go buy a cheap miniDV camcorder and use that instead. Then you have a deck AND extra camera. I saw a Samsung miniDV for about $500us recently.

Mini Dv Decks
 

Just wondering what "cheaper" minidv decks are recommended if any around here? I'm trying to save the wear and tear on my new camera (GL2) if it ever shows up.

I'm using a JVC SR-VS30. NOT pro quality (prosumer) but works well to save wear on the camera. Can also dub directly to VHS (and SVHS) from DV so provides a quick easy way to provide rough to clients.

The cheaper miniDV decks are actually just low end miniDV camcorders. Much cheaper than an acutal deck. I use a Canon ZR40 for my deck.

So the ZR40 holds up ok under constant use as a deck?
If so that makes alot of sense giving me a small camera to take into not so welcome places.

Felix, this is a common question here, and there are all sorts of opinions and reviews already posted. For more answers to your question, you might consider doing a search using the link in my sig.

As Robert says, there have been numerous discussions on this topic.

I've only put about 30 hours on it so far, so I can't say anything about it's durability yet. However, I have no complaints...
And hey, it's a camera too! I use it for family, fun, and inconspicuous shooting.

Just to add my 2 cents: I have and am happy with a Sony DSR-11. Not the cheapest deck, but, inexpensive in comparison.

I am thinking about purchasing the Sony GVD-1000.

Its expensive, however, it could double as a 'Out in the Field' monitor.

PROS - - > Portable, 4" LCD Screen, Firewire, fairly small footprint
CONS - - > Price, Price, Price!

I was thinking about going the camera route also. The prices are coming down.

Cheers!

Derrick

Capture Deck?
 

I was wondering who uses what as their edit deck for the video shot with their XM2? I use a MV6i ( Elura 50 NTSC ver) that does quite well with the video but if I have shot anything in LP mode the sound won't be picked up. I find its better to beat on the relatively cheap MV6i's heads and motor then to use my expensive XM2 for everything i.e. capture, shooting , editing , and playback. I also do the same thing with my Pana DVX100 and have a cheaper DVC923 to use for playback ( my NTSC cameras) I know a lot of people use expensive MiniDV decks that are quite expensive so I figured why not just buy a cheap camera that I can use as a second as well if need be.

Just wondering what you professionals use, yeah I'm getting paid like a professional but I'm still learning too.