Wow, that is good to know. I will try to record to tape and switch the tape to my deck. I was a bit worried because of the quality loss already with VHS analog signal...thanks for the info, maybe I won't have to buy a digital pass through camera now...

Yep. Should be fine.


John, that's fine. I wasn't saying that older tapes would always have problems, but they could get dust in them or something. Not going to happen if it's an immediate transfer. We've all seen those DV artifacts, though. Sometimes it's just dirty tape heads anyway.

One added benefit of going VHS-DVtape-PC is you now have a timecoded mastertape, something you do not necessarily get going thru a converter.

I received any interesting note from Canon today :

"Thank you for your E-mail inquiry regarding Canon camcorders.

Currently none of the Canon ZR camcorders have the Analog to Digital
Converter feature. If you require a ZR camcorder with this
feature I recommend searching for a ZR700. Although the ZR700 is no longer a
current product you may still be able to find one on the shelve of a
local dealer."

Does this mean Canon is unaware of the feature?

I have the ZR600, so I don't know about newer models. The 600 is fine. And probably, the 700. Just get one from ebay. Not sure what is different about the 800+, etc.