Brian:

Read Adam Wilts (on his site - see links at top of this forum) or at www.dv.com review of the 100a for a great comparison between the 100 and 100a.

Thanks for the great answers : )

So in other words, their is really no way to get that type of quality shown in the sorenson beach video from the 80? That's just too bad.

Let me ask this though, to save myself the dvd, can you output video as 24p and have it play on a consumer device?

Assuming the above is, yes, you can... any hints on preserving quality. The test codings i have done show that while the quality is still good, the mpeg2's don't have the sharpness of the Sorenson's. Obviously it is way lower bit rate, but Hollywood features look way better. Now i know that your final image will only be as good as your source...but the results i seem to be getting are not quite what they should be. As in, i seem to be having too mauch loss.
btw,
I use FCP 4.1-- all output tests were done using compressor.

Per 24p DVD, as long as you have DVD authoring software that supports it, yes (I use Vegas 4 and DVD architect which fully support making progressive DVD's which play fine on progressive and regular DVD players).

Preserving quality has to do with the MPEG encoder you use. Hollywood studios use very high end encoders that you can buy too, assuming you have the bucks. Variable Bit Rate encoding and other options lenghten time, but improve results. Use the maxium quality settings for the size of the disc for best results.

Whats with Frame Grab #2? the blue pieces of the glass look pixely...is it some wierd aritfact? how does that look in motion? The other footage looks great though by the way! Great little camera!