Quote from John:

It would seem that Sony has 2 HD Camcorders that finally match my aging TR-33 in light sensitivity and usability. The HDR-SR7 with a 60 GB internal Hard Drive, and the HDR-CX7 with a Sony Memory Stick flash memory. This is a full 1080i camera.

Could any of you confirm that this camera will work with a Mac Mini and iMovideHD6. and even more important produce a useful product such as a HD DVD (Blu-Ray, or DivX).

Concerns are specifically:

1- Is the USB 2.0 physical output compatible with the Mac Mini USB input?

2- Will iMovie6 handle (edit) the Sony AVCHD (modified MPEG-4 h.264) format?

3- Will iDVD produce a HD DVD?

4- Will iDVD produce an image file that Toast8 can convert to a DivX 720p format?

5- Is there a card for the MacBook Pro Express 34 slot that would accept the Camera's HDMI output? i.e. faster than the USB 2.0 file transfer?

6- Will the Mac Mini HDMI output drive a Sony HD TV HDMI input directly?

7- Will iMovieHD pass Sony's new x.v.Color Technology through to a Sony HD TV that presumably is optimized for this enhanced color space?

8- Will QuickTime play the Sony format directly a HDMI output?

9- If I would select the CX7 with the 8 GB flash memory (1 Hr record) is there an Express Card that will accept, and read, the Sony Memory stick 8 GB?

Decisions, decisions. Is the silent flash memory at $200/hr a better choice than the 60 GB HD with 7 hours of record but presumably a higher failure rate and certainly more noise and a long transfer time that ties up the camera? I have not seen any figures but I would doubt if USB is going to be faster than Firewire and that would require approximately 7 hours to transfer 7 hours of video.

Help. . . .

End quote.

Thanks.

Jim:

Just one question. Why would you even consider a product that is going to start by recording in a(modified MPEG-4 h.264) format? Sony likes to modify things like that then you are often stuck using their proprietary software, which you will need to purchase.

From past experience with a Sony video camera I would run (not walk) away. Look at Canon and Panasonic. They make great standardized equipment.

Personally I like tape and Terry's method of recording directly to an external hard drive.

Jim: I just talked to a professional videographer friend of mine and his answers are as follows.........

2- Will iMovie6 handle (edit) the Sony AVCHD (modified MPEG-4 h.264) format? Not at all. Must use Sony's software.

3- Will iDVD produce a HD DVD? No. Use latest version of DVD Studio Pro.

4- Will iDVD produce an image file that Toast8 can convert to a DivX 720p format? No.

6- Will the Mac Mini HDMI output drive a Sony HD TV HDMI input directly? HDMI is supposed to be a standard, it should.

7- Will iMovieHD pass Sony's new x.v.Color Technology through to a Sony HD TV that presumably is optimized for this enhanced color space? No.

8- Will QuickTime play the Sony format (N0) directly a HDMI output?

Brian 248 546 9339

It's a bit premature to be buying consumer HDV camcorders.

I recommend waiting about 5 years. There's a lot of turmoil in the business.