USB video transfer is best for VCD creation, use Firewire
if you want DVD quality.


I was disappointed   April 17, 2003
 17 out of 27 found this review helpful

After purchasing this camcorder, I found out that the USB Streaming did not work with our Macintosh G4 Powerbook. You have to get the TRV 350 model if you want to use USB Streaming with a Mac - something the salesman did not tell us. Otherwise you have to purchase extra stuff (card, cable, etc.) for iLink. Also the ImageMixer software that comes with this camera is a total nightmare! After several hours I still was unable to make it do anything I wanted it to do. Yes, there's a manual for the software, but it was impossible to find any answers in it.
I loved the camera itself and all of its features, but I took it back to get something that would work better for me.


Great digital8 camera   April 21, 2003
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

We decided to go with the digital8 format for our upcoming first baby as the quality is similar to miniDV but the camcorders are about [$$$] less right now. Plus the Hi-8 tapes that digital8 uses are cheaper too.

I am very pleased with the results so far and it seems like an excellent camcorder. The low-light is good enough and the daylight is spectacular. I have already shot a clip of our dog, transferred via firewire to our PC, converted it to a smaller size and emailed it. The quality is great. I look forward to getting a DVD writer and archiving our baby videos.

If you like the Sony name and don't want to spend the [$$$] for a Sony miniDV camcorder, this is the one to get.


Transfers to CP are jittery and jumpy   February 17, 2004
 16 out of 20 found this review helpful

The camera takes excellent video. The picture and sound are crisp and clear-- even when played on my big screen Hitachi Hi Def TV (the picture is not hi def, of course, but still looks marvelous). 5 stars on picture and sound.

The problem is transfering video to my PC. I've tried both USB 1.1 (using both a USB 1.1 and 2.0 cable into a 2.0 connection) and Firewire cable. It is jittery and jumpy. It looks like old 8mm film and not clear and crisp like it does direct to the television. 2 stars on video capture.

Which brings me to Sony's video software. It is, well, hideous. No clue how to use it. It comes with no real instructions, only on what all the buttons are but not how to use them. Worse, I can't designate where I want the captured video to go (I can't select the drive. Rather than capturing the video to my 120 G external hard drive, it will only capture to my 10 G internal. This is obviously a problem. 0 stars for video software, which also acts to capture. Perhaps I should go 0 stars on video capture also?

Sony, you must do better than this. The camera itself is great. Everything else stinks.


Sony Digital 8 for an amazing price!   February 27, 2003
 15 out of 18 found this review helpful

Our family has really enjoyed this camcorder. We just wish that we had had it for past vacations. It's so easy to use and gives you so much quality for such a small price! We have digital movies for the future at such a reasonable price. We can't wait to burn our movies to DVD once we get our DVD burner. This cam makes the future possible. It has all of the features of a great camcorder and leaves the digital camera options out; that's for our digital camera :)