I notice that the DVD camcorders are not very popular here due to the 20 minute limitation for recording to DVD.

However, I see Sony is now releasing what they call "hybrid" DVD camcorders, which allows recording to either 8 GBs of flash memory, or a memory stick or a mini DVD (with 2 hours of recording time on the flash memory):

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665313865

"Hybrid Plus Recording to DVD, Internal Flash Memory, or Memory Stick® Media
Hybrid Plus recording technology delivers a new level of flexibility for transferring your video footage and digital photos from the camcorder to compatible viewing devices. Record to your choice of DVD media, an internal 8GB9 flash memory drive, or removable Memory Stick Duo™ media or Memory Stick PRO Duo™ media (sold separately). You can even select from various dubbing functions to easily copy video or still images from Memory Stick media or built in flash memory media to DVD -- without using a PC. Images recorded or transferred to DVD media can then be played directly in most DVD Players (SD), computers, Blu-ray Disc™ players, and even PlayStation® 3 video game consoles to share your memories with friends and family."

So is there still any reason to shy away from these now?

I know its not HD -- but I don't care about HD for video of my 3 year old.

The appeal of DVD camcorders is that they produce playable results without requiring any transfer to the PC, editing, and burning - a process that most people find terribly difficult. The problem is that few people want to view unedited video snippets, at least not more than once. Thus, there is little practical utility in encumbering a camcorder with the bulk and power drain of a DVD writer.

The current generation of HDD and memory-based camcorders are far more practical. Even for those that find video editing to be beyond their abilities, they are easily connected (e.g., via HDMI) to TV sets for big-screen playback and/or have their content quickly transferred to PCs that run their home theaters.

The appeal of DVD camcorders is that they produce playable results without requiring any transfer to the PC, editing, and burning - a process that most people find terribly difficult. The problem is that few people want to view unedited video snippets, at least not more than once. Thus, there is little practical utility in encumbering a camcorder with the bulk and power drain of a DVD writer.

The current generation of HDD and memory-based camcorders are far more practical. Even for those that find video editing to be beyond their abilities, they are easily connected (e.g., via HDMI) to TV sets for big-screen playback and/or have their content quickly transferred to PCs that run their home theaters.


Well my point in asking about this particular camcorder is, wouldn't this hybrid be the best of both worlds?

I could give an unedited 20 minute DVD almost instantly to my son's grandmother, (who wouldn't care whether it was edited nicely or not, she would probably be thrilled to watch it regardless of bad shots, etc.).

But I could also later, if I so desired, edit 2 hours of footage from the internal flash memory, if I chose to do so.

I wouldn't want to rely on the camera mainly for playback -- if I want to send DVDs to people and not having to worry about cables ready to connect to a TV.

While I do have a home theater, I don't have a PC running it.