Sony HDR-GW77: waterproof, dustproof, shockproof small HD camcorder - Page 16

$1,600USD in Brazil, so yeah... Im really sorry for them

Hi Guys,

Is this thread still active?

Of course!

Ok, im looking in to getting the GW55 (GW77), it looks the kind of thing im looking for, compact, great video, low light etc..albeit it a bit pricy but from all the reviews etc...i think from most it seems worthy of its price. "Which Magazine" puts this Compact Camcorder 1st out of 27 others so i cant be too bad.

Iv seen this on Amazon for £349, is this a good price?

One other question im going to be doing some basic editing on Coral Video Studio 5X, however at present i don't own a Blue Ray Player and was wondering about Output Codacs.

If i was to shoot in Full 1080/50p what would be the recommended/best output to go on to DVD?

Hi Condor - £349.99 for the white GW55VE at Amazon is a very good price. Better than any price on eBay UK right now.

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

I'm not sure why you picked that software or do I fully understand your question.

If your goal is to make DVDs, all editing software has to take your high quality HD orginals down to SD levels. DVD players can't do any better than that. So when you select DVD as your output the program takes over, gets the job done and you don't pick the codec.

However, the software should leave the orginals alone and only read from them when the DVD is made. You get to keep the originals and the project for when you do have a Blu-Ray burner, upload to Vimeo in HD or whatever.

Hi and thanks for the reply, is it easier if i just invest in a Blue ray Burner and Player? I dont intend on uploading video's to Vimeo or you tube, im just looking to edit and create some fun video's to view on my 42" Plasma TV with the best quality possible.

The reason for the software (Coral VideoStudio) is it's cheap to buy easy to use with great video and effects, its won some good reviews also.

Ok this thread seems pretty unreasponsive - thanks anyway.

Making DVD and Blu-Ray disks drop the picture quality. Most software seems to make interlaced video when burning Blu-Rays. Anything you do in Corel or other third party editing software will be "transcoded" or "rendered" when making any output, including Blu-Rays.

The "best quality possible" is to play the original 1080p50 files produced by the camera. The PlayMemories software that comes with the GW55 is one of the few editors that will trim and knit clips together will "lossless" results. It does not transcode or render.

My favorite way to watch video files is with a WD-Live-Streaming-Media-Player (at Amazon UK). It is a simple device that is known for playing almost any known file format on a TV screen. Any HDD, thumb drive or card reader plugged into it's USB works. It will play the originals shot by the camera or the best Corel Video Studio can produce. It also will stream things like Netflix and play music files, but Roku and AppleTV may be better for that. I use mine to play a "library" of my videos that I copy to a portable, external HDD.

Later Blu-Ray players from Panasonic and Sony also have the ability to play these "AVCHD" files. But, they don't play the wide variety of video and photo files that the WD TV Live does.

(Sorry I missed your post yesterday.)

Bill

Hi Bill..and thank you for your reply,

Do editors such as Coral make a big performance loss in terms of picture quality?, if so thats a shame as half the fun is editing clips and applying effects and features to my movies, are there any other ways around it where i can do some editing without loosing out on picture quality? The software that comes with the camera is just to basic.

On another note i do like the sound of that WD - Live Streaming Media Player, is the quality true HD?

Simon

"Do editors such as Coral make a big performance loss in terms of picture quality?"
There are around 30 "third party" Non Linear Editors (NLE) on the market. All of them are designed to accept a variety of media files and create a variety of output formats. Doing that inherently makes the final product less "picture perfect" than the original. On the other hand, the final product may be more "entertainng" with titles, transition, color grading and effects. So, the answer is that it will be up to the final viewer to decide if there is a viewing quality loss or gain.

My personal choice for an NLE is Adobe Premier Elements 11. Like Corel, it is priced under $100. I think the output quality for everything from my iPod to my 55 inch TV is wonderful.

Sony and Panasonic both provide a specialized NLE with their cameras that do keep the original quality perfect when making copies. They can do that by limiting all the features and effects.

"On another note i do like the sound of that WD - Live Streaming Media Player, is the quality true HD?"
Yes, it is. It makes maintaining a collection of your videos very easy. It is much better than collecting a pile of Blu-Ray disks. You can load every digital photo, video and audio file you have on a HDD and they will be readily accessible on your TV by remote control.

Bill

Bill,

Thanks for the information, you've answered all my questions perfectly, i think i need to just go out and buy the GW 77 and start experimenting, the media player seems reasonably cheap so i may just invest in one of those too.

Thanks again.

Simon

Hi Bill,

One other question, regarding the WD live streaming media player, would plugging in a USB External HDD be just as effective as streaming direct from your PC? are there any particular makes/models of USB HDD that would favour others, taking in to account of transfer rates.

Thanks again

Simon

" just as effective as streaming direct from your PC"
I think it is more effective because it does not tie up your computer and it has a good remote control and menu system. However, the cheapest way I know of to put the best HD quality on the TV is with the cheapest HDMI cord you can find. I found one that is about 15 feet long and can "stream" to the TV from my laptop. The free Splash Lite is good at playing AVCHD 1080p60 video.

"are there any particular makes/models of USB HDD that would favour others"
I don't think it matters. I'm currently using a USB 2.0 HDD that is a few years old and relatively small by today's standard. It works fine. When I get more video completed, I will get a bigger drive.

Bill

Hi Bill,

Would Splash Lite offer a better quality than the WD Media Player via an external Hard Drive or is the Splash Lite Option just a cheaper alternative?

Thanks

Simon

I will write it again. My view is that the WD Player is the most convenient method of making all your media play well on a HD TV without degradation of quality.

There are other ways to do it but they are either more cumbersome, kill a little of the quality or don't work with the top quality files. For example, I have a brand new 32 inch HD Samsung in my motorhome. It has it's own USB port. I can put the SD card straight from my camera into a card reader plugged into the port and it will play all the files --- except the ones taken at 60 frames per second. The WD Player plugged in via HDMI to the same TV works perfectly, no matter what the video file format.

SplashLite is not better quality. It is cheaper. For some, it solves the sometimes problem of jerky 1080p60 playback on "weaker" computers.

If you have the cash, want to build a library of your own video/photo work, want to conveniently view it on an HDMI equipped 1080p60 HD TV, there is no better choice than a WD TV Media Player.

I have photos and videos from lots of cameras. Some are old from an early Canon Elph. One favorite video was a Christmas present from my granddaughter done with who knows what and delivered to my on a DVD. I copied the .VOB file to the HDD and it plays! Some clips are 3D! Some are YouTubes I downloaded and want to keep. Everything plays fine.

Bill

Hi Bill,

Thanks again for the information - sorry for all the silly questions, im new to the video world and just starting to find my feet,

Thanks Again - Simon

Sony.com no longer stocks the NP-BG1 battery, nor does Best Buy here locally. Is there a suitable replacement without taking a chance on a 3rd party supplier?

Is this OK? I think bsprague posted this link. AMAZON

For confirmation, look here: Sony Store GW77 Accessories

It says the FG1 is the successor to the BG1 and adds the ability to display remaining battery life.

I did buy one for an HX9V Sony. It works and does display the battery life differently.

Bill

Thank you Bill!

Just to chime in- I have been using the following for years without any issues:

http://www.pro-clockers.com/enclosures/901-thermaltake-blacx-duet-dual-hdd-docking-station.html

It has USB 2.0 and eSata. I hook it up to one of my laptops and use it to stream directly through the HDMI port of the laptop to the Big Screen.
I think a USB3.0 version is due out sometime. But this older version is pretty good especially for the eSata.
I just plug in two Sata HDs in it and away I go. Makes it easy to transport large wads of files to any computer or to a friend's place if needed.

Rob

Bill,

Im still torn between the RX 100 and the GW 77, from the youtube vids, the RX100 does still seem to have the edge on videos.


Has this video been re-rendered, it looks pretty good at 1080, iv yet to see anything as good. Would the GW 77 produce video as good?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofO79joZ3jQ

Are there any RX100 V GW 77 clips available?

Simon

" If you want a small camera that takes excellent stills (because you want to take a a lot of stills) and good video, the RX100 is a contender."
I think Mark is right. I actually own and use an RX100. I bought it so that I could explore the world of PhotoShop, Lightroom and RAW photo images without having to lug a DSLR and lenses. It also will shoot video and I use it for that but there are better choices, including the GW77.

Bill

Mark,

Thanks for chimming in on this, yes i have read every single post and watched all the Vimeo HD videos in this thread and what has geared me up to buy the GW 77 was a clip of yours somewhere in the United States of you on a Railway/Train Platform under not so good lighting during a stormy evening, that was an amazing show of the camera's performance, but looking on you tube i see that the RX 100 seems to also deliver some amazing images .

My main interest is video over stills....i do like the manual focus options on the GW 77 which i know the RX 100 lacks in. Does the RX100 have the Slow Mo Option?

Bill, do you have the GW 77?

No, I don't own a GW77. The RX100 that I do own does not have a Slow Mo option.

Bill

Quick question, Mark.

Have you tried using this for some run and gun sports filming? I want to use it as a second camera during my son's basketball games while my wide angle (XA10) is doing the main game film stuff (fixed sideline). Any thoughts on its application there?

Thanks for the quick reply, Mark. I am looking forward to getting it so that I can get some close shots to intersperse with the wide ones. As it stands, it never seems like I get good action footage. It's all coach filming

Hi. First post so hello to all.

I'm thinking of buying this camcorder but unsure of underwater capability as regards the touchscreen LCD. Is it possible to lock it so its disabled? I'm thinking a strong current will affect the controls I.e. possibility of recording being switched off. I also read that if the LCD screen is closed recording stops.

Can anyone help on these points please?