Mini dvd camcorders use a tiny tape while mini dvd camcorders use a small dvd disc. As far as what camcorder to choose. It all comes down to what you want to do with the final video. If you're looking for a camera to make video productions that you will edit on a computer, go with a mini dvd camcorder. Going with this option means the use of video editing software and can become a time consuming process: Capture video from the mini dvd tape onto your computer (no quality loss), edit that captured video using free or low cost editing software, distribute your edited video out to a dvd using your dvd burner.

If you're looking for an all-in-one camera you can take on, say, a cruise and instantly make a dvd without any editing for all to view in any dvd player, go for the dvd camcorder. There are two forms of consumer cameras. dvd Camcorders, that is great for people who don't want to make changes. Shoot, take the dvd out and then put it in a dvd player. The advantage is pretty straightforward. You can just edit without having to capture (depending on the editing system + hardware.)

I want to make sure we're not talking about capturing on, say, a still camera as an avi.I'm talking about the $500+ systems that attach to the back of cameras like the XL-1s from canon.

It stores footage in MPEG-2 format. In MPEG-2 format, not every frame has all the information. That's how you can store hours of footage on a dvd . MiniDV Camcorders (which uses fire wire, and you'd have to get a card for your computer that uses fire wire), permit you to capture the data off the tape in the camera. The footage is stored in "DV format', where every frame has all the data. I'd pick MiniDV (if you want to be able to easily edit it). You'll need a fire wire card. The tape stores the 0s and 1s (which is data). Fire wire permits you to slurp the data from the tape and edit it on the computer.

Not a "camcorder", but a simple 8mm movie camera made for the typical point-and-shoot amateur photographer. Eastman Kodak made several million Brownie 8mm movie cameras in the 1950's and early 1960's, both with single lens and multiple lenses. The crank on the side winds up a spring motor, and then you can shoot about 20 seconds of film at a time. I'm afraid these cameras have no historical significance at all, they remain common as dust today, they are virtually unusable, and so they rarely sell for much more than $20.

After you install the new drivers from your camcorder manufacturer, try to switch the USB port, and then check the USB port version, if it is the same with the camera. You can find this in the camera's documentation. Connect the camera by USB (it must be power off), and after that press the "power on" button, wait a little and go to My Computer, there must be a new driver, go on it and copy the files.

For best quality video, you need to transfer MiniDV or Digital8 video from your camcorder to your computer with IEEE 1394, commonly called FireWire or I. Link. USB will not work well with most camcorders to transfer video as they output USB 1 not "High Speed" USB2. USB is normally used for transferring still images and web cam features. Most editing programs will not transfer with USB; if they do it will not be the best possible video quality.

There are some dvd burners out there that do have a direct connection to the recorder available. The link is one such interface - it's a Sony spec I believe. Generally, when you download video to a computer, the computer has to store the images digitally on a memory system at least temporarily because the ram is limited and video eats tons of memory.

Once it's on your hard disk, there are numerous programs available like Avid Pro that will allow you to edit and manipulate the video like a professional. You can add titles, fades, intersect clips, add sound tracks you name it. Once you're done editing, then you can select an option to permanently record it to a dvd if you like. You can also simply record it without editing of course.

Once the video is stored on the dvd , it's basically permanent, unless you obtain dvd +RW discs, in which case you can record over it, erasing the original recording.

I'd recommend always recording the original video first to a dvd or some other permanent storage medium, and then upload the video from the dvd disc to a computer for editing. Once you're done editing, use another DVD disc and burn it with your edited version. This way you always have the original handy and you can put it and the edited version in a safe place for the future when you're an old fart like me and want to cry watching your little kids playing in the backyard.