Hi there,

i was looking into a deck to log and capture my footage, and i always cringe when i have to use my xha1 to do this task. I want to save the heads strictly for shooting only.

i looked around and hdv decks and they're extremely expensive. does anyone know what they difference would be between an actual deck, and buying a smaller, cheaper hdv camcorder? is the camcorder's heads more prone to wearing down quickly than the actual deck? and which camcorder would you recommend if i was to get one? or are there any affordable hdv decks out there on the market that are below 2,000? Thanks!

Take a short stroll over to Google and type in "canon a1 deck".


You'll be buried alive in the response and most of 'em were posted right here on DVinfo.

Tell you everything you need to know and more.


CS

thanks for the quick advice chris, that google search did the trick.

i guess that hv20 is looking really good, and the price sounds like music to my ears. thanks again

Most cam makers say change the heads after 1000hrs. That's a lot of tape passing through, with average use you'll be upgrading your cam before you reach that number. But I find the A1 is a bind to place on the editing desk and I use the HV20.

If you do get one, get out the remote control to run the tape, saves the hassle of picking up the HV20 and wear on the buttons.
Cheers.

The new Canon HV30 (same MSRP) may prove a good option as well

If you do get one, get out the remote control to run the tape, saves the hassle of picking up the HV20 and wear on the buttons.
Cheers.

Apart from the initial rewind of the tape, I always use the deck control features of the capture program to, er control the deck.

Richard