I'm not exactly the most familiar with the entire depths of "normal" video post production requirements but I heard that the more you use your camera to play back clips the faster your heads would get worn down. Is this correct?

My question then in turn is what would the ideal (For the XL2) Mini-DV recorder? Do they have Mini-dv players that 1394 to the computer for capture? This way all we would be doing is recording to tape, taking the tape out for label, then inserting the tape into said player for playback/transfer - treating the camera heads like gold.

Just trying to learn a bit more.

You can pick up a VTR, which is a VCR for tape editing. They run $1,000 and more. A lot of folks also buy cheap mini DV cams to use as a deck. Just make sure it has a firewire link.

And just about all DV camcorders these days have a FireWire jack. A real VTR deck is better, but if you're on a budget then you might consider a Canon ZR80 for about $350. We have extensive threads on this topic in our Long Black Line forum.

Thank you Chris for the forum direction, I'll search for more in depth information there.