So here's the case: we have a video observation system for marketing research use. 5 rooms with a pan/tilt/zoom camera and 5 monitoring rooms for observation of interviews. The interviews are now recorded onto DVD for later showing to the client. The interviews may sometimes take up to 8 hours. So far, so good.

Now in some cases we need to show the client a compilation of the recorded interview sessions. As you all probably well know it is not easy to quickly edit a DVD recording. So I am thinking of adding a digital video recorder that can record in an easy editable format onto flash cards (MPEG-4 perhaps) so I can load the recorded session and quickly make a compilation.

Do you guys (and girls of course) have any suggestions for a good (but not too expensive) recorder. (the camera's are PAL sd by the way) I myself came up with this one:
dcs hqr1 digital video recorder (http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/hqr1-digital-video-recorder.htm)

I'm thinking that it may be easiest to split off an analogue video (and audio) signal to a recordable DVD unit (with an internal HDD). Once the session is over, you can then set the device to burn the content across a DVD or two.

Keeps it nice and simple.

Andrew

that is in fact the way we do it now, but it is not a very easy way to do a simple montage with a DVD/harddisk recorder. Besides we would have to do the editing in the rooms were also the interviews are monitored. With a simple flash recorder we could take the flash card and do the editing somewhere else.

Would recording straight to the computer (via Firewire) be an option? Use Adobe OnLocation to ingest live, then do your edits, and play out to a DVD recorder to produce a disc.

This would keep your DVD production time to merely 1 x real-time.

Else, invest in a Matrox X.2 real-time hardware card to go with the computer and have accelerated mpeg2 export (faster than real-time) for making a DVD.

As an option, you could use another Matrox hardware solution to quickly pump out a bunch of h264 video files that the client can watch on their computer, bypassing the need for a formalised DVD.

Just depends on how quickly they really do need it, and how much they are prepared to pay what is required for what they want.

Andrew

How about a device like this:

Video for iphone, Video for iPod. Free video recorder (http://www.irecord.com/irecordpro.html)

I have used an iRecordPro for creating mp4 files from a composite or S-video source. You can record to a USB thumb drive. I use a 32 GB Patriot USB thumb drive. I've backed up many old Hi8 tapes using this device, and also some laser disc footage.

The company also makes a lesser model, the iRecord.