I wonder if anyone here has or has used this recorder. I have found that direct recording from a panasonic SD camera via S-video or RCA cable produces very grainy or noisy images. The recorder has several modes of recording Standard Definition ... High Quality, High Standard Play, Standard Play via a number of recording card or cable options. I was not happy using it to record S-video from the EX3 ... have not done firewire yet to see what image quality is produced ... but I find the recorder either accentuating the noise of the image or the noise inherent in my cameras are being displayed. Any thoughts?