I have for a long time been doing some research before I finally make my purchase. I have found the HVR-A1E to cover most of my needs. However I need to know a few things first. I have, and still use my MiniDv camcorder. Thus I have not needed a very powerful computer for my editing.
My question is therefor: - Is it possible to record in full HDV quality and then capture to my Pinnacle Studio 9 in DV quality?

I am going to upgrade my computer later on, but at first I will get me a new camera, a model for the future.....

Best Reg
Petter

There is something called i.link conversion that takes HDV and downconverts to DV. So you can capture DV from a HDV tape.

Thanks,
How actually is that done? Do I need any special program, etc in order to do this? Is it possible to do in Studio 9?

It is done in the camera. There is a menu where you select i.Link conversion. I have a HDR-HC1E but it's the same thing. Your software then reads the normal DV-signal in. Note that your software must support HDV signal if you want to be able to use it and it might be that Studio 9 don't support HDV.

I understand, it is rather simple then. I believe I have o upgrade to Pinnacle Studio 10 in order to edit HDV, but this would not be any major cost.

Hej, studio plus 10.1 imports dv and hdv without problems from my hc1, you can also cut 'n paste the material but specific effects as slowmotion seems to crash the program and cannot be used.

when i do the same in premiere there's no problem and the same footage is much sharper and deeper than pinnacle which images looks a bit 'whitewashed' to me.

i see now that studio 10 has another new crucial update;)

It is only that I for several years have used those simple Studio versions. I am a bit reluctant to start learning all over again. Or is it wort the effort?
In case, what program should I use?

Please keep in mind that I have a limited budget, and I am nothing but a keen amateur.

best reg
Petter

when i use the hdv-dv downconverter from the camera and import the images as mpeg2, not avi, at least at 6000kbits/sec it seems to me the way to get the best non-hdv result. the image is stil very sharp but even darker than hdv, you need good light.
and quit a strong pc voor editing in mpeg2

some people without a budget use cracked versions of the big software but i don't advice that.

vegas6 is a logical next step after studio attractive and easy and sony, my reseller told me sony itself advives canopus edius, to let the pc run properly on hdv,
premiere is worth it's money, it also needs some extra (free) software support for standard editing, pro's needs more expensive software-support, avid liquid 7 uses a studio10 interface , that's handy but i quess it's also very buggy, i haven't worked on it yet.

Sony Vegas can edit HDV on a reasonable PC and only care about processor power from what I have found out. I am quite sure Sony Vegas can be downloaded as a trial version on their site.

Premiere needs Cineform Aspect HD to run smoothly and their internal HDV doesn't support HC1/A1 capture so you really need Aspect HD there.

Yes Vegas can be downloaded for a free trial. One thing to remember is that any NLE Editor will probably have a hard time editing the actual Mt2 HDV file.
This doesn't have much to do with the NLE, but your computers processor choking on the HDV stream.
It's best to convert the HDV file to an Intermediary Codec like Cineform, and then edit like normal DV. Be warned though that the converted file will be cosiderably larger than the HDV file.
For Vegas there's a program called GearShift from VASST (vasst.com), that will convert the Mt2 file to Cineform or Proxy Video (which will be only slightly larger than your HDV file, much smaller than Cineform codec) and then can switch out the Proxy video when done for rendering.