HVR-DR60 portable Hard-drive unit
 

I assume it's some application embedded in the V1 firmware that is controlling it? If so, is it possible to connect any HDD (eg. a regular 3.5" one, in an enclosure with FiWi interface) to record to it?

It's not that simple, Piotr... the hard disk recorder has to be smart enough to know what to do with the incoming data. The DR60 writes an edit-ready file (either .M2T or .AVI), just like the Focus Enhancements FireStore and similar devices. It's the DR60 that does this, not the camcorder. The DR60 is much more than "just" a hard drive.

Yeah, well... It must be either the camera, or the hard drive that knows what to do with the data stream. With the DR60 price tag, I should suspect it's tha latter. But thanks anyway, Chris.

The HVR-DR60 seems ridiculously overpriced to me...
(or am I the only one who feels this way? :) )

What I would really love to see is a HVR-V1 with internal
removable hard drive.

Lately I've been recording a lot of plays. The first part always run into 1 hour and 10+ minutes... with very little pause in between scenes. I only have one camcorder recording, so chaning the tape means I had to abrutply change tapes.... :( A hard drive recording unit is perfect for me, but it's just too expensive at the moment. :(

Of course that is list. No telling what street price will be.

Actually, I was thinking about internal hard drive a couple of months ago too. Even had it on a Sony Claus wish list thread I started here. But why make the whole camera dependent on a hard drive interface. Years ago electronic went component after manufacturers realized every one want one feature or another.... So I think it is a good way to go.

I want to add one more item to the list... :)

High definition camcorder under $4000 with a slot for Apple 160GB video iPod.

Err... well US$1,490 is a current street-price & I'm sure its a competitive one.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

Isn't that running close to the Firestore pricing ??

I also think the technology isn't that tough that other manufacturers will have competing models. Licensing of some sort or another maybe a bigger problem. Not sure what is actually stored on harddrive. M2T ?? Anybody heard ?

m2t or DV are the file types stored on the drive.
I have a Firestore, and love it. I have a Citidisk, and well....
I have an Nnovia, and love it, too, but it's big as a house compared to the Firestore.
the Sony is lighter, smaller, and easier to use than any of the others, IMO

Is the sony silent?
The firestore has a loud fan making placement near a microphone difficult.

A fan in a small HDD unit?? thats a bit odd. For sure that will make using it tough as you'd have to keep it away from the mic. I'm certain the Sony DR60 is sealed, and no fan.

The pre-production DR60 was virtually silent; I don't have it next to me any longer to test the total noise output, but it was quiet enough that you'd need to put your head/ear next to it to hear anything.

Some hard drives will no doubt become noisy after a while. Will Sony's warranty replace it, just because it's noisy?

Is there any chance Sony will produce a firewire bullet/pencilcam to go with the
HVRDR60?