It's always a good idea to use a separate deck because the process can really beat the heads and mechanical parts on any camcorder very quickly. The DSR-11 does have a robust tape drive, the ability to record and playback DVCAM tapes as well as mini-dv, it has a track record of quick rewind and fast forward and doesn't burn out faster than a camcorder will. It also has the ability to record and playback NTSC or PAL video. If you need these features go ahead and purchase it. If you don't need these features, we highly recommend using a cheap mini dv camcorder as a playback deck. A low end camcorder can transfer data just as good as a high end camcorder and standalone players or recorders (like the Sony DSR-11) use the same mechanical parts as their Sony camcorders! just in different housing.

Here's why:

Recording and playback are separate from each other when it comes to video. Camcorder makes and models record images differently...they come with 3 chips or 1 chip, 3 lux or 7 lux, lenses are different, color quality is different?the way a camcorder RECORDS the picture are not all the same. What you record and how it's is recorded is what will play back regardless of what you use to run the footage through for viewing.

DV video is basically data on tape. The camera compresses it into a DV datastream and writes it to the tape. If you use FireWire to transfer that data from the tape to a computer, the only processing going on is error correction. In the end, it doesn't matter what camera you use to suck the video into a computer.

It's a good idea to use a cheaper camcorder or maybe even a stand alone mini-dv tape deck because the process can really beat the heads and mechanical parts on any camcorder very quickly.

This all changes when recording in different modes. Watch out with LP mode, there can be a problem playing it back on other cameras (even on the same model and the same brand). If you want to do this kind of exchange always use SP.

Last update: 08:38 PM Monday, January 19, 2009