Digital Trends

It’s no secret that high-definition TVs are selling like crazy—especially with sub-$1,000 42-inch plasmas hitting the scene. What’s much less known is the fact you can make your high-definition home videos with many new camcorders being introduced, such as the Canon HV10. Although a bit on the expensive side—especially when you can buy a standard definition MiniDV model for less than $300 US—the quality is far superior. And who doesn’t want high-quality widescreen epics for their 16:9 displays? The HV10 uses the HDV format that records 1080I high-def signals on blank MiniDV tapes, similar to the Sony Handycam HDR-HC3 ($1,399 US)—and much more expensive Sony HDR-FX7 ($3,499 US) and Canon XH A1 ($3,999 US). Video quality is very good. Don’t take our word for it--you really need to see it on new flat panel TV to appreciate it—and some retailers have displays that do just that. Canon was a little late to the HDV game—as they are always laggards when it comes to new video technology. A very conservative company, they’d rather let pioneers take the arrows to determine if there is a market. Once it’s “real,” Canon jumps in. That’s why Canon’s first generation HDV model arrived late in 2006, almost 18 months after Sony’s HDR-HC1, the first really consumer-oriented HDV camcorder. But that’s ancient history. How does the Canon HV10 fare—and should you use it to record your New Year’s revelry?