Thought I would add my 2¢. I would suggest that is all that it is worth. {grin} I have had the earlier model of this deck for 3 years. It is the JVC HR-DVS1U model. It doesn't support the DVCAM digital tape format such as this model. With that being said, I understand that basically they are similar models with mostly cosmetic changes aside from the added DVCAM tape format.

My experience using this deck has been primarily with miniDV and has been positive. I bought this deck when it was first introduced and hoped it would work as advertised. It has. I have used it with a variety of Mac computer operating systems from OS 9 up and including OSX and most recent reincarnation is the best. OSX rules! Occasionally, the firewire bus needs to be rebooted, but this is a simple procedure requiring the firewire cable be unplugged for a few seconds before reconnecting the cable. If you are unplugging the small 4-pin plug on the deck, be careful as this is delicate and has a specific way how it fits in. Don't force it! Look carefully at the plug and see there is a right way and a wrong. I have never had a problem but I am a careful video editor and know that there are ham fisted folks who rush and make serious mistakes. Haste makes waste. This almost always has the computer operating system re-establishing a connection with the the deck. Occasionally, a computer reboot might be required or the reboot of the video program used to capture and/or output to the deck. I have also found that the deck should be on before starting the software program of choice and should be turned off after the program has been quit.

As you probably gathered, I choose to use a Macintosh computer and their spectacular OSX (10.2.8, currently) along with a number of Apple only video editing applications including... iMovie, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro and DVD authoring software such as iDVD and DVD Studio Pro. I have a small... very small, one man video business doing weddings, corporate video etc.

I have not been subject to the problems outlined in the previous review. This deck has reliably captured video footage shot primarily on a Canon XL-1 without any video or sound drop outs. Digital video puts severe constraints on any computer operating system and many individuals, when capturing such, don't have the additional hardware and/or computer operating system to deal with it on a realiable basis. In addition to lots of RAM and a fast computer processor, hard drive space, and lots of it, are required for consistent capture of digital video. 5 minutes of uncompressed video can eat up approximately 1 GB of HD space so large drives are needed for larger projects. This JVC deck has allowed me to capture directly onto external firewire drives (I have two video hard drives, a couple of 120 GB - 7200 IDE Oxford firewire bus equipped 911 drives) and will directly copy up to 1 hour of miniDV footage.( I never shoot LP - only SP as the quality is much better.) I then edit directly on my computer system with my digital editing weapon of choice. Usually Final Cut Express or iMovie depending on the project. After completion of the project, editing, sound and any special rendering effects, I output/capture directly to the JVC deck using firewire (unless I am burning a DVD then the deck isn't needed) and then use the copy feature to make VHS tapes with the dual aspect of the JVC deck. This deck can produce regular video, or use JVC's S-Video ET format on regular tapes allowing a better reproduction or the use of high quality S-Video tapes. (the S-Video tapes are more expensive, but worth it if you are playing back on an S-Video tape deck) In addition, this deck allows you to import directly off a VHS tape onto the computer or external drives with the deck converting the analogue VHS tape to a digital stream on-the-fly. It evens allows you to do this from another external camera, such as an older style 8mm or High8 format without first having to copy to a VHS tape or miniDV etc. As a result of this feature, this deck saves a number of steps and allows on-the-fly digitizing to take place. I have imported from a number of different camera's and love the ability and time saved by this cool ability to import older format's into a digital file on my computer. Again, without dropping frames or sound. Granted, 8mm footage shot on an older and now vintage analogue video camera is still going to be of that quality. Less than quality in... less than quality out. However, shoot something on a higher-end 3 CCD camera and you will be rewarded. One thing missing is the lack of professional video out connections. I use an external video production monitor (14" Sony) and have it connected by way of standard/consumer RCA video out. JVC should add additional a component video out option for higher video viewing output to an external video monitor.

In summary, this has been a reliable deck without problems, aside from the occasional firewire bus issue. It has captured dozens of tapes, over the last few years, shot on a variety of different video cameras. The import feature direct off of VHS or an externally connected camera is a real time-saving bonus. Output from my Macintosh computer(s) has been consistent, fast and reliable. (That's why video editors choose Mac's... Great Hardware, Great Operating System (OSX) and Great video software.) There is a reason why Hollywood is Mac crazy. It just Works! I know of many individuals who have thrown up their hands in disgust trying to reliably edit on WinDoze boxes with less-than-reliable software and have purchased a Mac. (Please remember... this is my personal review - your mileage will vary.) I bought this JVC deck as a compromise to more expensive decks. I was looking for an all-in-one box that digitized analogue video, had a miniDV to VHS copy feature and had a firewire connection to my computer editing system. It has fulfilled that and more. It has saved using a camera as a deck which will save the heads on the camera. The discounted price has dropped almost in half to what I paid three years ago. I would highly recommend it.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1500.00