# camcorders
**URL:** https://forums.speedlife.net/t/camcorders/202200
**Category:** PittSpeed Off Topic
**Created:** [March 13, 2009, 10:22am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/camcorders/202200 "2009-03-13T10:22:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Holty](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Holty)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2009, 10:22am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/camcorders/202200/1 "2009-03-13T10:22:12Z")
I"m shopping around for a new camcorder. I would like to get one with a built in Hard Drive, preferably a Sony or a Canon. Does anyone have experience with the newer High Definition camcorders? I want a High Def camcorder, but am unsure how to view the HD content on the computer or on my big screen? Do i need to burn it to a blue ray disc or hook it up directly using HDMI cables? Any advice on specific camcorder models would be appreciated.
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### Author:  [@Darkstar](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Darkstar)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/camcorders/202200/2 "2009-03-13T10:47:08Z")
You would view it on your computer and/or tv the same way as you would with any other camera. I have no experience far as recommendations go.
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### Author:  [@4doors5gears](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/4doors5gears)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2009, 11:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/camcorders/202200/3 "2009-03-13T11:24:09Z")
On the HD cams there should be HD connections so that you can connect directly to your HDTV. My guess is it will have an HDMI port on it.
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### Author:  [@vtecsol](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/vtecsol)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/camcorders/202200/4 "2009-03-13T13:00:14Z")
a guy at work bought a panasonic 1080p one not sure of the model number, it uses a mini hdmi to play high def said it works great hooked right up to the tv but his computer does not have enough guts to playhigh def so it freezes as soon as he hooks it up, he said a regular dvd-r disc will work for burning
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### Author:  [@robry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/robry)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2009, 10:05am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/camcorders/202200/5 "2009-03-16T10:05:02Z")
most of the HD cameras make a video file, and you just open it like a downloaded .wmv or movie file on your computer. if you hook it to your tv, it simply plays those clips back however you decide. the HD cameras are somewhat iffy still as the AVCHD codec hasn’t matured enough yet. You can burn HD onto a DVD, but for it will only hold like 30 minutes at the higher bitrate. But most DVD players don’t know how to output higher than 480p, so you won’t get ‘true’ HD. Your best bet is to burn it to a blu-ray disc, but that will be expensive. I wouldn’t jump on the HD camera bandwagon yet, depending on what you want to do with it. You can get a few year old mini DV cameras for decent price (panasonic PV-GS3xx and 4xx models) on ebay. Then in another year or two when blu-ray comes down in price more, you can buy an HD cam and really use it to its full potential. Just like anything else, the technology will evolve a lot in only 18-24 months.