DISQUS

The quality of a Mini DV tape is actually better than the DVD's depending on how much you spend of course. I like to edit my videos and the tapes do a much better job at this. You can only record 30 minutes of video on a DVD unless you have the double sided ones. You cannot just take them out of the camcorder and play them on a DVD player until they are finalized. Once they are finalized, you cannot record on them again like you can with tapes. They also have to be formatted before you can actually record on them. As far as convenience goes, you can easily just hook up the mini DV's to a TV and watch them, but most of the time you just watch them on the LCD screen of your camcorder anyway. If it is a special event you have recorded, then they can be easily transferred to a full size DVD, and if you like, you can add all sorts of effects to it to make it better. I just bought a new JVC Mini DV camcorder for $179. You can't get a DVD camcorder for that cost. I would jump up to a Hard drive camcorder before I would get a DVD if I had the money. For $179, my camcorder does what I need it to do.