Saves wear & tear on your camcorder

Now that I'm getting into digital video, I wanted to be able to save digital 8 tapes onto my PC for editing without adding wear and tear on my camcorder's fragile looking tape transport, then be able to transfer the edited video to VHS or digital 8. I also needed to be able to playback tapes from my old 8mm camera which had its tape transport fail. The GV-D200 fills the bill for me.

Plug this into the Firewire port on your PC, and you are ready to go. As far as the PC is concerned it acts just like a full featured camcorder. Standard software packages such as Pinnacle's Studio series will control the deck during the editing process; unlike the camcorders, no software is supplied with the deck. Like Sony's other Digital 8 offerings, this deck will also perform editing functions when used in conjunction with another VCR through either infrared or Firewire. For all intents and purposes operation-wise, you can think of this as a full featured camcorder with out the camera.

Of course those without PCs can connect this deck to their TV and stereo system to be able to play back movies anytime. It can be remote controlled using any Sony remote (strangely none is supplied with the unit).

This is the lowest entry point for Sony's Digital 8 decks. The next model up, the GV-D800, adds an LCD screen to make this a true Watchman. There are also mini-DV equivalents available, the GV-D300 (no display) and the GV-D900 (LCD display)

For those who wish to view the manual, you can download a PDF file at Sony's website. Go to this page and select the GV-D200

http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/dvimag/videowalk/Video%20Walkman%20Query_1.html

Most I/O jacks are mounted on the side of the unit behind a door. There are a set of RCA jacks for Video and Stereo Audio, plus an S-Video in and S-Video out jack. Since there is no display of any kind on this unit (not even a counter), to be able to do anything requires that you at least attach a monitor to be able to navigate the menus. There is also a provision to attach a Sony RF modulator. Beside the door is a special jack to accept an A/V input adapter cable which is supplied (the same type used in the camcorders). The adapter cable has 3 RCA jacks. On the rear of the unit are connectors for power (a supplied AC adapter), Firewire (iLink), and a battery connector which will accept Sony's L series "InfoLITHIUM" battery packs (unfortunately none are supplied). What's more aggravating is that these batteries are not compatible with my new TRV-740 camcorder.

In addition to being able to play back all types of 8mm tapes, the GV-D200 has the ability to digitize TV signals plugged into its A/V inputs. This gives you the ability to either transfer your VHS tapes to Digital8 or download them into your computer for editing. The reverse is also true, where once you have edited movies on your PC you can use the GV-D200 to convert the Firewire stream from your PC to an analog VCR (VHS, Beta, etc).

Performance so far has been perfect. The picture quality is the same as one would expect from a digital 8 camcorder and it plays back analog 8mm tapes flawlessly. The same can be said for digitizing VHS tapes and recording edited movies to a VHS deck. I have had no problems controlling this deck with my PC running XP Home.

I mention the unknown reliability because in my experience with other Sony 8mm devices, the tape transports seem to be problematical. The tape guides have a tendency to loosen, with the result that tapes made a while back will no longer play (8mm decks have no manual method to adjust tracking). I have no experience with digital 8 transports but I would suspect they are similar, one difference being that the normal tape speed is twice that of standard 8mm. Regular maintenance by a qualified serviceman would appear to be highly recommended.

For my uses, I can justify the expense of this deck as being able to save wear and tear on not only the tape transport but wear on the camcorder connectors as one would have to continually unplug the camcorder from the computer as you switch between taking movies and editing. The GV-D200 remains always connected to my PC.