If you’re considering buying a new affordable HD camcorder, you should have at least three formats in mind: tried-and-true HDV, up-and-coming AVCHD, and the ever-more-affordable DVCPRO HD. By a stroke of good fortune, I have three such camcorders in hand right now, and I thought it would be a good time to discuss their relative merits. Specifically, I’ve got the …

I’ve been a user exclusively of tape-based cameras since the analog days. So, beyond the implications of the AVCHD format, I was intrigued by the opportunity to test Panasonic‘s AG-HSC1U, because it stores all video and still images on SDHC cards. A 4GB card is included with the camera. You can find the camcorder online for well less than $2,000, …

Once you’ve chosen a codec, you have to choose an encoding tool. In this column, I’ll outline the codec-specific and automation-related questions you should ask before using or buying an encoding tool, and then describe the three level