Reader Question: Why no mention of miniDV in product tests?

Asus K52Jr

Hello,

As a regular reader of the site, I’d first of all like to congratulate you on the quality of your tests.

However, one thing that really bugs me is that you often say the video compatibility is excellent even when there’s no compatibility for miniDV videos, the last truly standard format in video recording.

No multimedia centres are compatible with this format and the Asus PC you recently tested has no FireWire port either. There’s no need to make a big deal of it, but I think it would at least be useful to mention this lack of compatibility, especially since I’ve noticed in online forums that I’m not the only one looking for direct access to DV files with no need for conversion.

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If I’ve understood correctly, you’re looking for a laptop with a FireWire port so you can hook up your MiniDV camcorder? Well, there are still computers out there with this type of interface, but it’s true that media centres aren’t compatible with MiniDV camcorders as they require capture software to drive the device.

We don’t mention the lack of FireWire connection in our tests because after several years of dominating the camcorder market, the MiniDV camcorder is now a dying breed. The latest HD camcorders use a new format—AVCHD—and these files can be easily transferred via any USB 2.0 port.

A few years ago, we saw the same problem with VHS cassettes. Users could no longer enjoy their home movies as shops had stopped selling VHS players. Today, things are moving even more quickly, with storage formats evolving from MiniDV cassettes, to hard drives, to SD cards and finally to internal flash memory, and all in the space of just five years.

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