DV to Hard disk recorder....which one?

[Guest]

Looking ot purchase a DV to hard drive recorder...
I live in LA and just went to a few stores (including Samys) and basically noone has even heard of them or carry them...

Only luck I found was at B&H....

without having to travel to NY...can someone tell me which one out of the following is the best buy?

- ADS Pyro 30GB $690
- Datavideo DV Bank 120GB $1149 (not battery operated?)
- Datavideo DV Bank 60GB $999
- Laird Capdiv 40GB $909
- Laird Capdiv 60GB $1099
- nNovia Quickcapture 40GB $989 60GB $1189 80GB $1389
- Videonics Firestore FS-4 40GB $750

anyone have any experience or info as to which one surpasses the others in performance for the money?
thanks.
David

[Barry_Green]

Dump all the rest and look only at tne QuickCapture and the Firestore FS-4... at least, after months of watching these products come and go, reviews and all the rest, those two seem to be the easy class leaders.

Although right now I'm considering ignoring them entirely and just using DVRack as the hard disk recorder. The ability to monitor your clips, play 'em back, and infinitely extend the recording capacity (by plugging in firewire or USB 2.0 hard disks) is compelling. The laptop would be expensive though... or would it? You could maybe get a cheap $750 laptop, and $500 worth of DV Rack software, and you'd be at $1250, which is less than the big QuickCapture... and you get so much more... but it's less portable...

Okay, I'm officially rambling now. But after watching these for months and months, the choice is down to the FS-4, the QuickCapture, and the DVRack system.

[Guest]

With the FS-4 for example, would I be able to check playback while on location back thru the camera?
or do I need DVRack for that...
thanks.
David

[Barry_Green]

Both QuickCapture and FS-4 allow for playing back clips in the field. That's the main reason I ruled out the QuickStream, ADS, and CitiDisk units... (well, that plus user reports of reliability, etc).

[Guest]

sorry...one last thing....it seems that the FS-4 is not being sold yet....not until december?....is that the case?
thanks for all the info.
David

[Barry_Green]

That's how I understand it, yes.

The Firestore looks the most interesting to me only because they've been working at it the longest, and the FS-4 is their fourth-generation product, so I have hopes that it'll be the most functional and bug-free. Might be groundless hopes, but it's my hopes nonetheless!

[Guest]

Ok....I lied....just one more thing...
there is a choice between the FS and FS pro....
do you know what the price diff is?
are the features that the pro has worth getting the pro?

David

[Barry_Green]

I wouldn't venture to answer that until getting some hands-on experience with it. I know the Pro is supposed to offer a recording buffer (so it'll actually record a few seconds BEFORE you press the "record" button, so you won't miss the beginning of an important shot, etc...) I think the price difference is about $400.

Specs are here: http://www.focusinfo.com/products/firestore/fs-4.html

[paulbk77]

Bought the Laird 60g at EVS in Glendale and it seems ok. Battery brick is a drawback as you might expect. AC power caused a hum on the audio track.
Time savings not having to capture at the end of the day were the biggest plus. All in all I'm happy with it.

[clay-walk]

Anyone know when the FS-4 is going to hit the streets? I preordered one some time ago and it looks like they missed their mid-Dec release...

[jollo]

I don't know when the FS-4 will ship but here's a reply posted December 28th on DV info by Focus Enhancement's Matt McEwen:

"The first beta units are now with customers. Depending on how the beta test phase continues to pan out, I would expect volume shipments for FS-4 some time in January.

So, please be prepared to roll tape for at least a little while longer.

I will post to this board when I have a better idea. Thanks for your patience."

Matt McEwen