Product Description

Digital8 record/play, Hi8/8mm play only * digital photo mode * MPEG Movie EX mode * 460,000-pixel CCD * 2-1/2" color touchpanel *

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1663 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Sony
• Model: TRV460
• Dimensions: 6.90" h x 7.00" w x 8.66" l, 5.40 pounds
• Display size: 2.5
• Included Software: Yes

Features

• Digital8 Handycam camcorder and digital still camera with 460,000-pixel CCD
• 20x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 990x) with Super SteadyShot image stabilizer
• 2.5-inch rotating LCD and black-and-white viewfinder
• Low-light recording settings, Memory Stick Pro slot, and analog-to-digital conversion ability
• NP-FM30 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery

From the Manufacturer
The Sony DCR-TRV460 Digital8 Handycam camcorder gives you the best digital features at the price of an analog. Just some of its numerous features include a huge 2.5" SwivelScreen LCD display, a monstrous 20X optical zoom, NightShot Plus infrared recording, USB streaming, and Stamina Battery Power Management System. It also includes touch-screen operation through the LCD display and digital still image capture onto convenient Memory Stick Media. Plus, Digital8 recording means high-quality digital recording on inexpensive Hi8 and 8mm video cassettes, so you get professional results without paying professional prices. It’s the digital camcorder that anyone can afford!

	Digital8 Video Recording: Digital8 recording format delivers 3X the color bandwidth of VHS with significantly less video noise providing stunning video performance. Digital8 records digital audio and video comparable to MiniDV on affordable Hi8 tapes.		With a press of the Easy Handycam button, most of the advanced functions of the camcorder are "locked out" leaving only the buttons essential for recording operational.
	Sony's i.LINK DV (or MICROMV) interface gives you true digital-to-digital editing, without the "generation loss" of analog editing. And the i.LINK interface is compatible with a range of Sony digital VCRs, Sony edit controllers, and Sony PCs with editing software.		Stay connected with family and friends by broadcasting live video with audio, via the Internet with the USB interface. You can even playback your favorite recorded scene stored on tape. It's like having your own web camera or video conferencing system.
	With Sony's NightShot Infrared system you can capture natural looking video even when shooting in low light up to 10 feet away using the built-in infrared system.		SteadyShot Picture Stabilization smoothes and steadies your images without degrading picture quality. Sony does it with motion sensors --- a more accurate system than many other camcorders on the market.
	Stamina Power Management the combination of low power consumption and an optional InfoLithium battery give Sony Handycam models incredible operating time. To keep tabs on battery life, Sony's AccuPower meter displays the number of minutes remaining -- right in the viewfinder.		Battery information is momentarily displayed without having to power on the camcorder. Quickly access the battery's status by pressing the Battery Info button. The Recording Time Available is displayed in minutes on either the LCD screen or in the viewfinder.
	Digital Still Memory Mode: Capture digital still images directly onto Memory Stick media for easy transfer to e-mail, printing, or sharing with compatible Memory Stick devices.

And more:

This camera can connect directly to select printers. Learn more about PictBridge.

• 1/6" CCD Imager, 460K Pixels Gross
  1/6" CCD imager with 290K (effective) pixels provides great detail and clarity, with exceptional analog video performance.

• 20X Optical/990X Digital Zoom
  The optical zoom helps to bring the action up close from far away. In addition, the digital zoom interpolation means that extreme digital zooming is clearer, with less distortion than previous types of digital zooms.

• Backward Compatibility
  The DCR-TRV460 is capable of playing back 8mm, Hi8 and Digital8 video tapes for maximum convenience for those who have an existing library of analog cassettes.

• 2.5" SwivelScreen Touch Panel LCD Display (123K Pixels)
  Provides excellent viewing clarity with improved resolution. The high-resolution 123K pixel LCD rotates up to 270-degrees for multiple viewing angles providing sharp detailed images for monitoring or playback.

• InfoLithium Battery with AccuPower Meter System
  Charge the battery at any time because unlike NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) batteries, Sony’s rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries are not subjected to a life shortening "memory effect". Sony’s exclusive AccuPower meter displays the battery time remaining in minutes in the viewfinder or the LCD screen.

• Digital Still Memory Mode Capable with Memory Stick Media
  Digital Still Memory Mode captures high-quality still images at 640 x 480 resolution directly to Memory Stick or Memory Stick PRO Media. Images are stored in the JPEG format providing easy transfer to PCs for emailing, printing or sharing with friends and family.

• Analog-to-Digital Conversion with Pass Through
  Convert and/or record any analog NTSC video source to digital video via the analog inputs. Analog NTSC video can also be passed through the Digital Handycam camcorder directly into a PC via the i.LINK interface in real-time for easy PC editing of your analog footage.

• Easy Dubbing
  Connect the Handycam camcorder to a VCR deck to make VHS copies of your home videos quickly and easily. The camcorder will control up to 59 brands of VCRs.

• Stamina Battery Power Management System
  Using the optional NP-QM91D InfoLithium battery the DCR-TRV460 can continuously record up to 10 hours on one complete charge, providing extra long battery life.

• Program AE (Auto Exposure) Modes
  Program AE modes make recording easy even when filming in challenging situations. Choose from Portrait, Beach & Ski, Sports Lesson, Landscape, Spotlight, Sunset & Moon modes.

• Picture Effects
  Get creative when recording or playing back videos with Sony’s Picture Effect modes. Effects available in Camera mode: Negative Art, Sepia, Monotone, Solarize, Pastel and Mosaic. Effects available in Playback mode: Negative Art, Sepia, Black & White and Solarize.

• End Search
  Advances the video tape to the last 5 seconds of the recorded scene. This prevents accidentally recording over previous recorded videos.

• Fader Effects
  Enhance your personal videos by adding professional looking fader effects. Choose from Black, Mosaic, White, Bounce, Overlap, Wipe, Monotone and Random Dot.

What's in the Box
DCR-TRV460 Digital8 Handycam, AC-L15 Power Adaptor/In Camera Charger, NP-FM30 InfoLithium Rechargeable Battery, Mono A/V Cable, Lens Cap, USB Cable, Shoulder Strap, CD-ROM with USB Driver (Picture Package Software Ver. 1.0 for Sony), RMT-831 Wireless Remote Commander Remote Control.

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Customer Reviews

Great Quality Picture
Purchased this camcorder about a week ago. Ease of operation and a great operators manual help sort out technical items. Picture quality utilizing only standard grade 8mm tape is excellent. I can only imagine the more expensive metal particle or metal evaporated tapes may have even higher quality pictures. Have not had time to check out the camera picture quality using the memory stick. I do not expect any disappointments. Sony make a terrific camcorder product. Consumers reports recommends this as one of their "Best Buys" for digital camcorders. Sony & Panasonic both continually excell in the catagory as "Models requiring the least amount of repairs" or "Most trouble-free manufacturers". The battery that comes with the unit gives approximately 67 minutes of recording time on a normal charge. A full charge will give approximately 74 minutes. Recommend purchasing the FM-50 battery for extended recording/playing time and for nothing else, simply to have a back-up. I own a DVD recorder that allows me to transfer audio & video from my camcorder to DVD's . The camcorder has an A/V output for the consumer interested in transfering their home movies/digital images to DVD's. It also features an S-Video output for capturing even higher quality video.

Some of the bad things:

- The camcorder does not come with a portable/cordless charger. You have to plug the batteries into the camcorder and plug the adapter/charger into the camcorder to charge. Purchase an additional external charger for simplicity.

- The camcorder does not come supplied with a memory stick. Consider purchasing at least 128 M. That way you can get approximately 80 minutes of recording time.

- The battery supplied FM-30 (see above) is not adequate.

Some of the good things:

- Quality product

- Image & sound quality excellent

- Auto focus & stabilization also excellent

- Great zoom feature

All in all, a fantastic product with great performance and features at a very reasonable price. If you want to get into digital video recording for less that $ 500.00, try this one.

GAC

Perfect transition camcorder
My old 8mm camcorder died around Thanksgiving leaving me with 15 years worth of home movies and no way to view them. The TRV460 was at a great price point and perfectly bridges the gulf between analog and digital. I wanted to transfer the keepers stuff to DVDs and edit the really good stuff in to movies. I'm far from done, but I've worked with this camcorder enough to pass on some tips.

CAMCORDER: Easy to use. Pictures are so much sharper than my analog camera (I know, no surprise here, but it had a wow factor for me). The camera is smaller than my old one, a little bigger than my two hands wrapped together. The touchscreen is easy to use - plan on studying the manual though. It's all in there and it's easy to read, but you have to approach it like a text book. It powers up quickly. Two things to beware of -- (1) the tape inserts through the bottom and this that if you use a screw tripod adapter you have to take it off the to insert a tape, (2) there are some features that only work on movies recorded to DV tape vs. recording straight to the memorystick - for example when you record to the memory stick it only records in mono.

SOFTWARE: Other reviews are correct when they pan the software that comes with the camera. I bought Adobe Premiere Elements and it is great. I bought the adobe software from amazon - they were offering a Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements combo that I opted for after reading numerous reviews. I've used the full version of photoshop for years and the user interface of elements is dumbed-down but still has a familiar touch and enough features to do everything I want. Wait a minute - this is a camcorder review, sorry for the tangent.

FIREWIRE/USB2.0: Elements will capture movies recorded to the memorystick via the USB2.0, but to do the same for movies recorded to tape you need a firewire cable. If your PC does not have a firewire port, you can just add a PCI firewire/usb2.0 card onto your motherboard (costs less than $20 for the card). I had bought the card at retail a year ago. But camcorders need a firewire cable with a 6 pin to 4 pin configuration. Found one on line recently (listing: 6ft IEEE 1394 FireWire Cable 6pin-4 DV ILINK IPOD SONY) for less than a buck. Once you plug the firewire cable into the TRV460, you control the camera from the computer through the premiere software - no special settings or adjustments needed. By the way, you can do some camcorder to PC transfers using the USB2.0 cable and the Sony Picture Package software - but "clunky" is too kind.

Along with the camcorder, there are some necessary accessories. I looked for low-cost options on all of these and was pretty successful. I'll pass them on here - for what they're worth.

DIGITAL TAPES: Sony makes many different types of tapes that are good for recording digital. The Sony Digital8 Camcorder Tapes (at first I thought these were the only ones that would work) costs $20 a pair at retail. There are many other 8mm tapes that are compatible for less than half this cost (check out Sony's website for compatibility).

MEMORY STICK: Again I went online to find a good price on a memory stick. But the stick I bought was not compatible with this camcorder (listing: SanDisk 256MB Memory Stick PRO Duo Sony 256 MB DSC-T1 +). The camcorder would only intermittently recognize the stick (mostly it wouldn't). Searches on the web showed that many people had this problem. The kind customer service dept at SanDisk agreed to check it out and said they would probably replace it. They did and the newer version of the same memorystick works fine. While I was waiting I bought a Sony 256MB memory stick at a retail store and, of course, it works fine. I got a memory card reader to plug into my USB port (listing: USB MS/MEMORY STICK CARD READER) so I could transfer movies to the PC without involving the camcorder.

ANALOG TAPE TO MEMBORY STICK TRANSFER: One cool thing I learned about the camera is you can copy scenes from an analog tape to the memory stick all from within the camcorder. With the touch screen monitor, it is very easy to do. This is great if you want to compile selected scenes (from the huge pile of old 8mm tapes) without sitting at the computer. I did a lot of this analog tape-to-memorystick xfer (using just the camera) while sitting around the fire with my family - it made me a little more sociable with the family than if I were staring at the computer.

BATTERY: Another reviewer posted some tips on non-Sony batteries. I took an even cheaper approach that worked great. On line I bought a charger (listing: CHARGER for SONY NP-F550 NP-FM50 NP-QM71 QM91 BATTERY) for less than a fiver and a high capacity battery (listing: SONY NP-QM71 NP-FM70 DCR-TRV950 2800mAh BATTERY NEW) for less than fifteen bucks.

So that's it. I feel like the only splurge was on the tape editing software. I could have stayed with the free Sony Picture Package - but the Adobe is so much easier and does tons more. If you amortize it over the hours you spend on editing, the $100 bucks or so is not that much.

My PC is a off-brand clone with a AMD Athlon 2800+ CPU running at 2.07 MHz, wtih 512MB ram, running XP Home Edition SP2 and a ATI AIW 8500DV videocard. I like this camcorder a lot!

TRV460 Great Camera - don't let new battery type scare you
An Earlier Post stated that "Only sony batteries can be used" in the TRV460. Wrong, only infolithium batteries can be used. No more NiCads but plenty of non-sony brand batteries will work just fine in the camera.

I purchase CE brand infolithiums "NP-QM71 battery for Sony Li-Ion 7.2V 2400mAh (kq)", the cost is $25 compared to $75 to $100 for the Sony, and they work great.

The camera is fantastic, my only complaint would be the small hard to reach zoom control on top, but other than that a great camera.

Don't let the battery issue scare you off, just have to use infolithiums, Sony or Generic is up to you.

This is the perfect Camera to go digital and still be backward compatible with all those 8mm and Hi-8mm tapes.