Mark my words, at Christmas this year, you'll see DVD players that have at lest 6 compatibility logos screened or stuck on the front. Probably more, but at least 6 I can think of right now.

I'm not sure what I don't get, Mathew. Pray tell.

SD is going to die reasonably quickly.

let's play some HDV Russian roulette @NAB2005, shall we?

b: SD will be around as a delivery format for many years, but as a broadcast format, it will be dead in 5 years, as I suggested above. Maybe you know more than NAB does, I dunno. I'm not sure where the "self-imposed apocalypse" comment comes from, because it's false as hens teeth.

SD is going to die reasonably quickly.

We're no longer saddled with a horrible looking format like MPEG 2. That's the beauty of all the formats.

Go find your own clarification, Mathew. The information is out there, go buy a book or something.

When we had our second wedding in Vegas, it was shot by a videographer using a VHS camcorder...looks like crap and sounds even worse.

Sticking with A – SD, might go B – HD in late 2007 if my market is ready and it makes business sense.

Why SD you say…

1) My 2005 wedding season is full.

2) Of my bookings for 2006, none have mentioned HD whatsoever. I have no doubt my 2006 will fill without a word about HD from any of my clients.

3) My SD cameras have been paid off for a few years and it makes greater business sense to me to get as much life (and return on investment) out of these cameras as I can. Extra profit goes into my retirement savings and my 3 year old daughter’s College Fund.

4) I'm conservative when it comes to buying into the latest technology. I NEVER buy the first release of any new techie stuff. If I did that, and bought HD cameras now that I wouldn’t use anyway, I know I'd want the "new and improved" camera when that comes out in a couple of years.

5) I don't have the spare time now to fool around and do "work-arounds" with the stuff now (when my client's have no use for it) - even if I wanted a HD camera to have for fun, I just don't have the time for it right now.

6) My clients aren't asking for it and I feel no pressure from what Sony, WEVA, Best Buy and the trade magazines want everyone to believe. That’s a general rule for me with regards to any technology stuff, not just with HD.

7) As I've mentioned before, and others have pointed out, once a HD-DVD format is available and consumers show signs of buying into it (in my market area), then that will have more influence on me and help me decide when the time is right.

8) In waiting, a benefit I see, is that prices on other HD related stuff will drop slightly, and the software and other issues that exist now in terms of editing will have been resolved. And of course, the “new” models of cameras will be out.

Anyway, my take and why I'm in no rush. I’ll enjoy at least a few more years using my SD cameras and buy into HD when I’m good and ready and I can see it becoming a benefit. As to when, my plan is to wait until mid to late 2007 and see what my market is like – if it doesn’t warrant the investment then, I’ll continue to hold off and revisit HD in 2008.

For the record, I do have a DVD from an associate who shot with the FX1 at a recent wedding and downcoverted it to DV. The difference I noticed is with objects in the far background, they appear more in focus and cleaner vs. DV (i.e. Guests way in the background could me made out much better, that did look good). As far as the general picture quality, I would say a bit more bite, but nothing that I found earth-shattering (at least while viewing the downconverted DVD). I do realize it is downconverted and put onto a regular DVD, so I’m sure the orig. capture looks beautiful. However, since I’m only delivering my weddings on regular DVD for the next few years, this downcoverted DVD image just doesn’t sway me.

For others, now might be a great opportunity and might reap some rewards by going HD, only you know when it’s best for you.

Thanks Shane for your willingness to share your experiences with this stuff and your two cameras.

Best to all.

(Post addressed to Morris) --- I could go into detial on how the manufacturers are playing the event videographers like chumps but i wont. Take a look at the specs on SVHS,DV and HDV and youll see what i mean. HDV is a toy format that will not be around at least in its current incarnation 2 years from now.

So go out and buy your HDV gear and encourage them a little more.