On Mon, 7 Sep 1998 04:01:51 -0700, "taggart" wrote:

>I'm a bit confused as to what video inputs the popular DV camcorders have,
>if any. I assumed that for sure all of them would have Fire Wire input, but
>I saw a post that claimed the Canon Optura had only Fire Wire output, not
>input (you've got to be kidding!). Then I saw a review of DV camcorders at
>the New Media web site that said (in a review about a particular model):
>"Like all DV camcorders, there are no video inputs." Huh? Another post about
>the Sony TVR900 said it DID have an analog video input as well as the Fire
>Wire input. Is this a new development? Anyone?
>
>When I read up on the various models out there, I tend to find no reference
>about their video inputs one way or the other. Help! The models I've been
>interested in are the Canon Optura and XL1, the Sony TRV900 and VX1000, and
>any other comparable models.

As I recall...;-), in the beginning of mini-DV, most of the few
camcorders did not have even FireWire connectors (Sony led here,
and their camcorders had them). Then, most current mini-DV
camcorders had FireWire connectors (non-US models usually
had the input unfortunately disabled...). Now, Sony leads again
with analogue inputs on their TRV-9 and TRV-900 models (no
one else has them...). I don't know about the Optura (though I
would guess that it has bi-directional FireWire...), but the
XL-1 and VX-1000 do have bi-directional FireWire. Ah, the
long, LONG history of mini-DV camcorders, and the s l o w
struggle for improved features....! ;-) (Actually, I still
like a lot [and prefer] the "ancient" VX-1000...! ;-)