Rating: 
Summary: Be ready to spend $$$$ on Sony Branded Batterys
Review: I have been useing Sony Video products for years TRV33,TRV350,TRV950 etc. I now have a large supply of things like Battery Packs, Tapes, Lights etc... The problem is that the TRV460 now forces you to use Sony Brand Batterys only. The TRV460 will start up fine with an after market battery then it will shut down with the mesage "Use the infoLITHIUM battery pack" This now will force you buy over priced Sony battery packs, if you would like to use TRV460 for any lenght of time. This is a bad move from Sony and for loyal Sony customers. I buy Sony video cameras fo my Video Production business with the intent of reuseing me older batterys and other Sony compatiable products. I will not recommend TRV460 for any one. I do not like Sony forceing you to use their Over Priced Battery packs only, when we have a large after market supply of low priced high quality battery packs to pick from (Better than Sony Battery Packs). What next will I be forced to use only Sony Brand Video tapes next? I'm returning the Sony TRV460. Beyond unhappy and posiable former Loyal Sony customer.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of features and backwards compatible
Review: I have been wanting to put my old 8mm camcorder tapes on DVD disks as a more permanent archive of family events. I had lined up a bunch of hi-tech devices, when I found this camcorder and my problems were solved. It also gives us a new camcorder, since our old Olympus has no more batteries and I can't find any decently priced batteries to make it portable.The Sony does all the things we want and now I have stacks of DVD's with home movies on them. Only thirty more tapes to convert. I had to buy video editing and authoring software, because the Sony software is not useful to do this in a decent way, but the machine is great and gives nice quality output that renders well onto the DVD's. I haven't had the camcorder for very long, but so far it's all I could want, as far as features and conversion capability. It's just perfect for those of us who need a recorder to digitize our old 8mm family memories and record them onto DVD's. It also gives us a great camcorder for capturing all the things the grand kids are doing, now. Two thumbs up from my wife and I.
Rating: 
Summary: Great camera for price
Review: I have owned this camera for a month, took it on a cruise, and have six excellent tapes. I am still learning how to use all of it's features. Likes: 20X optical zoom, touchpad LCD screen, long battery life, backward compatability with other 8mm formats, 16x9 format, and "super night shot". Dislikes: hair trigger zoom is difficult to zoom smoothly, lack of anti-shake feature when using 16x9 format(!?), lack of color viewfinder, having to contort hand to use zoom and off/on buttons, standard battery charger's extremely long charging time and fact that battery must be in camera to charge it. (I spent another $200 to get the SQ950D charger and QM71D long life battery.) I haven't used the software yet, so can't comment on PC compatability or ease of use there.
PS: How can someone write a valid review when they don't even have the camera, yet???? Maybe he's psychic?
Rating: 
Summary: Batteries
Review: I just opened my TRV-460 and after charging the FM-30 battery that Sony sent along, I set the date and shot about 7 minutes of video and the battery died! The Sony Manual doesn't even recommend an FM-30; but they chose to send it along anyway. I replaced the battery with another FM-50 (Off-brand from nations largest store) and the camcorder powered up, gave a message that the battery was not a Sony and powered down. Appears you need to use a Sony battery only, as their is some new chip technology that won't let others copy their over-priced batteries anymore. The 3-Watt, LED light does nothing for the video. The video does look bettter than HI-8 when played back on a 32" TV. There is no media shipped with the unit. Be prepared to spend alot on batteries, memory stick and tapes.
Rating:
Summary: Battery
Review: I just unpacked my TRV-460 and charged the FM-30 battery, which comes with the camcorder. After setting the date and shooting for about 7 minutes, the battery was dead. When reading the manual, Sony doesn't even recomend the FM-30; but, they ship it anyway. When I replaced the battery with an off-brand FM-50, sold by a well known retail store, the camcorder powered up and gave a message that it wasn't a Sony battery and then powered down and didn't work. Appears Sony wants to only sell their batteries. Someone there must still be remembering Hiroshima or something. The camera is good. The accesories are high priced and what is shipped is inadequate to say the least.
Rating:
Summary: Pleased results so far
Review: I primarily bought this Sony because it is backwards compatable with HI8 tapes, plus has the functionality to upload digital 8 to my computer.
I previously had a Sony analog HI8 camera purchased new 4 yrs ago that had problems from the get go. It had several warranty related issues relating to sound. The most recent problem (on/off switch related) would cost me about $200 to fix. This camera has seen low usage and has not been abused.
Nevertheless, I decided to stick with Sony on my upgrade to the TRV460. I purchased the unit 3 weeks ago and haven't taken any video yet. However, I can tell you that uploading my HI8 tapes to my PC based computer couldn't be easier. You will have to purchase a firewire cable, which Sony should have included instead of the USB, because otherwise quality in transfer suffers. I did not opt to use the Sony software that came with the unit (didn't even bother loading on my computer). They might make good electronics, but I'll stick with another leader on the software.
I have sever old BetaMax tapes which I first transfered to the camcorder using the Sony supplied cables. Then I used the firewire cable with Microsoft Movie Maker 2 (which is free) to upload them to my PC. What a flawless operation. I have read of many people having problems with this step. Being able to accomplish this and get into video editing will greatly improve your videos. I may migrate to Pinnacle Studio for more video software options, but for now as a beginner I should be able to get myself started.
In summary, I expect Sony's video capture quality to be excellent (see other reviews since I haven't taken video yet). I am very pleased with the video transfer process, which was a big factor in my purchase. I only hope I won't have repair troubles with this camcorder.
Rating:
Summary: New Sony Digatal8 Great Choice For Consumers
Review: I started using Digital8 Camcorders when they first came out. I had the Sony TRV-820 which had a built in Printer. It was a great camera, albeit bulky. The printer feature got old real quick, though it was cool. Early this year I decided to upgrade to MiniDV until I saw that Sony was releasing this camcorder. In my experience, Sony Digital8's are just as good as MiniDV. While I admit not ever owning a MiniDV camcorder, I am basing my judgement on video footage I have seen. Plus, this Camcorder is a few hundred dollars cheaper than the closest MiniDV Camcorder with similar features. I was leaning towards the Canon MiniDV line of camcorders, but after reading all the negative reviews about quality in low light, I decided to try the Digital8 once again. I have owned a few analog Camcorders before moving to Digital. Before my Sony, I owned 2 different Samsung Camcorders. Both ate tapes like starving kids at a candy factory. When I first got my Sony TRV820 I was SO impressed. In all the years I had owned it, it NEVER ate a tape and NEVER had any problems. That alone makes me want to get the new TRV460. Plus, the video quality was great, even in low light (though, low light is obviously produces much less attractive video than what good light produces). The TRV460 is more compact than the older Digital8's, it has more features (though I'm giving up the 4" screen that was on my 820). Plus, it can play old analog 8MM tapes, like the TRV820, which is an awesome bennifit. While I do plan on moving to MiniDV soon, I don't want to get a low-end MiniDV. I would rather have a high-end Digital8 and save up for a high end MiniDV because I doubt low-end MiniDV's are as good as this camcorder. I will update this review with specifics as soon as I recieve my TRV460. At $399, this camcorder is well worth the price. You get AD/DA converters (convert VHS footage to Digital using a Computer). Plus you get a 20X optical zoom, which is great and means you can be pretty far from the action but still get good footage. Some people prefer to be up close since they can get sound, but honestly, how ofter do you get good sound in any recording? I usually shoot video strictly for the video and then I fill it up with audio tracks and music when editing. It creates a much better visual experience than people walking by the camcorder every few seconds saying "Hi!"
Rating:
Summary: Great Camcorder. Better picture quality than most MiniDVs.
Review: I was attracted to this camcorder because of excellent Consumer Reports ratings for the previous year models. I also liked that this camera has a lot more features than MiniDV models with the same price tag. I bought this camcorder along with two other MiniDV models, the Panasonic PV-DV53 and JVC GRD30. This models was far better in picture quality than the other two even though they supposedly have higher resolution. After doing some research, I found that this camcorder has a bigger lens than the MiniDV models and although it has a 1/6 inch CCD, this is sufficient for the number of pixels it generates. Ultimately, you get much better low light resolution with this camcorder. If you don't believe me, do your own comparison. My only complaint is that the battery life is short with the included battery (about 15 minutes max) so you are almost forced to buy a better battery.
Rating:
Summary: Best I could find!
Review: I was going to buy a simple Hi8 but read some reviews and looked at a trv260 but did not like what people said so came to this one. In the end I spent almost TWICE as much as I was originally going to!
It was worth it. The picture quality is very good. It's more than adequate for my needs. Sound is good, video on memory stick is just OK (I think it could be better).
The best part is the firewire connection. Just plug it in and go (on WinXP), no divers needed. Then transfer videos to your computer in full resolution and full fps!
Great camera, very highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Works Great, Good Battery Performance
Review: I've been using the DCR-TRV460 for about six weeks and have been very pleased. I use it for home movies, transfer of my old 8MM tapes to the computer and burning Video CDs (MPEG-2 format). Several reviews have mentioned poor battery performance and incompatability with generic batteries. I've had none of those problems. The battery supplied with the camera lasts about one hour. I bought a Duracell lithium battery on sale at Circut City for $30 and it lasts over two hours and works just like the Sony battery. I really like the battery management system that Sony provides which shows the charge status both when charging and when using the camera. The touch screen controls are, in my opinion, a huge improvement over the mechanical buttons of previous Digital 8 models. One secret (when editing or transfering video to a PC) is to turn the screen completely around and click it back in place on the side of the camera. Then the camera can be easily controlled without the screen sticking out to the side. I bought the Sony Digital 8 EZ Editor kit ($45 from Sony on clearance) which comes with a firewire card, cable and movie making software. It works great with my Windows XP PC. The PC sees the camera quickly when it's plugged in and even recognizes the model number. Capturing video, editing, adding backgroud music/transitions/titles, and burning video CDs has been very easy. I expect burning video to DVDs will work just as well. The DCR-TRV460 is an inexpensive camcorder so it's CCD imager is small. It's video quality isn't as sharp as more expensive camcorders. However, for the price it does a lot of things very well. For home movies and amature video it's worked flawlessly for me. I play back the video on a standard 36" TV and the quality is fine. I also like the camera's compact size and it's ease of use which is an improvement from previous Digital 8 models. It also plays my old 8MM analog tapes and can convert them to digital output to the PC. I bought the DCR-TRV460 at Ultimate Electronics for $340 ($400 list price less a 15% off promotion on any single item in the store). After using it for six weeks, I would buy it again.
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