So FuriousGeorge and I were wondering how many types of media we will see phased out in our lifetime. So far, it’s cassette tape, 5 1/4 inch floppy diskettes, BETAMAX, and the death and rebirth of vinyl. We estimated about 2 years for 3.5 floppy diskettes to leave the market. I couldn’t gauge the time for VHS tapes, since there’s another standard for DVD coming to market. It’s been in the works for a year now, but still no sign of it.
I found a review of the Panasonic AV-100 I was gushing about earlier. This guy also has sample movies, which is great for checking out the quality of the video.
The review itself is favorable, but he has a great point about waiting for next generation tapeless camcorders with hard drives.
The movies from the AV-100 look great. Then again, I’m comparing the quality to the wallet-friendly-yet-just-barely-adequate AIPTEK Pocket DV2. On the other hand, the taiwanese site has the new model of the Pocket DV, the 3500, which is also intriguing from a budget point of view.
Now I’m just waiting for a digital camcorder with an iPod dock. That would be something.