OK Cornerites who know their A/V

equipment, I need your advice, and I need it fast. I have to go tonight to

buy a video camera for the family’s Christmas present. Our Hi-8 camera has

given up the ghost, and it’s not worth getting it fixed. We’re going to go

digital, but we don’t know which is the best format. We don’t want to spend

more than $700. I really like that cool pocket-sized Panasonic digital

camcorder ($900), but I worry about storing the images. I don’t have the

space in my home computer to store much video, and I like the conceptual

idea of being able to access video I want by popping a mini-DV disc into the

player. On the other hand, I’m wondering if the technology is there, or is

close, that would enable one to download digital video into a computer, and

burn it onto a formatted disc playable on a DVD player.

Basically, I’m a techno-idiot who needs a new video camera, and who

doesn’t want to commit to something expensive that will soon be obsolete, or

too much of a hassle to deal with. We don’t want to do anything fancy with

the camera, just record family events, police beatings, and what have you.

What do you advise? Write me at rdreher@dallasnews.com — and soon!