Hard copy: Camcorder owners have always had it a bit tougher than their still-camera counterparts. Sharing their memories after the (usually) fun part of imitating a Hollywood cameraman involves more steps and more time, especially with high-definition video.
While built-in hard disks and memory-card slots are becoming standard in digital camcorders, they are meant to serve as temporary repositories. What you do when they fill up usually comes down to three choices: 1) start erasing; 2) insert an empty card; 3) something involving a computer; or 4) buy a new camera. (Note to Apple: "One-Step DVD" still doesn't work.)
It also depends on how much editing of the video you want to do. If all you need to do is to dub off a copy on DVD for the relatives, then a computer need not be an essential part of the process, or so camera and PC maker Sony Corp. intends to prove. Sony is marketing this alternative in the new VDR-MC10 DVD recorder, which comes on the market Oct. 10.