Ok I just purchased a Sony sr-12. Im pretty familiar with computers and photography but havent been into vid cam.

I bought the sr-12 because it has a huge GB capacity, good for trips when I dont take my laptop.

Now I have some questions that hoepfully you guys can answer.

First, whats the difference if Sony's capturing is in AVCHD or mp2 like in JVC cams? Isnt it like when a cam captures in JPG/BMP/TIFF/CR2?

So what, just convert it.

Now my second issue is benefiting from the full HD. I know my Samsung LA40R81BX isnt full HD, just HDReady @ 720p.

How do I go about watching media captured in full HD on my LCD? I know that I will only be seeing it downgraded from 1080i to 720p, but thats better than normal TV to me.

Whats the difference between a regular DVD (of 4.7GB) and HD DVD and Blu Ray disc(25GB)? Obviously other than size.

How do I convert what I capture in FHD into something I can watch on my TV without loosing HD? I know Xbox360 isnt HD DVD or BR Disc compatible, so what happens if I burn full HD content onto a 4.7gb regular DVD? Do I loose full HD quality? Or do I need tons of more DVDs to burn as opposed to 1 or 2 BR discs? Or does full HD quality require special discs?

what format is regular DVD?

I want to accomplish 2 goals.

1- I want to burn what I capture onto DVDs to show family. Assume that my family has at least 720p LCD and a player that is relatively new ( a player can be bought).

2- I want to backup what I capture onto 2 different external HDs.

thanks a lot guys!!