Summary: Awesome DVD Camcorder

Comment: It seems as though there are mixed reviews about this DVD camcorder. Either they loved it or they hated it. From my experience, I thought this camcorder was great. The quality of the video & sound is excellent for this camera. Of course, the video quality is alot better when shooting outside, and you would have to do some tinkering with the settings for indoor filming.

I've used it to capture some home videos and converted them to AVI or WMV format just be inserting the Mini-DVD+RW into my PC. You can just copy/paste directly to your Hard Drive without having to use a capture program that would take the whole length of the video to copy to your PC. I also owned a Canon MiniDV camcorder, and the only way to transfer those videos was using a capture program. This DVD camcorder definitely blows that Canon MiniDV out the water.

So, if you're looking for a DVD camcorder you have plenty of choices out there. But I have owned many Samsung products over the years (HDTV, phone, etc.) and I've always had a great experience with them and never had a problem with any of them. I'm actually selling mine or cheap because I just bought a new HIGH-DEF camcorder. Those are pretty expensive though, so I had to work some extra overtime to pay for it.

Summary: Defective in 30 days

Comment: I used this camera successfully for one week and one day, upon which time it suddenly stopped being able to read any disc. After several hours of troubleshooting myself and engaging level 2 technical support, it was deemed in need of repair and now I must send it off to NJ.

Consequently, I cannot give the product anything but the lowest rating as something 30+ days old and used only a week should not fail like this.

Summary: Buyer Beware!

Comment: I received this product as a gift. While the camera itself was free, I had to buy a case, back-up batteries (after having read the negative reviews), mini DVDs, and a memory card, so it was far from free in the end. Here's my experience so far:

Pros:
--Lightweight, easy to hold
--Pretty

Cons:
--The battery problem is true and cannot be fixed from my experience. I bought a Samsung SB-LSM80 Equivalent Lithium Ion Battery TWO-PACK (Replaces SB-LS80 SB-LSM160--For Camcorder SC Series D263 D363 D365 D6040 D963 DVD DC164 DC) and a Memorex Mini DVD+RW 10 Pack. Even while fully charged, the battery indicator showed half-charge, for both the original battery and the new spare batteries I bought. After using the camera for about 5-10 minutes, it goes into a 1/4 charge mode. While it only takes about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to fully charge from a 5-10 minute use, the battery indicator still only measures 1/2 charged. Very annoying.
--The DVD+RW discs do not allow for 'finalization' which worries me.

I haven't decided yet what to do--whether to deal with the product flaws or throw in the towel and buy my own digital camera

Summary: DON'T BUY

Comment: DON'T BUY THIS CAMCORDER THE BATTERY ONLY LASTS FOR 20-25 MINUTES WHEN FULLY CHARGED. SOMETIMES YOU FEEL EMBRASSED.

Summary: Piece of junk

Comment: I can't believe a company is allowed to sell such a piece of junk. Samsung should face a lawsuit for misleading buyers. This product does not fulfill the "implied warranty of merchantability". I'd rate this product zero if it was an option.

I've only been able to use DVD-Rs. Most do not finalize (disc error). (And, yes, the camcorder has already been sent back to Samsung once for "repair"....not as if that helped). The ones that do finalize always end up with clips that have errors (when I try to load the video to my computer for editing).

Luckily, I've been able to recover much of the corrupted clips using IsoBuster (DVD data recovery software). Still, the image quality of this camcorder is pathetic. I've used it for several months...but no more. I'm sick of spending all my time trying to recover corrupted video files...and then watching video that is of lower quality than analog VHS.

I went out and bought a Sony DCR DVD405. No more messing around with any brands other than Sony or Canon.

...anyone want a Samsung SCDC 164 for really cheap?