There is a lot of discussion regarding which is the best format for digital video cameras. The HDV tape format remains a popular choice, mostly because of low cost and long record times. In the future however, AVCHD will be the format of choice for consumers and eventually small independent film makers.

A lot of HD camera users that were pro HD-DVD made a big deal that you could burn HD material onto a standard DVD and it would play on an HD-DVD player. This was absolutely true, problem is that you can’t get HD-DVD players anymore or HD-DVD’s for that matter. Blu-ray owners need not feel left out, because you can burn AVCHD video to a standard DVD using Nero and play it in most Blu-ray players. The easiest route for compatibility would be using the old trusted Playstation 3 (PS3) which has a built in AVCHD player. The PS3 is, firmware upgradeable, and is currently thought of as the best Blu-ray player on the market considering you’re getting a blu-ray player and gaming console for the price of either of the two. To burn your AVCHD movie to a standard DVD open (version 5 and up), Click “Make DVD”, and then choose AVCHD DVD. Select your AVCHD video files, and Nero will do the rest. Depending on material, you can expect a maximum of 25 minutes on standard DVD. Because of the fact that the AVCHD movies need to be rendered by Nero, the process is time consuming but yields good results.

So, if you’re a passionate HDV camcorder user who was waiting for enough time to pass to switch over to AVCHD, now is the time. Although the AVCHD format is still relatively new there aremore than enough Free AVCHD player, AVCHD editor and AVCHD software to get you going.