Sony TRV280, the roundabout way

Hi, Sue,

Thank you for your reply. As I mentioned in my original post, I know that the TRV280 won't play recorded Video8/Hi8 tapes. What I want to know is whether or not it works for recording content from another camcorder via the supplied analog cable. According to the owner's manual (available on Sony's web site, p. 66), it should be possible to connect the TRV280 to another device (let's suppose it's another camcorder) while in the Play/Edit mode, then simultaneously press the Record button and the button just to the right of it, then immediately press the Pause button. Then, playback can be started on the connected device and the picture is supposed to be displayed on the LCD of the TRV280, and pressing the Pause button begins recording to a cassette in the TRV280.

If that worked as advertised, one could then connect the TRV280 directly to a Mac and use iMovie to import the footage.

If you have a TRV280 plus another camcorder, would you possibly be able to check whether this works for you and let me know?

Many thanks

Thank you very much for taking the time to test this on your camcorder(s). I've honestly had a not-so-great day dealing with Sony America. I actually just finished reading their last e-mail reply a moment ago.

The manual for the TRV280, as I've mentioned, clearly states that the camcorder can be used to record content from connected external devices (p.66) and refers the reader to p. 60 for instructions on making the analog cable connections. The diagram on p. 60 itself doesn't make any logical sense, since it clearly shows the signal flow as one-directional (from the TRV280 to the connected device), yet the text assures the reader that content from VCRs, etc. can be recorded to a cassette in the TRV280.

This morning, I was given instructions from Sony via e-mail stating how the cables should be connected on the two Sony camcorders in question, as well as other operational things to check. I was advised that if it didn't work, the camcorder would require service and I'd have to ship it off to the USA. I then chatted with one of their online advisors, who very clearly told me the TVR280 supports recording from other camcorders and had me run through all the drills I already knew by heart before buying the camera, since I'd downloaded and read the owner's manual prior to buying the camcorder. Our chat ended with him telling me my camcorder was broken and "hanging up" on me of all things. Only after routing another e-mail their way did I finally receive an unapologetic reply from yet another advisor stating that "the DCR-TRV280 camcorder does not feature an A/V input jack. It features the A/V output. Hence you cannot connect and transfer the video from your analog camcorder to this camcorder using the A/V cable."

So, it's clear that I got swindled with this purchase. Hopefully others considering buying this camcorder and using it to import footage from existing Video8/Hi8 cassettes in the way I had envisioned into iMovie will happen upon this discussion thread so they can avoid the same fuss.

I suppose I'll end up spending some more money on a Plextor ConvertX and using it to take care of my analog-to-DV (actually, DivX) conversion. If I could spare the room, this TRV280 would actually work very nicely permanently mounted on a tripod and plugged in to an electrical outlet for use with iChat AV--I've already tested that today, and it actually works much better than my iSight camera for that purpose.

Again, I thank you sincerely for taking the time to help.