top of page
Please Sign InClose
Email or User Name:
Password:
Forgot your password?
Remember me on this computer
Please register with Shopping.com.
Share your opinions and help others make informed buying decisions.Close
Email Address:
User Name:(4-14 characters.)
Password:(At least 7 characters, different than username.)
Verify password:
Verification code:

By clicking on the button below, you agree to the Shopping.com User Agreement and Privacy Policy.


Sign me up to receive Shopping.com's great deals and promotions.

Thank You  for registering at Shopping.comClose
The confirmation message has been resent to your inbox.
 
Please check your email account below to activate your membership:


No email yet?
Forgot PasswordClose
Your temporary password has been resent to your inbox.
 
A temporary password has been sent to your email. Once you sign in, please visit your member profile page to change your password.

No email yet?

Please enter the email address you used to register your account. If you can't remember your email, please contact customer service at support@shopping.com.
Email Address:
Clicking on "Submit" will reset your password. A temporary password will be sent to the email you enter above.
 
Advertisement
Sony DSR45 VCRs

Sony DSR-45 Mini DV VCR

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars   See 1 review  | Write a review
Information: Product details
Price Range: $4,000.00 - $4,568.00 at 3 stores
 

Product Review

A Great DV Recorder

by   dgrimes ,   Dec 15, 2004

Pros:  Good quality of recorded signal, Small and lightweight, Good feeder to NLE/Computer.

Cons:  Poor Audio Monitoring, Unbalanced Audio Inputs, Small Knobs and Switches.

The Bottom Line:  A great lightweight digital video recorder for mini-DV or DVCam tapes.

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars
 

Author's Review

This Sony DSR-45 DVCam video tape recorder was purchased to record professional video productions in the field. The deck is really light and works very well for what it was bought for.

The deck will record and playback consumer mini-DV, small DVCam, and large DVCam cassettes. I have not checked if it will play DVCPro tapes and will try to do so in the future.

The deck has composite, component, and firewire video in and outs. The video quality using any of these inputs is excellent. The firewire input is the small 4 pin while the analog video connections are all professional BNC with the exception of the monitor output, which is RCA. The reproduced video off the DVCam tape matches the DV format specifications.

The audio quality is all most as good as a CD with the higher bit rate selected. I say almost because it is difficult to record high levels of audio on any digital format, causing a slightly higher noise floor. A built in limiter helps prevent digital overload and work fine. This deck will record 4 channels of audio at 12 bit, 32K samples/sec. or 2 channels at 16 bit, 48K samples/sec. Unless you don't care about audio quality, only use the 16 bit/48K sample setting. The other setting will reduce the audio fidelity.

Unfortunately, the audio inputs are RCA jacks. If you use professional balanced audio equipment, you will need good transformers to convert it to unbalanced (I recommend RDL TX-1A). The audio outputs are professional balance XLR connectors.

The deck has SMPTE time code in and out. We require time code to lock several recorders together for easier editting. The inputs work with a wide range of input levels and locks easily to a SMPTE time code signal.

One of the most wonderful features of this deck is the small video monitor on the front of this deck. This monitor gives us confidence that we are recording a good signal even when our other monitors must be looking at something else. The monitor displays exactly the same as the monitor output. The resolution and color is poor, but still works fine for confidence.

Unfortunately, there are a few negatives with this deck:
1. There are no seperate audio meters. To monitor the input, a switch must be put onto "Audio" which displays the input on the small video screen. To help viewing, a large dark gray box blocks out the picture. So one cannot really use the video monitor when monitoring audio levels.

2. Another is the unbalanced audio inputs as mentioned above. The professional balanced XLR connections are desired, but it looks like they just ran out of room on the back.

3. It seems like forever for a tape to load and unload. And the loading isn't 100%. Sometimes a tape must be reloaded a second time before the deck accepts it.

4. I fyou have big fingers, it is difficult to select switches and turn knobs because they are so small.

This deck really works great as a feeder to a computer for non-linear video editing. The deck works with Premiere 6.5 and Pro as well as Avid XPressDV software. The tape transport in the deck responds to controls over the firewire very quickly with each of the software listed. The firewire allows for exact replication of the video on the tape into the computer. No dropped frames have been reported.

 

Compare stores & prices  |  All Sony DSR45 reviews

 

Back to top

Stores and Prices

 
Sony DSR-45A DVCAM Compact Desktop Recorder

Sony DSR-45A DVCAM Compact Desktop Recorder

Special Site Discount! [Shop with Confidence - B&H has been Satisfying Millions Since 1973 & was Rated #1 Auth. Sony Dealer] (In stock)
DSR-45A DVCAM Compact Desktop Recorder VCR, NTSC, with RS-422 Control, Larger LCD Monitor and i.Link/ FireWire
B&H Photo-Video-Pro Audio
Featured Store 4.5/5.0 store rating Trusted Store
 
FREE SHIPPING
Sony DSR-45 - Professional editing video cassete recorder/player

Sony DSR-45 - Professional editing video cassete recorder/ player

Fantastic prices with ease & comfort of Amazon.com! (In stock)
DVCAM Format and DV Format (SP Mode Only) Capability Long Duration Recording Capability Compact Half-rack Unit Size Built-in 2 inch LCD Screen for Vie...
Amazon Marketplace
Featured Store 3.0/5.0 store rating Trusted Store
 
FREE SHIPPING
Sony DSR-45A DVCAM Compact Desktop Recorder VCR

Sony DSR-45A DVCAM Compact Desktop Recorder VCR

*Circle of excellence award winner* beachcamera.com is your most reputable source for today's latest consumer electronics. Great prices & service, fast shipping! (In stock)
DVCAM Compact Digital VTR with 2.5" LCD. This new recorder enhances the capabilities of the previous DSR-45 by offering a larger 2.5" (viewable area, ...
Beach Camera.com
4.5/5.0 store rating Trusted Store
 
Smart Buy
FREE SHIPPING
 

Compare all 3 store offers

 
 
Sponsored Listings

Mini Dv at Sears®

Free Shipping on Electronics Orders over $99. Save Online at Sears®!
www.Sears.com

Deals on Top Electronics

Compare manufacturers & save up to 47% on proved quality Electronics!
www.best-price.com/Electronics

DSR-45A Demo, On Sale

DSR45A DVcam Vtr, In Stock B-Stock w/ Warranty
OverstockPro.com

Sony 45 at Amazon.com

Save on sony 45! Qualified orders over $25 ship free
Amazon.com

Sony

Get The Best Shopping Deals Without Hours of Searching. Bing™ & Decide.
Bing.com/cashback

Advertisement
 
 
advertisement
 
 

Copyright © 2000-2009 Shopping.com