IF YOU have a High Definition LCD telly, it might be time to move on to a camcorder that records in HD too. Otherwise, the footage from that old video cam that records in standard definition will not maximise the potential of the HD screens, resulting in fuzzy images that may induce headaches.

Enter the Panasonic HD Camcorder HDC-HS9 that records HD video images in 1,920 x 1,080 pixels in progressive mode at 25 frames per second. This means that the images are captured in Full HD glory and scanned progressively to display a smoother video image to the viewer. With the famed Leica Dicoma lens and 3CCD, the colour rendition is acceptable to most users. It is also able to take still shots at 2.1 megapixels.

Another notable feature is the 5.1 channel speaker that sits on top of the camcorder. The audio recording is clear and there's a perceptible surround sound effect which improves the viewer's experience during playback.

The HDC-HS9 records videos into the huge 60GB hard disk in a body measuring just 12 x 6 x 7cm - about the size of a small paperback novel. It can also take up to 16GB SDHC card to give a combined 29 hours of recording time at the lowest quality setting.

Operating the HDC-HS9 is easy enough and all the buttons are placed well within reach so you can shoot with one hand. The buttons, however, are small and the five-way directional joystick is a pain to use.

I'm also not a fan of the camcorder's wire ports placement. I have to open up the LCD and a plastic cover to access the USB component and AV ports to connect to my HDTV, DVD recorder or PC. Worse still, I have to take out the battery to access the HDMI port, which forces me to use my power adapter to run the camera.

My other complaint is the HD Writer software, the only software in the box that can play mts format video files used by the camera. It took me around an hour of reading the poorly-written manual and checking the Internet to figure out how to play the mts file format and to understand how to use the HD Writer software.

Luckily, the software is able to convert the mts files into the more popular mpeg 2 file format for use with other more established video-editing software such as Adobe Premier Elements. It would be prudent to check if your favourite video-editing software can read the mts files so as to maintain the video quality.

FINAL SAY

An extremely capable camcorder for your HDTV video playback but scores badly with poorly designed buttons and less-than-ideal multimedia ports.

• Panasonic HD Camcorder HDC-HS9
• $2,499
• Get it from authorised dealers

By Wilson Wong, an executive and gadget enthusiast

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Apr 1, 2008.