Can you record back to the SDHC card once downloaded to your computer ?

I want to be able to upload back to the SDHC card for later viewing rather than storing video on the card and having to buy numerous cards..

Tks for your answer..It helped me to decide between the Canon HF-100 and the Canon HV-30, and I picked the HV-30..Copying to DVD wasn't an option as I do not yet have an HD DVD recorder and besides that, the blank HD DVD's are too costly at this time and I couldn't see bumping the resolution down to a standard DVD as it would defeat the purpose of buying an HD camcorder..Tks again..

Well, you don't really have to bump the resolution down if you have a Sony Blu-ray player or a PS3 with a Blu-ray DVD player built in. There is a workaround which allows you to burn a HiDef DVD to a standard DVD. Course, you end up with a very short video, but it can be done.

I have a feeling the original question may have been misunderstood. And the answer to it is in fact YES. I do exactly that all the time. Here's how I do it.

1. When my 8GB card gets near full, I burn the data that's on it (everything, just as is on the card) onto a dual-layer DVD-R (a.k.a. DVD-R DL); I wipe out the card and continue recording;
2. When I want to watch some stuff that I recorded long time ago and is gone from the card, I pull out the DVD-R DL backup;
3. I copy all content from that DVD backup to a blank 8GB card;
4. I put that card back into the HF-100; I connect the camcorder to the HDTV (HDMI or component cables); Original AVCHD files play back exactly as they did when they were recorded.

It has been widely reported that many newer Blu-ray players can actually play these types of backups from DVD-R DL, where entire content of an AVCHD camcorder's memory was backed up. They treat it just like a Blu-ray disc, with full HD playback. This means you can have a full one hour of HD on a single DVD-R DL.

I strongly believe AVCHD at 17Mbps is better than HDV (which is at 25Mbps, but significantly inferior codec than AVCHD). Besides, HDV cannot record more than 1440x1080 pixels, while AVCHD records true full HD at 1920x1080 pixels. If I were buying today, I'd still buy HF-100 (or wait for HF-200, which should come out in a month or two). Tapeless is the way of the future, and AVCHD is riding that wave.

Thank you for you answer Predrag..I wish I had your iniformation before I purchased the HV-30, but none-the-less, I "am" really happy with my purchase..I realize tape is on the way out, but with the information I had at the time, I just couldn't see buying countless SDHC cards for the HF-100..My next video camera "will" be AVCHD format and again, I really appreciate your answering my post..

Oh I agree that the HF100 is a great camera. I reviewed it a few months back. But here's the thing. Reading David Pogue's blog, there is some concern that burned DVDs will become unplayable within as short as 2 years, not the 20 or more they are rated to be. Tape is always there. And the quality of the footage is a matter of speculation. I respect predrag's opinion on AVCHD - and there's a reason why it's become pretty much the HD standard in cameras, but you shouldn't feel like you missed out because you invested in the HV30. It's a fine camera. And tape will always make for a good archival backup medium.

James,

You're absolutely right. The debate about AVCHD vs. HDV is largely academic. Regardless of the 1440 vs. 1920 difference, John will no doubt be thrilled by HV30. After all, camcorderinfo.com still ranks it higher than any AVCHD model and considers it worthy for some professional applications as a B-roll device. In addition, there are definitely a few features on it that are missing on a HF100.

By the time John is ready for the next camcorder, AVCHD will be quite mature, and computing power that will then be available will have erased all the performance issues AVCHD can cause today. HDV is robust and mature; AVCHD, while wave of the future, is currently the bleeding edge and from time to time, that blood shows.

Agreed. Course, by then, there will be yet another codec looking to supplant it! Moore's law in action!