Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460

Average User Rating

3.0 stars

24 reviews

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Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460
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CNET Editors' Review

The good: Inexpensive; large feature set for the price; analog-to-digital conversion with no need for another player; built-in video light; USB streaming.

The bad: Bulky; mediocre video quality; black-and-white viewfinder; manual focus difficult to use; bottom-loading cassette.

The bottom line: The Handycam DCR-TRV460 offers an excellent upgrade from an 8mm or Hi8 camcorder, with digital video recording and the ability to view and transfer your old tapes. But if you don't need 8mm or Hi8 compatibility, competing MiniDV cameras offer superior quality in smaller packages.

Review: The Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460 is well worth a look if you're upgrading from an 8mm or a Hi8 camcorder. It will play your old analog tapes and help you transfer them to a PC, and it records new footage in the superior Digital8 format. Its notable features include a powerful 20X zoom lens, a built-in video light, a NightShot mode for shooting in the dark, and the ability to double as a USB Webcam. Compared to competing MiniDV cameras, though, it's bulky and offers slightly inferior video quality.The Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460 is significantly larger than typical entry-level ... Expand full review
The Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460 is well worth a look if you're upgrading from an 8mm or a Hi8 camcorder. It will play your old analog tapes and help you transfer them to a PC, and it records new footage in the superior Digital8 format. Its notable features include a powerful 20X zoom lens, a built-in video light, a NightShot mode for shooting in the dark, and the ability to double as a USB Webcam. Compared to competing MiniDV cameras, though, it's bulky and offers slightly inferior video quality.The Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460 is significantly larger than typical entry-level MiniDV cameras, mainly due to its use of bigger cassettes. It's also fairly hefty, weighing a bit less than two pounds with battery and tape installed. You'll find it compact compared to older 8mm and Hi8 recorders, but if size matters to you, go with a MiniDV camera equipped with an analog input for digitizing your old tapes.

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User Reviews

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Average User Rating

3.0 stars out of 24 user reviews

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star: 3
  • 4 star: 11
  • 3 star: 2
  • 2 star: 7
  • 1 star: 1

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Most recent user reviews

Showing 3 of 24 reviews

2.0 stars

"pass this one up for sure" By dndspec1

Pros: works good when it works

Cons: numerous problems

Summary: Had this camera for four years. It has been in the shop twice. The carriage stopped working. Got that fixed and it started eating tapes. Got where it always gave an error message when I installed a freshly charged battery. Said the head was dity all the time. Cleaned numerous ... Expand full review

3.0 stars

"A fair camcorder" By Xander9791

Pros: 20x zoom, HI8 Video8 compatibility, Night Shot, Video Quality

Cons: Included software is useless, touch screen, bottom loading, size

Summary: This was a good camcorder for a little while. It uploads old tapes to digital using outside software with some work. Now I get noise in the image because of a broken sensor. This is the second Sony problem in a year, though I did have a another Sony for ... Expand full review

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