canon mv750i

[sophie23_98]

hi i have lost my manual im wanting to use the av in on it i have figured out how to turn it on in the play mode but cant figure out why it nt goin on in the record mode can anyone plz help

[hech54]

I've read that most European camcorders have this function disabled by law....though I've found nothing concrete in writing to prove it.

[Richard_G]

It isn't disabled by law, but to keep the selling price down. As all camcorders are imported, a tax (import duty) is charged on them when they enter Europe. In the same way as a tax is charged on every import, the rate charged depends on what the imported goods are. The rate of this duty is higher on a video recorder than on a camcorder. As a camcorder with DV and analogue in can be used as a video recorder it is subjected to the higher rate of import duty. This increased cost then has to be passed on to the buyer by the importer.

Most manufacturers consider that very few of their customers will ever use the DV and analogue in feature so would have to pay extra for a feature they neither want or need. To keep the selling price low, this feature is disabled except on some of the very high end camcorders (which are likely to be bought by enthusiasts who are more likely to want the feature anyway).

Datavision used to make a plug in widget that enabled the DV, and sometimes analogue, in on camcorders that could be enabled. As this was considered to be encouraging tax evasion, they don't make them any more. Some camcorders can have it enabled by software ( http://www.smartdv.co.uk/product.php/31/12/ ) but the mv750i isn't one of them.

However, according to this review http://www.simplydv.co.uk/Reviews/canon_mv750i.html it should be able to do it as standard. I suggest you try and download a manual from somewhere.

[edDV]

Didn't all this start with the DAT audio recorder? That may have resulted in a Euro curse on any kind of digital audio recording by peasants.

[Richard_G]

No, nothing to do with digital recording at all, simply the differing import duty rates. UK Customs publish a rate book called the tariff, which breaks items down into specific categories, each category may have a different import duty rate. This can vary from less than 1% up to nearly 30%. The rate for a video recorder (and probably a DAT recorder too) is higher than for a camcorder. I suspect the logic is that a camcorder can only record from one source (it's own lens) but a video recorder can record from any video source. As this makes it more versatile it is obviously a more useful item so the Government will charge you more for the priviledge.

[edDV]

I see. I once got hassled by UK customs over a DAT recorder. I was warned that I couldn't sell it there or else! They didn't seem to care about the cassette Walkman recorder.