Simple MP4 capture software/hardware

[i-ball]

I work at a school that needs to record video on performances of 5-20mins sessions. Our setup at the moment is as follows: we have a DV camcorder connected via firewire and/or composite to a Sony DVD recorder. We've had this sort of system for about 2 years now, having moved from VHS tapes. Can anyone suggest an alternative? It must be simple, easy to use and record on portable media like flash memory sticks. I looked at SanDisk V-Mate which doesn't seem up to the job. I tried capturing to PC via firewire but it's a hit and miss with the audio sync. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[BJ_M]

AVerDVR EB1304 MPEG4+

or

build your own w/ the AverMedia AVerDVR NV3000 card

[tinker]

There are camcorders that record directly to DVD disk.

[classfour]

I've been using a JVC Everio GZ-MC200 camera/camcorder to record my son's basketball games this year, and in good lighting conditions, it's perfect.
This model records to compact flash (4GB) or SD media (2GB), up to 5hours (not recommended for quality reasons) in extended mode, 1 hour (4GB) in high quality (better than standard DVD) mode.

If you shop around ebay, you can pick them up pretty cheap (under $200).

They do appear to be fairly sturdy, especially compared to the chinese MP4 cameras that I've had my hands on; and are not made as lightly or compact as the Panasonic MP4 recorders.

The current model is the Everio GZ-MC550 or something like that.

I'd also recommend looking at the JVC hard drive models, but you'll have to run those with a firewire to get the video off - I just use my printer to read the CF and SD cards, change the .mod file to .mpg and you can author with TDA or your favorite authoring program.