If you just want a DVD transfer, you can set virtually every HDV camcoder to output DV video, and use the same procedure. Sure, it will look exactly as if you shot it with a DV camcorder, but obviously, you’re limited by the DVD medium… there’s nothing you can do about that.

Good DVD recorders have Firewire inputs.. you really don’t want to use composite, S/V, or even component analog cables, that’s going to clobber the quality, even for DV. Many if not most HD camcorders don’t have composite outputs, but tape-based models all have Firewire ports. If I did use a DVD recording deck, I would definitely get one with Firewire. But I use the computer.. you get a better MPEG-2 render, far more control, etc. And unless you’re the only person who will ever view this video, you REALLY need to edit it.

I rekon dedicated Blu-Ray recorders MAY exist some day (like the DVD set-top recorder… obviously, I’m not talking about BD-R/RE drives… I bought mine over a year ago), but we’ll see. The problem is simple: every good form of digital video has the potential for copy protection, while analog high-def lowers quality and greatly increases the cost for such a thing. So there are problems with HD recording that didn’t exist in the SD/analog days. We’ll see about these.

Most video shooters use the PC, so there’s not even close to a viable market for recorders unless they can record stuff from cable/satellite/FiOS for you.

I use basically the same toolchain for HDV editing and Blu-Ray production as I use for DVDs.. I bring HDV video into my computer, edit (using Sony’s Vegas Pro 8), and burn to Blu-Ray or DVD (using DVD Architect 5).

Particularly these days, I find I’m targeting multiple formats anyway, so once I have it on the PC, I do a HD edit, then render back to HDV (most likely, though I have on occasion used CineForm). From there, I can author a DVD/Blu-Ray project, and render DVDs and Blu-Rays from the same project… unless it’s just for me, chances are I need a DVD version, since most people still don’t have Blu-Ray.

And of course, there’s the internet, YouTube, etc…. people want to see video online. So that’s potentially a few lower resolution versions of the core video (most of the time I do a DVD, I have an “extras” menu and other stuff, but rarely bother with that stuff online).

If you can get the high definition video into your computer and your editor can save as an h.264 AVCHD file, then you are good to go with coyping that file a blanck DVD that the BluRay player can deal with.

I know iMovieHD and FinalCut can do that – I presume Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere can, too – MovieMaker can’t – it won’t deal with importing HDV, either…

BluRay recorders exist – Sony and LaCie makes them – among many others.