Perfect timing for this video, i just picked up this camera second-hand for 20 bucks at a thrift store. I'm super interested to see your footage of the camera recording to the memory card!
I really enjoy making these, I've got a ton of cameras sitting around that I need to film with xD It means a lot to me that people like watching them :D
*SUMMARY…* As the camcorder market grew into the 21st century, smaller tape formats, such as MiniDV, were slowly beginning to become commonplace amongst consumers. The Sony Handycam DCR-TRV22 was released in 2003 as the mid-range option between the DCR-TRV19 and DCR-TRV33. It may have lacked the increased video quality of the TRV33, but it made up for it by taking advantage of Sony’s Memory Stick platform… or did it? Otherwise, the camcorder is as generic of a MiniDV camcorder as most of Sony’s other models from the time. *CAMCORDER BODY…* The body styling of the DCR-TRV22 maintained the aesthetic typical to that of any other MiniDV Sony Handycam of the early to mid-2000s: A darker grey tape deck with a silver/blueish body, removable lens cap, and a tiny viewfinder. This was also during the short era in which Sony employed the use of “aqua” buttons, those which carried a sort of bubbly look to them; personally, this was my all-time favorite aesthetic choice by Sony. Build quality is middle-of-the-road, with a tape camcorder; you typically want to avoid dropping it, or subjecting it to percussive forces in general, for obvious reasons. The front of the camcorder is characterized by the lens, along with the lens cap. The lens cap on the camera is neither actuated electronically nor by a mechanical lever; the camcorder employs a dual-use lens cap. The user can either open it door-style, or remove the cap entirely, allowing it to hang by a thread connected to the handstrap. Below the lens, the user will find the infrared receiver for the remote control, along with the compartment housing the infrared night vision’s LED. To the left, the camcorder’s stereo microphone can be found, and, below that, the S-Video jack. This was part of a rather strange (and, in my opinion, annoying) trend, in which camcorder manufacturers thought it was a good idea to put ports on the front of the camcorder, which often makes operating the camcorder while it’s plugged in somewhat clunky and annoying. The tape deck side of the camcorder is where the majority of the ports are located. Towards the front, the user will find a headphone and the 3.5mm plug-in-power microphone jack. Below those, there is also an LANC jack, which is used for various powered accessories, such as tripods and tape-transport systems. Moving further back, there is also a Memory Stick Pro slot, this is a feature the aforementioned TRV19 does not have. The eject mechanism can be found a little bit further towards the rear. Near the top of the tape deck, the camcorder’s A/V jack, i-Link (FireWire), and USB ports are located behind a secret door, and next to those, the switch for the infrared night vision can also be found. The user will also find a “hot” shoe mount for various accessories, such as lights, toward the front of the top of the tape deck. And finally, the camcorder’s power wheel is at the very back of the tape deck. The back of the camcorder remains simple, having only the DC input for the charger (this model takes the older, more flat style of Sony chargers), the viewfinder (which can be articulated outwards and upwards) toward the top, the record/standby button on the right-hand side, and the compartment for the battery. Following suit, the LCD side of the camcorder is also quite simple: The user will find the LCD screen, then the built-in speaker and button-style date battery contained within the screen’s compartment. Above the LCD, the user will find the backlight compensation button, and the Display/battery info button (this button will either turn on/off elements of the display for easier shot-viewing, or, if the camcorder is off, it will have the camcorder asses the status of the current installed battery).
*CAMCORDER UI…* The DCR-TRV22 adopted my personal favorite of the Sony Handycam menu systems, combining the quick-access tile-style menu of the later models, with the intuitive and simple layout of their older camcorders. The larger drawback, however, is that the menu is entirely touchscreen based. That means that, if the screen cracks or the ribbon cable becomes damaged, the user will no longer be able to navigate the camcorder’s settings. That being said, the touchscreen performs very well, it is responsive and does not have noticeable input lag, nor at any point has it seemed to have touch-tracking issues. First-time startup is as typical for any camcorder: The user is prompted to set the date, time, daylight savings option, and region. Following that, the screen becomes the basic Sony setup, in which the battery remaining time is in the top-left, the recording mode just to the right of that, the rec/standby indicator in the middle, and the recording counter on the top-right. On the bottom right is the first menu button. The first menu is the more basic of the two, it’s a simple menu consisting of basic options displayed as tiles; it contains the user’s manual options such as focus and exposure, as well as their “tap-to” counterparts. It also contains the option for the fader effects, the end search (which, when activated, the camera will find the end of the video tape so that the user doesn’t record over already recorded media). There are also options for self-timers, digital effects (Slow Shutter, Old Movie, Still, Flash”, Lumi, and Trail), setting the LCD brightness, the playback volume, and then the Memory Mix option, which will be discussed in the separate memory mode video. There is a tile labeled “menu” within the basic menu system, this will take the user to the more advanced settings menu. First are the manual settings, which include: Program AE (Various exposure presets so the camera’s settings can better fit a given shot), Picture Effects (Negative, Sepia, Black and White, Solarize, Pastel, and Mosaic), the setting for the flash mode and flash level, the white balance setting, and the auto shutter option (this will close the shutter in brighter than normal situations). Next are the camera settings. This subsection contains options for the digital zoom (which can be set to off, 20x, or 120x, however zooming digitally drastically reduces video quality, so it’s recommended that the user simply keep it off), the 16:9 widescreen mode (It’s the kind that just cuts off the top and bottom of the screen, not “true” widescreen), the option to enable or disable Steadyshot (Sony’s image stabilization), the option to show the editsearch controls (this allows the user to view portions of the tape without having to switch the camera to playback mode), and finally the option to enable or disable to infrared night vision light when nightshot is activated. The LCD/Viewfinder and CM settings are sparser, the latter containing only the option for the LCD backlight intensity, the LCD backlight color saturation, and the viewfinder backlight intensity; the former having the settings for various titling and caption modes. The tape settings start with the option to change the recording mode between LP, for longer recording time at reduced quality, and SP, for shorter recording time at increased quality. The audio mode option allows switching between a 12-bit and 16-bit audio stream, generally the lower of the two would be used if audio (such as narration or soundtrack) was expected to be dubbed over the tape (this is because the 12 bit mode would leave a free audio channel), but this is a more dated method thanks to modern editing software. Then there’s the tape remaining option, which will change between showing the remaining tape space after interactions with said tape (such as recording to or inserting the tape) and constantly displaying the indicator. Finally, the user may also take advantage of the Frame Rec option, which will record a single frame of video, allowing for frame-by-frame recordings; counterpart to that is the Interval Recording option, which will record for user-set intervals with user-set pauses in between. The setup menu has the generic settings contained therein: Clock settings, the USB Streaming option (which was generally to be used with Sony’s Picture Motion Browser), the Language setting, and the camcorder’s demo mode (which is used for retail purposes). It is followed by the “Others” category, which has all the miscellaneous settings, like the world time (time zone), the option to enable or disable the camcorder’s beeping sounds, the receiver for the remote control, whether display elements show up on an external display, and the recording lamp. Finally, the playback mode’s settings, these are also rather sparse. When switching to playback mode, the user is presented with a set of touchscreen oriented playback controls on the bottom of the screen. Pressing the Function button will bring forth the aforementioned tile-style settings menu, presenting the LCD Brightness, the Volume, the end search function, the Data Code setting (this setting allows the user to view various metrics like shutter speed and ISO during a video’s playback), the aforementioned digital effect settings, the PB Zoom setting (digital zoom during playback), the variable speed playback function (which allows for playback in slow motion), the audio dubbing control, and the recording control (the function for recording via the A/V port).
The secondary menu system contains the VCR settings tab, in which the user will find the option for the HiFi Sound (for switching between one of the two audio tracks), the Audio Mix (for fading between the two audio tracks), and the A/V-to-DV out. The user will also find two memory settings tabs, the first containing the still photo quality setting (Fine and Standard), the movie quality setting (320x240 or 160x112), and a setting for the file numbering scheme. The playback mode also contains extra settings under the CM tab, such as an option to enable or disable displaying titles and captions, and a function which allows the user to search through titles. There is also a video edit setting under the miscellaneous category, which will allow for editing the video tape on the camcorder itself, but as said before, this process can be dated and has been superseded by modern editing software (I also lack the equipment to properly test it). *VIDEO / AUDIO QUALITY…* The DCR-TRV22’s video quality is fairly consistent with what one would expect to come out of a MiniDV camcorder. It’s not as good as the higher end DCR-TRV33’s video, which can record at 690,000 effective pixels, versus the TRV22’s 340,000. The camcorder’s low light performance is also standard, but any issues are answered by the availability of NightShot. Unfortunately, color reproduction is skewed due to my import process; it tends to make colors look much more muted than they actually are, still working on that. There appears to be a small amount of aberration on edges as well, thinking this might be because the camcorder has had its share of percussive episodes in the past, on account of the fact it stopped working shortly after the test footage was completed. Sorry to say it, I’m still not an audiophile, so my take on the camcorder’s microphone is that it’s perfectly suitable for whatever use the user can throw at it. Will say, however, that it tends to deal with wind noise in a somewhat odd way, it’s rather hard to explain, but it almost sounds like the camcorder is underwater. That being said, the audio is still easy to make out, and the tape deck on the camcorder doesn’t cause too much background noise.
*CONCLUSION…* Truthfully, the DCR-TRV22 is, in my opinion, rather unremarkable, one of those “in-between” Handycams from Sony. Being the middle ground between the lower end DCR-TRV19 and the higher end DCR-TRV33, the DCR-TRV22 did not break new ground, nor receive any extreme attention from those that reviewed it. The camcorder contains the same old features of any other mid-range consumer-level MiniDV camcorder of the time. The only exception to this would be the neat aesthetic design choices, which I still wish Sony had kept for a longer amount of time. However, the camcorder’s sense of familiarity, combined with its intuitive and easy to use menu system, made the DCR-TRV22 great go-to for anyone in the market for a MiniDV camcorder that can perform adequately.
Hi ! Really happy with this video.. But could you explain to me how did you transfer mini dv to your computer ? Having the same camera, the others tutos in youtube tell everytime something different I don't understand which cable i need to transfer video on my computer (window10) Thanks
The confusing reality is that there are a number of different ways to choose from. Unfortunately, the way I do it requires a computer that both runs Windows Vista and has a FireWire port; however, you can opt to go the way of a USB device called an "EasyCap". These are available on websites like B&H and eBay, they'll allow you to import your tapes through the camcorder's composite output.
Hello I just seen your video and I’m a skateboarder and was wondering how do you make these videos come out so clean I would really appreciate it if you could help me out with that
i have recorded some footage to memory stick directly, but i find the quality to be extremly low and "choppy". is this the case with all sony cameras or is mine broken? :P I have a handycam DCR-HC42E
The DCR-SX21 and 22 are actually somewhat rare, they were some (if not the de-facto) Sony's final consumer grade standard definition camcorders. That's pretty neat that you've got one!
Hey, im having an issue with my trv-22, the quality is insanely low and i dont know how i should go about properly making a MPG file look good? its super super super low quality, low frames everything. If you know anything please help thank you! its being run from usb straight to pc, from a memory stick pro
![Is The Sony DCR-TRV22 Still Relevant 20 Years Later? [Review]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gm8XFKJMnPU/mqdefault.jpg)
this is the best test footage ever
Perfect timing for this video, i just picked up this camera second-hand for 20 bucks at a thrift store. I'm super interested to see your footage of the camera recording to the memory card!
memory card video quality is dogshit
Oh, the sound recording of this camcorder it’s so great!
but the point is I always appreciate your video :~)
Thank you! The camcorder's microphone is pretty nice, I'm drawn to how quiet the tape deck is as well!
i like theses cameras more than the current modern one.
your videos hypnotize me
Thanks! I try to capture the world in a relaxing way, I'm glad it actually works xD
Great footage. What did you use to transfer?
You have a brilliant idea to put more content like this..keep it up..and you'll get more subscribers soon..just keep uploading more videos!
I really enjoy making these, I've got a ton of cameras sitting around that I need to film with xD
It means a lot to me that people like watching them :D
How to record the vidio?
oh my god, i need this damn camera.
update: i just bought it :D
Hows the camcorder?
Is it can record with memory stick?
*SUMMARY…*
As the camcorder market grew into the 21st century, smaller tape formats, such as MiniDV, were slowly beginning to become commonplace amongst consumers. The Sony Handycam DCR-TRV22 was released in 2003 as the mid-range option between the DCR-TRV19 and DCR-TRV33. It may have lacked the increased video quality of the TRV33, but it made up for it by taking advantage of Sony’s Memory Stick platform… or did it? Otherwise, the camcorder is as generic of a MiniDV camcorder as most of Sony’s other models from the time.
*CAMCORDER BODY…*
The body styling of the DCR-TRV22 maintained the aesthetic typical to that of any other MiniDV Sony Handycam of the early to mid-2000s: A darker grey tape deck with a silver/blueish body, removable lens cap, and a tiny viewfinder. This was also during the short era in which Sony employed the use of “aqua” buttons, those which carried a sort of bubbly look to them; personally, this was my all-time favorite aesthetic choice by Sony. Build quality is middle-of-the-road, with a tape camcorder; you typically want to avoid dropping it, or subjecting it to percussive forces in general, for obvious reasons.
The front of the camcorder is characterized by the lens, along with the lens cap. The lens cap on the camera is neither actuated electronically nor by a mechanical lever; the camcorder employs a dual-use lens cap. The user can either open it door-style, or remove the cap entirely, allowing it to hang by a thread connected to the handstrap. Below the lens, the user will find the infrared receiver for the remote control, along with the compartment housing the infrared night vision’s LED. To the left, the camcorder’s stereo microphone can be found, and, below that, the S-Video jack. This was part of a rather strange (and, in my opinion, annoying) trend, in which camcorder manufacturers thought it was a good idea to put ports on the front of the camcorder, which often makes operating the camcorder while it’s plugged in somewhat clunky and annoying.
The tape deck side of the camcorder is where the majority of the ports are located. Towards the front, the user will find a headphone and the 3.5mm plug-in-power microphone jack. Below those, there is also an LANC jack, which is used for various powered accessories, such as tripods and tape-transport systems. Moving further back, there is also a Memory Stick Pro slot, this is a feature the aforementioned TRV19 does not have. The eject mechanism can be found a little bit further towards the rear. Near the top of the tape deck, the camcorder’s A/V jack, i-Link (FireWire), and USB ports are located behind a secret door, and next to those, the switch for the infrared night vision can also be found. The user will also find a “hot” shoe mount for various accessories, such as lights, toward the front of the top of the tape deck. And finally, the camcorder’s power wheel is at the very back of the tape deck.
The back of the camcorder remains simple, having only the DC input for the charger (this model takes the older, more flat style of Sony chargers), the viewfinder (which can be articulated outwards and upwards) toward the top, the record/standby button on the right-hand side, and the compartment for the battery. Following suit, the LCD side of the camcorder is also quite simple: The user will find the LCD screen, then the built-in speaker and button-style date battery contained within the screen’s compartment. Above the LCD, the user will find the backlight compensation button, and the Display/battery info button (this button will either turn on/off elements of the display for easier shot-viewing, or, if the camcorder is off, it will have the camcorder asses the status of the current installed battery).
*CAMCORDER UI…*
The DCR-TRV22 adopted my personal favorite of the Sony Handycam menu systems, combining the quick-access tile-style menu of the later models, with the intuitive and simple layout of their older camcorders. The larger drawback, however, is that the menu is entirely touchscreen based. That means that, if the screen cracks or the ribbon cable becomes damaged, the user will no longer be able to navigate the camcorder’s settings. That being said, the touchscreen performs very well, it is responsive and does not have noticeable input lag, nor at any point has it seemed to have touch-tracking issues.
First-time startup is as typical for any camcorder: The user is prompted to set the date, time, daylight savings option, and region. Following that, the screen becomes the basic Sony setup, in which the battery remaining time is in the top-left, the recording mode just to the right of that, the rec/standby indicator in the middle, and the recording counter on the top-right. On the bottom right is the first menu button.
The first menu is the more basic of the two, it’s a simple menu consisting of basic options displayed as tiles; it contains the user’s manual options such as focus and exposure, as well as their “tap-to” counterparts. It also contains the option for the fader effects, the end search (which, when activated, the camera will find the end of the video tape so that the user doesn’t record over already recorded media). There are also options for self-timers, digital effects (Slow Shutter, Old Movie, Still, Flash”, Lumi, and Trail), setting the LCD brightness, the playback volume, and then the Memory Mix option, which will be discussed in the separate memory mode video.
There is a tile labeled “menu” within the basic menu system, this will take the user to the more advanced settings menu. First are the manual settings, which include: Program AE (Various exposure presets so the camera’s settings can better fit a given shot), Picture Effects (Negative, Sepia, Black and White, Solarize, Pastel, and Mosaic), the setting for the flash mode and flash level, the white balance setting, and the auto shutter option (this will close the shutter in brighter than normal situations).
Next are the camera settings. This subsection contains options for the digital zoom (which can be set to off, 20x, or 120x, however zooming digitally drastically reduces video quality, so it’s recommended that the user simply keep it off), the 16:9 widescreen mode (It’s the kind that just cuts off the top and bottom of the screen, not “true” widescreen), the option to enable or disable Steadyshot (Sony’s image stabilization), the option to show the editsearch controls (this allows the user to view portions of the tape without having to switch the camera to playback mode), and finally the option to enable or disable to infrared night vision light when nightshot is activated.
The LCD/Viewfinder and CM settings are sparser, the latter containing only the option for the LCD backlight intensity, the LCD backlight color saturation, and the viewfinder backlight intensity; the former having the settings for various titling and caption modes.
The tape settings start with the option to change the recording mode between LP, for longer recording time at reduced quality, and SP, for shorter recording time at increased quality. The audio mode option allows switching between a 12-bit and 16-bit audio stream, generally the lower of the two would be used if audio (such as narration or soundtrack) was expected to be dubbed over the tape (this is because the 12 bit mode would leave a free audio channel), but this is a more dated method thanks to modern editing software. Then there’s the tape remaining option, which will change between showing the remaining tape space after interactions with said tape (such as recording to or inserting the tape) and constantly displaying the indicator. Finally, the user may also take advantage of the Frame Rec option, which will record a single frame of video, allowing for frame-by-frame recordings; counterpart to that is the Interval Recording option, which will record for user-set intervals with user-set pauses in between.
The setup menu has the generic settings contained therein: Clock settings, the USB Streaming option (which was generally to be used with Sony’s Picture Motion Browser), the Language setting, and the camcorder’s demo mode (which is used for retail purposes). It is followed by the “Others” category, which has all the miscellaneous settings, like the world time (time zone), the option to enable or disable the camcorder’s beeping sounds, the receiver for the remote control, whether display elements show up on an external display, and the recording lamp.
Finally, the playback mode’s settings, these are also rather sparse. When switching to playback mode, the user is presented with a set of touchscreen oriented playback controls on the bottom of the screen. Pressing the Function button will bring forth the aforementioned tile-style settings menu, presenting the LCD Brightness, the Volume, the end search function, the Data Code setting (this setting allows the user to view various metrics like shutter speed and ISO during a video’s playback), the aforementioned digital effect settings, the PB Zoom setting (digital zoom during playback), the variable speed playback function (which allows for playback in slow motion), the audio dubbing control, and the recording control (the function for recording via the A/V port).
The secondary menu system contains the VCR settings tab, in which the user will find the option for the HiFi Sound (for switching between one of the two audio tracks), the Audio Mix (for fading between the two audio tracks), and the A/V-to-DV out. The user will also find two memory settings tabs, the first containing the still photo quality setting (Fine and Standard), the movie quality setting (320x240 or 160x112), and a setting for the file numbering scheme. The playback mode also contains extra settings under the CM tab, such as an option to enable or disable displaying titles and captions, and a function which allows the user to search through titles. There is also a video edit setting under the miscellaneous category, which will allow for editing the video tape on the camcorder itself, but as said before, this process can be dated and has been superseded by modern editing software (I also lack the equipment to properly test it).
*VIDEO / AUDIO QUALITY…*
The DCR-TRV22’s video quality is fairly consistent with what one would expect to come out of a MiniDV camcorder. It’s not as good as the higher end DCR-TRV33’s video, which can record at 690,000 effective pixels, versus the TRV22’s 340,000. The camcorder’s low light performance is also standard, but any issues are answered by the availability of NightShot. Unfortunately, color reproduction is skewed due to my import process; it tends to make colors look much more muted than they actually are, still working on that. There appears to be a small amount of aberration on edges as well, thinking this might be because the camcorder has had its share of percussive episodes in the past, on account of the fact it stopped working shortly after the test footage was completed.
Sorry to say it, I’m still not an audiophile, so my take on the camcorder’s microphone is that it’s perfectly suitable for whatever use the user can throw at it. Will say, however, that it tends to deal with wind noise in a somewhat odd way, it’s rather hard to explain, but it almost sounds like the camcorder is underwater. That being said, the audio is still easy to make out, and the tape deck on the camcorder doesn’t cause too much background noise.
*CONCLUSION…*
Truthfully, the DCR-TRV22 is, in my opinion, rather unremarkable, one of those “in-between” Handycams from Sony. Being the middle ground between the lower end DCR-TRV19 and the higher end DCR-TRV33, the DCR-TRV22 did not break new ground, nor receive any extreme attention from those that reviewed it. The camcorder contains the same old features of any other mid-range consumer-level MiniDV camcorder of the time. The only exception to this would be the neat aesthetic design choices, which I still wish Sony had kept for a longer amount of time. However, the camcorder’s sense of familiarity, combined with its intuitive and easy to use menu system, made the DCR-TRV22 great go-to for anyone in the market for a MiniDV camcorder that can perform adequately.
can i ask. is this camcorder the same as the dcr trv22e?
@@matthewmuli487 I believe so, yes
Hi, do you know where I can find a list of Sony video recorders? I want to know which ones are high end (like the Sony trv 33) to buy one. Thank you!
pin this
Hi ! Really happy with this video.. But could you explain to me how did you transfer mini dv to your computer ? Having the same camera, the others tutos in youtube tell everytime something different
I don't understand which cable i need to transfer video on my computer (window10)
Thanks
The confusing reality is that there are a number of different ways to choose from. Unfortunately, the way I do it requires a computer that both runs Windows Vista and has a FireWire port; however, you can opt to go the way of a USB device called an "EasyCap". These are available on websites like B&H and eBay, they'll allow you to import your tapes through the camcorder's composite output.
@@FatCatTech Thank you for the answer, i will keep you in touch! Continue your video
found one in a dumpster..
Had to buy a head cleaner for it, but it works fine now..
Always gotta test your camcorders by seeing how your cats look and sound on them. Very important. :)
Hello I just seen your video and I’m a skateboarder and was wondering how do you make these videos come out so clean I would really appreciate it if you could help me out with that
Deinterlacing does a lot, I have a video on my channel about the process I use
OK I’ll definitely check it out thank you
i have recorded some footage to memory stick directly, but i find the quality to be extremly low and "choppy". is this the case with all sony cameras or is mine broken? :P I have a handycam DCR-HC42E
any footage recorded to the miniDV cassette will be much higher quality than recording on memory mode
Hey, can this camera shoot in 16:9?
amazing quality.
does this shoot in 16:9 as well?
How are you trasnfering these?
i have dcr sx22e and its good handycam especially when it comes to the zoom capability
but it can't record HD video 😅
The DCR-SX21 and 22 are actually somewhat rare, they were some (if not the de-facto) Sony's final consumer grade standard definition camcorders. That's pretty neat that you've got one!
is this the same as the dcr trv22e?
FROSTED STROBES??? When next test
Mine keeps on making a beeping sound when I rewind it and now it’s not working
can this connect to the computer and transfer over 8mm video?
Nice video
Thanks! :D
Also keep up the good work
I'll be sure to! I really do want to try to make more of these, hopefully I can find the time xD
Soo I just got one and what frames per second do you have it on
There is no option for that, this camcorder records in 60 interlaced fields and can be deinterlaced to a 60fps video.
@@FatCatTechdo you have any video for instruction to do that ? 😢
@@newtbui9486 It's the featured video on my channel.
hey what's the difference between DCR-TRV22 and CCD-TRV22?
There are a number of difference between the two, most notably that the CCD model records to Video8 tapes, and the DCR model records to MiniDV tapes.
@@FatCatTech got it, thank you!
Hey, im having an issue with my trv-22, the quality is insanely low and i dont know how i should go about properly making a MPG file look good? its super super super low quality, low frames everything. If you know anything please help thank you!
its being run from usb straight to pc, from a memory stick pro
Dont use the memory card
Really weird bokeh 🤨
i love u
Uhhh thanks? xD