HDV goes mainstream: at this year's NAB, there was a lot of talk about HDV, but not much...

Depending on who you talk to, HDV--the two year-old format that brings high-definition images to standard DV tape--is either the format of tomorrow or today's choice for cutting-edge videographers.

Make no mistake, HDV is not HD, which is still the domain of broadcast- and cinema-quality cameras retailing anywhere from $55,000 to more than $100,000 [see sidebar, "Shooting True HD"]. HDV picture quality--while noticeably better than standard DV--doesn't approach the real thing. But the introduction of the sub-$4,000 JVC JY-HD10 in late 2003 brought the next best thing to