Digital Trends

Samsung SC-DC564 April 10th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Features and Design

The Samsung SC-DC564 miniDVD camcorder is a very handsome device. The DC564 is sleek and somewhat modernistic. The gunmetal-grey color theme is beautiful to look at; everything feels sturdy, but equally ergonomic and light. Whoever at Samsung designed the exterior of the SC-DC564 deserves a raise and a firm handshake.

The SC-DC564's controls are easy to learn, even for folks who are new to camcorders. On the exterior of the SC-DC564, there are only seven buttons to control the major functions of the camcorder. While seven buttons may sound like a lot, it's really quite minimalist.

Upon opening the LCD screen from the camcorder body, the balance of the controls is revealed. Again, Samsung gets points for a simple and easy-to-learn layout. Along with the menu button and playback buttons, there's a slyly hidden flap that conceals the charging connector, the USB data link, and the AV/S port for connecting the SC-DC564 directly to a television set.

One of the most alluring features of the Samsung SC-DC564 is the fact that it records video in a 16:9 widescreen format. Now that most modern televisions have broken the nearly 80-year tradition of being almost square, widescreen is the new standard. When a standard 4:3 camcorder recording plays on a 16:9 widescreen TV set, there are two typical results: either the 4:3 video is widened to fit the 19:9 screen, thus making the image look unnaturally stretched out, or the 4:3 image plays on the widescreen TV with undesirable black margins on the left and right sides of the screen. Recording natively in 16:9 provides the most natural end product.

The Samsung SC-DC564 comes with a remote control that's nearly the same size as an iPod nano (though thicker). The remote control activates most important features, such as beginning and halting a recording, playback, and zooming toward and away from a subject. The remote has a decent range, too.

The Samsung SC-DC564 w/ Open LCD Display