Customer Reviews
Great Choice 
2007-10-12
I started looking on many sites trying to decide...different recording formats,zoom,still pictures etc.....however the HD is the SUPER best as far as i am concern....I got a steal of a deal...in fact I owe the manufactures money..It is easy to use even my seven year old daughter has NO problem operating...the ZOOM is perfect...the still pictures are not great however I have digital camera for that purpose....i think the best things about this device are .1 How compact and easy to use .2 No need to worry about finding the spot you last recorded it does it for you .3 The movies direct to TV or on CD's are GREAT......I love this HD CAMCORDER....
Software is bad news 
2007-09-17
I've been working with their software for the last three days with little success. I have 3 hrs of my son's black belt test on the camera but can't get it to DVD. He successfully completed the 29 hour test and I'm spending more time with no success. Others have found the authoring program equally as difficult. Its just plain slow and you need to wait until the end of the process to find out it went wrong. The help at JVC said with a very rehersed tone "You're the first person I talked to with this problem." Yea right. The sad part is that he at age ten is the first black belt of his school's program, his instructors are as proud and elated as I, he is held as the example for others to emulate and the only footage is locked in this blasted JVC. VHS is a piece of cake compared to this nonsense.
Very disappointing 
2007-07-25
I purchased this camcorder to record the dog sport of flyball. I took it to a tournament (indoors) and recorded our dogs passing to see if we could improve our skills. The lighting that this camcorder picked up was very warm (red tones) and the overall quality was not sharp as I had hoped. Once we recorded our dogs passing we would reivew the recorded material and slow it down to see how close the dogs were passing. Once we slowed it down they dogs were fuzzy and not in focus. I had recorded at the best quality the camcorder had to offer but I will be taking this one back for a refund.
I loved being able to get to certain recordings through the index and loved the ease of everything else it had to offer. Easy startup and transfer but the quality was just not in the picture.
Bad Tech Support, Error Codes JVC GZ-MG-155 2007-05-08
Bad Tech Support,
I can't get the Everio software included to capture the video from the camera and record it on a DVD. I keep getting Error codes FF037303 and EOFD003D in PowerCinema NR, with no explaination of what this means. I called JVC, but they don't provide tech support for the software. I've tried installing it on three different Dell computers - Latitude and Dimension, running XP and it won't work on any of them. PowerCinema only has paid support, and won't answer my email support requests
Works great, with a few issues 2007-05-06
I bought this camera to videotape legal depositions. Not very exciting stuff, but they typically run for hours. Mini-DV cameras only run for about an hour. I didn't want to have to stop and switch tapes every hour. This HD camera can record 14 hours with quality sufficient for what I'm doing. I tested it over a few days and just burned a DVD a few minutes ago on my computer. The camera is small, lightweight, easy to use, and can go for hours. I can easily burn DVD's through my computer or home VHS/DVD recorder. I'm thrilled.
However, it's important to mention:
(1) The quality of this camera is not as good as a dedicated "tape" camera. I have always loved JVC since I bought my first camcorder (remember the purple video camera used by Marty McFly in the "Back To The Future" movies?). Analog VHS/VHC or 8mm still look the most natural. I have a Mini-DV JVC that I thought I would sell after buying this HD camera, but I've changed my mind. My other JVC has a better anti-shake feature and the image quality appears better. The colors are not as accurate with the HD camera and the action doesn't flow as smoothly. I will still probably use the Mini-DV camera where a more natural appearance is important.
(2) Even though the HD camera can record for hours, the battery only lasts an hour. Buy an extra JVC "hulk" battery (5 hours of juice?) when you buy the HD camera.
(3) If this camera were to malfunction or be stolen, you'd lose a whole lot of video footage. Back it up regularly or stick with a tape camera.
Very Pleased 
2008-07-24
I chose this model because it was the highest rated of the Consumer Reports models tested that was compatible with my Mac's IMovie software. I have already used it for a family trip and for filming several of my kids basketball tournaments. It has been very easy to use. The features that I really enjoy: Fast transfer of footage from the camera to my computer. With HDD it is impossible to tape over previous recorded footage. Taping at highest quality it can hold up to 7.5 hours of footage. After a day of shooting I transfer everything to IMovie and then delete it from the camera. I edit the stuff I like with music and titles and then burn it to a DVD. Wow,its so nice not to have the mountain of mini-dv cassettes piling up in the hall closet and then trying to remember everything that was on them. Overall I am really happy with the camera, but even more pleased with how well it works with my Mac.
Perfect little camera. 2008-02-22
I have used the camcorder for 3 weeks now, and it has worked perfectly under every condition I have tried. My son plays indoor basketball and the video this camera took was perfect. I have used it on hikes in the mountains and have used it while riding in a car. I have to admit I was very impressed with the video under every condition.
Downloading the videos from the camcorder to my pc was incredibly simple. I like that I have the ability to edit out the parts I don't like and to retain the video portions that I would like to keep.
I would highly recommend this camcorder if you want something that is simple and easy to use.
This camera does what it is suppose to do.
Worst Camcorder EVER! 2007-12-29
We purchased this camcorder about 8 weeks after the birth of our son, hoping to catch the many wonderful memories that would occur in these precious first years. Not even 2 months after owning the camcorder, we turned it on one day only to get "communicating error" between the camcorder and battery. We tried charging the battery on the docking station, still the error, we tried charging the battery directly from the power cord to the outlet...same message. After only 2 months we couldn't believe that the battery that came with the camcorder was dead. We took it back to the store and tried to show the associate our problem...but it didn't happen there. Figures. So we went ahead and purchased another battery for $80, went home, charged it, and still got the same error message. The only way the product would work was if it was literally plugged into the wall while we were using it. Up to speed at 6 months, we contacted JVC only to find out that we have to send it off (shipping costs on us) to the factory and it will take 6-8 weeks for repair and return. We decided to wait until after X-Mas, since this was our babies first one and suck it up, use the device plugged into the wall during X-Mas and then send it in. Today, after putting down our son for a nap, who is now 9 months, we heard him making noise and went in to see he had pulled himself up for the first time and was standing holding on to the crib...we ran to get the video camera to plug it in to the wall to tape this joyous occasion, only to find the zoom function is broken and it is so far zoomed in, nothing is visible on the camcorder. After trying everything in the manual...we are SOOOOO P.O.ed! This is the worst product ever and our moments that we hoped to tape were priceless and now they are gone!!!! I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT. I wish we could return it and get our money back. I am going to send the product off on Monday with a letter to JVC to tell them how crappy this product is and see what happens next, but it still sucks that for these next 8 weeks, of which time it is very possible that my son could take his first steps, we will miss it, all because of this STUPID, NON-FUNCTIONING, AWFUL, and every other terrible name you can nicely put on this so-called camcorder.
just ok... 
2007-12-27
Best experience was at my son's middle school concert. Was not very pleased with the image stabilizer at only a short zoom. Sound was descent. Mediocre ease of use. Horrible software. Drains the battery fast. I ended up getting the Panasonic SDR-H18 and it seems to have been a better buy.
Who says a camcorder can't be sexy? 2007-12-22
This is our third camcorder, started with a vhs (vhc-c) model 5 years ago. It was not so great, but we did get to capture some movie memories. 3 years ago we bought a Sony DCR-HC30 digital MiniDV recorder, have used it alot, good quality picture. Problem is the head gets dirty sometimes, you have to stop, run the cleaner cassette, then put the tape back in, and you still end up with a section on tape where it "became" dirty and these are peppered through our captured movie memories. Not knocking the Sony HC30, just the technology. I really wanted a dvd camcorder years ago but two problems with that idea, too expensive and only 30 minutes per disc, plus you have to finalize each disc, each time to save your 30 minutes of shoot. The MiniDV is 60 minutes per tape, quicker change-out time.
So finally the price was right for HDD camera, enter the JVC Everio GZMG155 that appeared on QVC's website 3 days ago. Extra battery incl. made it the best price (value) going. Just arrived yesterday. So I'm set for our next trip to Disneyland. 7 hours recording time at fine quality, 2 batteries at 1.5 hours each (approx.) (my Sony was 1.5 hour with lcd screen closed, using viewfinder, less than 1 hour with screen open) the JVC Everio GZMG155 the same quality video as my old Sony. Low light it not so great, a little grainy, but every digital camera does this. No points off for it performing at par with any other 1/6" CCD. You get what you pay for. I have been taking it through the paces the last 24 hours.
I give it a five star rating, it will do everything I want it to do. Oh and by the way, either watch your recordings on a standard 520 horizontal line monitor or set your HD set to 480i any input signal of 520 lines will not look so good on a (Hi Def) 1080i/1080p set. I learned this with the Sony. I'll buy a HD camera when they are under $400. Give it a few years.
Summary. This does all my HC30 did and more, it's smaller, easier to grip, no more buying tapes, no more digital debri from a dirty tape head, large HDD 30G, 7 hours of recording time, three times the optical zoom. A fine camera, excellent upgrade for the same price I paid for MiniDV 3 years ago. The reviews here are quite accurate, the one about a "shaky" camera, maybe when you have it zoomed all the way out, that's always going to happen with any cameras.
