It can take a lot of time to create a DVD of vacation videos. And in today’s fast paced, convenience obsessed culture, few don’t want to go the time or effort to learn how to not only edit their home movies, but to encode the footage and even author a DVD of them.

A new entry in the home movie convenience market is the Sony VRD-MC5 DVD Direct, which allows video users to hook up a camcorder and burn directly to DVD without a PC. It’s not a new product, nor is Sony the only kid on the block, but what makes it noteworthy is that the VRD-MC5 now comes with HD support. Which means users of high definition camcorders can now burn directly to Blu-ray as well.

Users can burn up to 95 minutes of high definition video or 2,000 still pictures on one disc. And while the good news is, that SD users can take advantage of it as well, as the VRD-MC5 will also make standard definition DVDs. The downside, is that for HD users, Sony is being true to form by requiring that HD video can only burn in the proprietary format of AVCHD video. This means that users are once again forced into Sony’s proprietary revenue stream and can’t use any other camcorder that doesn’t record in their format.

The VRD-MC5 comes with standard connections - S-Video, DV, composite video, USB, and slots for CompactFlash, SD cards (really? Wow), Memory Stick and a USB port for hard drives – but strangely omits the HD standard HDMI connection. It also has a 2.5-inch color LCD screen.

And at a price of $230, even with it’s proprietary shortcomings, it’s a bargain for those wanting to archive raw footage.