I got my first DVR a few days ago and I have a few questions that I thought the hive mind could help me with:

1)  Is the quality different between the tape and a memory card?
2)  Also, why do my movies look stretched horizontally when I replay them using Quicktime, Media Player, etc..

Any other tips that you could give a newb would be appreciated as well.

Thanks.

What make & model did you get?

In my camera the video data is stored digitally so, no, there is no difference between that stored on the DV tape and my (SD) card.  I always save the (SD) card for still photos.  Did you run out of tape or something?  Why put video on the card?

I do not know anything intelligent about your second question.  Mine does not do what you are describing.

I have a Samsung D355.  If you notice no difference in quality, I will just use the tape.  I noticed that the memory card does not hold much movie length anyways.  Also, what editing software do you use?  Is there a good freebie out there?  The software that came with it is not very user-friendly.

My camera is a Panasonic PV-GS400.  It's a nice 3CCD camera with a large LCD screen and also has a 4 megapixel still camera built in that really works.  I'll go research your Samsung's specs.

I use the Panasonic software to capture the video.  I don't know why, it just works so I use it.

I edit video with SONY Vegas 5.0.  The sound editting I do is done with SONY Sound Forge.

I create the DVD (chapters, appearance, etc.) with SONY DVD Architect.

I got these as a bundle off eBay for about $100.  They were legitimate copies, as I registered them with SONY and have had no trouble (I was worried due to the ultra low price I bid).