Do you find it a pain in the ass to get video and digital images from your camcorder and digital camera onto a DVD for archiving and sharing with your grandparents? Most of the time you have to use your PC for this transfer process, using unfamiliar software packages to do the work. Sony is betting you’d love to kick your computer out of the process and has just unveiled the VRD-MC5, the latest in its line of DVDirect DVD recorders.

Sony says it has designed the VRD-MC5 to be simple to use while being able to transfer video and digital images off a wide variety of devices onto a DVD. It is able to take standard home video from sources like a camcorder or VCR via connectivity options like FireWire, S-video, composite video and USB. Digital image support is offered for Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Compact Flash, Secure Digital and XD cards taken from a digital camera and inserted into one of the VRD-MC5’s media card slots.

The VRD-MC5 offers a built-in 2.5-inch color screen with which to preview the video or digital images you are about to burn to DVD. Four preset menu backgrounds, the ability to use JPEG images for the menu backgrounds, stop-timer recording and using MP3 music to serve as background music for digital images are some of the options Sony says you’ll have available to you for creating that DVD.

This DVD recorder from Sony also offers advanced support options for AVCHD, a new high definition recording format being pushed by the consumer electronics giant. The VRD-MC5, when dealing with this type of high definition video, can record it in its native 1080i resolution onto a DVD. This DVD can then be played back on Blu-ray Disc DVD players in all of its high definition glory.

The VRD-MC5 offers expanded connectivity support for Sony’s Handycam camcorders for features like recording only select portions of your video to DVD and the ability to span several DVDs if the recorded video requires more than one DVD. Recording wise this device can get up to six hours of standard-definition video, up to 95 minutes of AVCHD video or up to 2,000 digital pictures on a 4.7GB DVD R/ RW disc.

Other features of Sony’s latest DVDirect DVD recorder include support for Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound as well as 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios with compatible camcorders. The VRD-MC5 will price for around $230 when it hits store shelves in August.