This HDV camcorder was released in January 2007, and has become a very popular tool for indie filmmakers because of it's ability to record in "true 24p" or 24 progressive frames per second, the film standard. wikipedia article
Attempts are currently (summer 2008) underway to get the camera to recognize a firmware file stored on the SD card.
A firmware update is available for a similar camera, the HF10 HF100 wikipedia article. HF10 owners who's serial numbers have a zero in the 7th digit can download the firmware by entering their serial number from Canon's japanese site.
http://hv20.com/ has an active user-base for questions/answers, and owners to test with the device itself. There is a firmware hack thread at hv20.com.