They're definitely not equal. The HV10 lacks an accessory shoe, loads tapes from the bottom, has a poor design/handling, and lacks a 24p mode (just to name a few coming off the top of my head). Another problem with the HV10 is that if you want to use a bigger battery, the camcorder will be very lopsided (because the battery compartment comes out the side).
They do both have firewire, but then again, I've never seen a digital camcorder that didn't have firewire (well, except for those new Panasonic AVCHD camcorders).
Here's a quote from CamcorderInfo.com comparing the HV10 to the HV20:
The HV10 is not just a pocket-sized HV20; its a missing some key features that put the HV20 in a separate class. For one, both camcorders have the same 1/27 CMOS sensor and Digic DVII processor, but the gain appears to have been boosted this year in low light, giving it an arguably better picture. The addition of the 24P mode gives the HV20 a huge advantage, more than doubling the sensitivity. Thats not the only major upgrade. The addition of a headphone jack and mic jack add another level of professionalism to the experience. And despite our complaints regarding the HV20s slim zoom toggle, its still better than the HV10s. For $100 more, you get a lot more with the HV20. It wouldnt make sense to go for an HV10 unless you absolutely have to impress your friends by randomly pulling a camcorder out of your pocket and passing it around to gain points with everyone.
I went with the HV20 and couldn't be happier. I love mine!
As a side note, though, have you looked at the Panasonic AVCHD cameras? They have a slimmer design than the HV20 and also have 3CCDs, which is nice. The one Jobs used in his presentation sells for about $750, I think. Might be worth taking a look.
Hope that helps, and happy hunting!
Best,
JOD8FY
