Is HDV 16:9 (letterbox window) really good for
filming a xxx video, or is a regular old style
4:3 aspect ratio mini-DV better ?

I believe regular minid-DV (4:3) was better
because of the HEIGHT of the frame, into which
you can get more a girl's body up close. Specially,
for filming strip-tease 4:3 is much better. It fills
the screen also.

16:9 HDV (High Def video) cameras are overtaking
porn. They film at 60 frame/sec as well as 30 frame/sec,
and 24 P.

The HDV file size is over 12 gigabyte for 1 hour of
video. You have to compress it to DVD size anyway (4.7 gigabyte).

Let me know your thoughts if you like working
with HDV, etc.

hot chicks are all that matter. accomplish that and the rest is irrelevant.

4:3

What a strange question. And with an even stranger outline.
As far as I know, almost everything produced in the world of pornography today is somehow "HD", though that does not really give any indication regarding how good it might look; it is just above the television resolution NTSC or PAL has.

Assuming you do not only want to shoot material, but sell it as well, going for the highest possible quality you can afford would be my suggestion. It probably does not hurt to buy, rent or - well - download video material for comparison of, say, Digital Playground and Vouyer Media with Anabolic and Zero Tolerance productions. The former look really good, while the latter mostly lack fine details; due to cameras, lighting and post-processing - though of the companies mentioned only Digital Playground seem to utilize the last aspect to any extent.

By the way, an anamorphic widescreen DVD "fills the screen" of widescreen television sets quite nicely; almost all productions still look framed all right when zoomed in to fit on a 4:3 set.

Depending on where you are based, companies renting cameras and equipment might be able to help you to find an affordable solution.

Good performers in a solidly-crafted production could be an advantage in what seems to be a very competitive industry.

yeah for filming stripteases and such 4:3 is better, but when you film the whores in horizontal position i'd go for 16:9.
Now of course you CANT mix the two formats, so, considering most televisions out there are/will be 16:9, i'd go with this format because watching a 4:3 video with the vertical black bars on a 16:9 tv sucks.

Almost every company is filming both gonzo and features in 16x9 nowadays on hdv, and the fans are getting used to seeing that aspect ratio on DVDs and on the web. Even companies that put up movies primarily on the web are having me film in hdv in 16x9. I have been cropping the edges of the footage during editing to 4x3 aspect ratio for the DVD release of my upcoming title "Lesbian Teenyboppers 3" though. Mastering to HD-DVD or Blue Ray routinely will be the next step for most companies and keep the 16x9 aspect ratio of course in the finished product.