Hi mornish
there is not a specfic Standby Mode, the unit will enter a Standby state if left to play after the last scene has finished on playback, also during recording the unit can be left in Standby to drain the battery if required, please download a copy of the instruction manual from the link below, see pages 24, 26-27 & 70 for information.
http://www.sonydigital-link.com/dime/camcorders/sd/dv/dv.aspx?site=odw_en_GB&m=DCR-HC19E
