I think from what I have read we are using to different version of the term "cold pack". As far as the pressure cooker goes some people brown the meat first and then put it into the jar, and some put it in raw. The raw meat into the jar is also called a cold pack, even in a pressure cooker.
I was speaking with a neighbor of mine who is Amish and was surprised when he told me that he cans hundreds of pounds of meat a year and does not use the pressure cooker. He said they just use the large blue pots and boil them. He said the boil it twice as long as the pressure cooker recipes call for but he said they have never had problems. I am new to this but told him I didn't think you were supposed to do meat that way. He said his dad did it that way and he has done it that way for 30 years. He packs the raw meat in the jar and boils the jars for three hours. Since they don't use electricity he says they butcher entire cows and can the entire animal that way.
Stretch I am not doubting you as I am obviously the newbie here but I have been told by several people that a pressure canner will go dry if there is not enough water added. And I am sure the people I am talking to are not confusing the two. One of the people are the owners of the canner I bought from. It is an All American that is about 40 years old and they have been using it for a long time.