Camcorder Video Formats

MiniDV is a digital video tape format which has become the most popular format for home video cameras. MiniDV uses the same compression as DV.

Standard MiniDV cassettes are 65 x 48 x 12 mm. Record time is 60 minutes (standard play) or 90 minutes (extended/long play). 80/120 minute tapes are also available. MiniDV can also be used to store other forms of data with the help of appropriate software. MiniDV tapes can hold about 13GB od data in this way.

[tag-ice]MiniDV[/tag-ice] tape has a shelf life of 10-15 years, when stored in ideal conditions. Still the most popular format and the format by which others are judged.

DVD has increased in popularity in the last few years as the media of choice for consumers, second only to MiniDV. The convenience of random access, rather than the fast forward/rewind of tape, and the ability to pop it directly into a home DVD player for playback are the chief factors, but quality suffers. For a long time, DVD only captured video in an MPEG-2 compression which is generally of a lower video quality than DV compression (tape). The quality has improved greatly with the release of the latest DVD camcorders.

In 2007, a new compression system called AVCHD was developed, making it possible to record high definition (HD) video onto the existing DVD media. The technology is still very young, and therefore expensive.

DVD does offer some conveniences, but recording times are limited compared to tape. Also, discs is prone to scratches if dropped.

There are a number of varieties of the 8cm DVD discs. The cheapest, DVD-R, is a one time use only disc and can be used by every DVD camcorder. DVD+R is a similar varient. DVD-RW and DVD+RW are rewritable, reusable discs. DVD-RAM acts like the RW formats for writing and rewriting, but has the lowest use among camcorders, and is used only by Hitachi and Panasonic. It also has the lowest compatability with home DVD players and DVD drives.

DVD shelf life somewhere from 5-15 years. In tropical regions, it can drop as low as 3 years. The +/-R discs last longer than the others, but materials make a difference. Those using gold last longest, but are expensive. Silver and silver alloys are more sensitive. DVD+/-RW and DVD-RAM discs are reusable, as a result the alloys in their construction used have a shorter shelf life. Also, multiple re-writes have a negative impact on lifespan.

[tag-tec]High definition camcorders[/tag-tec] (HD) are the future of video. While prices are still much higher than standard definition camcorders, costs are dropping regularly. HD camcorders requires HDTVs for full resolution playback, but most have the ability to downscale for older TVs.

Editing HD video requires a higher spec computer and lots of storage space, but there are several of editing software options available.

Since introduction, the only format for recording HD video in the consumer realm was HDV, an MPEG-2 format that recorded onto traditional MiniDV tapes. It has the benefit of a cheap, widely available media and 60 minutes of recording time.

In mid-2006, AVCHD was announced. AVCHD is an MPEG-4 format for recording HD. Among its strengths is the ability to use DVD, hard disk drive (HDD), and memory cards (like SD and MemoryStick) - all popular consumer media. AVCHD is more heavily compressed than HDV, and requires a great deal more processing power to edit. Also, the full potential of the AVCHD spec has not been tapped. Current camcorders using AVCHD have yet to match the performance levels of the older HDV format.

Hard drive (HDD) camcorders record onto a built in hard drive, making them quite small. Ater recording just transfer the video to your computer for editing. They can store about seven hours of video before downloading. This in itself is a negative if you are in a situation where you cannot download the video. Although this might be considered the future of camcorders there are still problems with this format. Hard drive reliability is a problem as with all hard drives, more so with the comparative brutal treatment that a camcorder can receive.

Video is compressed as it is recorded in MPEG-2 format. This makes it harder to edit and results in the loss of quality as it is transcoded and re-compressed.

Flash drive and memory card camcorders have the same down side as HDD. Swappable memory cards and memory sticks are becoming cheaper but nowhere as cheap as minDV tapes.