Digital Camcorder Formats Unraveled

In my previous post, Say Cheese, I talked about the factors you need to take into consideration when buying a digital camcorder. A lot goes into deciding what camcorder to purchase, including factors as basic as how the camcorder feels in your hand and as complex as how many special effects it can perform, but apart from the physical factors and features, one must also choose the camcorder format that will be best to work with. Choosing a format is not always an easy decision. There are currently a few digital formats available for the camcorder users, all with strengths and weaknesses, but I'm only going to talk about the more popular ones.

Digital-8
This camcorder format takes advantage of existing the HI8 format and pushes it into the Digital realm. It uses either 8mm or HI8 tape. The only way to play the tape back is through the camcorder connected to a VCR or TV or by digitally playing the tape back by connecting the camcorder to a computer via its IEEE-1394, Firewire port (special hardware and software required). These camcorders can also play back previously recorded analog 8mm and HI8 tapes using the regular AV connections. Video resolution approaches 500 lines, which is 20% higher than HI8 or SVHS-C. Tape speed of one hour is currently available, when using a 2hr length HI8 or 8mm tape. Camcorders are the same physical size of 8mm and HI8 camcorders, thus are easily handheld. Sound quality is excellent. The sound is recorded in either 12bit or 16bit PCM Audio for almost CD quality sound. The Digital8 format also allows for still frame capture.

An example of a Digital-8 camcorder : Sony DCR-TRV280

Picture taken from: http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11458949/Sony_Dcr_trv280_Digital_8_Camcorder.jpg



MiniDV
First launched by Sony in 1995, DV or Mini-DV is the most popular consumer digital video format. DV camcorders provide what is arguably the best quality of all of the home video formats, with all models possessing the capability to transfer video signals out to another device (such as a Windows or Apple Mac computer) via FireWire, also known as i.Link. An increasing number of DV camcorders also make it possible to copy edited recordings back to the DV tape in the camcorder using what is known as DV-in.

An example of a MiniDV camcorder : Samsung SC-D363

Picture taken from: http://www.cybertrek.co.za/images/samsungscd363.jpg



DVD
Hitachi first launched camcorders that record to 8cm DVD disks back in 2001, and several other major manufacturers soon followed suit. DVD camcorders use MPEG-2 compression prior to writing the signals to disk. One of the major problems of DVD camcorders has been the compatibility between DVD camcorders and home DVD players, though these are quickly being resolved. If you're planning to import your DVD footage into a computer for editing, you should note that editing DVD (MPEG2) compressed files is much more difficult than it is when working with a tape-based format like DV or Digital-8. Existing editing applications (hose that are bundled with camcorders) aren't that good. However, the format is now very popular, and not everyone wishes to edit their movie projects.

An example of a DVD camcorder : CanonDV22

Picture taken from : http://z.about.com/d/camcorders/1/0/L/-/-/-/CanonDV22.jpg



HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
JVC is one company that is forging ahead with its drive to make Hard Disk recording camcorders more popular and push tape and disk-based formats aside altogether. The Everio G camcorder range is a good example of camcorders, or Digital Media Cameras as they're more properly called which uses tiny internal hard disk drives very similar to the larger HDs used in all computers. The company's GZ-MG50 model enables recording of up to 7 hours at best quality. Apple's iPod MP3 players use very similar technology and provide a similar level of interactivity with the files saved onto them. HDD camcorders save files which can then be deleted, moved and transferred just like those on your computer or iPod. They also provide much more flexibility in terms of the order in which you can produce a playlist of favourite clips when showing people your material.

An example of a HDD camcorder : JVC Everio G

Picture taken from: http://img.timeinc.net/time/gadget/images/jvc_everio.jpg

HDV and ProHD (High Definition Video)
Sony's format uses standard MiniDV cassettes to record video sequences whose resolution is 1080-lines as opposed to the standard definition 625 lines (or 525 in the USA, Canada, Japan, etc). HDV is fast becoming the format of choice for those wishing to shoot professional-quality video footage, not least because it offers the choice of HDV or DV recording on a MiniDV tape. ProHD is the JVC equivalent format of HDV.

An example of a HDV camcorder : Sony HDR-HC3

Picture taken from: http://www.johnlewis.com/jl_assets/product/230306201.jpg


Just like digital audio, there are many different types of formats out there, but only the populars ones will survive. Even that, sooner or later, they'll become obsolete or be replaced by newer formats. Why so many different types of formats, you ask? Why can't everyone just agree to use one format? It's simply because of marketing strategy, every company strives to make people use their very own format.

Source : http://reviews.ebay.com/Choosing-the-right-camcorder-format
http://camcorders.about.com/od/camcorder101/a/DigitalFormats.htm