Standard Definition
¹DV or miniDV: DV video format has a constant data rate of 3.6 Megabytes per second or 25 Mbit/s.
Uses 4:1:1 color subsampling. DV audio uses uncompressed 16-bit PCM at 1536 kbit/s. (maker: universal)
DVCAM: Sony’s DVCAM is a professional variant of the DV standard that uses the same cassettes as DV and MiniDV,
but transports the tape 50% faster. This means less drop-outs. (maker: Sony)
¹Digital8: The Digital8 format is a combination of the older Hi8 tape transport with the DV codec. Digital8 equipment
uses the same videocassettes as analog Hi8 equipment, but differs in that the audio/video signal is encoded digitally
(using the industry-standard DV codec.) (maker: Sony)
DVCPRO 25: always uses 4:1:1 color subsampling (even in PAL mode). Apart from that, standard DVCPRO
(also known as DVCPRO25) is otherwise identical to DV at a bitstream level. Uses different cassette type than DV
or DVCAM, thus a larger tape size (maker: Panasonic)
DVCPRO 50: he DVCPRO50 standard doubles the coded video bitrate from 25 Mbit/s to 50 Mbit/s, and uses
4:2:2 chroma subsampling instead of 4:1:1. (maker: Panasonic)
XDCAM: Its features include tapeless optical disk recording of DVCAM (DV25), MPEG IMX
(bitrate of 30, 40 or 50 Megabits per second). (maker: Sony)
Digital Betcam (Digibeta): The Digital Betacam format records a DCT-compressed component video signal
at 10-bit YUV 4:2:2 sampling in PAL resolutions at a bitrate of 90 Mbit/s plus 4 channels of uncompressed
48 kHz / 20 bit PCM-encoded audio. (maker: Sony)
Betacam SX: is a digital version of Betacam SP introduced in 1996, positioned as a cheaper alternative to Digital Betacam.
It stores video using MPEG 4:2:2 Profile@ML compression, along with 4 channels of 48 kHz 16 bit PCM audio. This format
compresses the video signal from 170Mb/s to only 18Mb/s. (maker: Sony)
¹`²DVD Video: 10.08 Mbit/s (Video and audio combined), Codecs: MPEG-1 / MPEG-2
High Definition
ProHD: JVC’s extension of the HDV video format, and adds provision for 24 frames per second, progressive scan (24p) video.
ProHD extends HDV by adding native support for 720p24 (24 frames per second) recording. For productions attempting a
“film look” on video, or which will be output to film or digital-cinema, 24p mode is advantage over HDV’s modes.Apart from
the extensions for 720p24 mode, ProHD uses the same compression and bitstream format as HDV.(maker: JVC)
DVCPRO HD (100): uses four parallel codecs and a coded video bitrate of approximately 100 Mbit/s, depending on the format.
DVCPRO HD encodes using 4:2:2 color sampling. (maker: Panasonic)
XDCAM HD: records MPEG-2 long GOP at up to 35 Mbit/s (HQ mode). he next generation of XDCAM HD will utilize
dual layer Professional Disk with capacity of 50 GB and an MPEG 4:2:2 HD codec with bitrate up to 50 Mbit/s.
¹AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition): is a new high definition recording format introduced by Sony
and Panasonic. It can use various storage media, including 8 cm (3″) recordable DVD discs, a hard disk, or flash memory cards.
As its name implies, AVCHD uses an MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video codec. AVC’s greater compression efficiency
(when compared with the aging MPEG-2 codec used in HDV camcorders) allows AVCHD recorders to capture
the same video using less storage. (13+/-Mbps for consumer camcorders)
¹HDV: is an inexpensive high-definition video recording format which uses MPEG2 compression to fit high-definition content
onto the same DV or MiniDV tapes originally developed for standard definition recording. The compression used results in
some quality compromises compared to higher bandwidth HD recording formats.19.7 Mbit/s (720p) and 25 Mbit/s
(1080i). HDV audio uses lossy compression (MPEG-1 Layer 2) to reduce the audio bitrate to 384 kbit/s. (maker: universal)
HDCAM SR: is used commonly for HDTV television production. Capable of recording in 10 bits 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 RGB
with a bitrate of 440 Mbit/s. (maker: Sony)
³Blu-ray Disc: uses the following codecs: MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), and VC-1
48.0 Mbit/s, 1920×1080 24p or 50/60i HDTV[e]
³HD DVD: 30.24 Mbit/s, 20×480 60i and 720×576 50i SDTV
¹Generally consumer oriented
²Used in some consumer camcorders, not recommended for editing.
³Not used in cameras??