WHAT IS THE CAPACITY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MINIDV AND FULL SIZE DVDS? DVDs come in Two Sizes. The mini CD size of 80 mm (about 3 1/8 in diameter) and the Standard CD size of 120 mm (about 4 in diameter). The Full Size DVDs look just like Standard CDs. DVDs have two useable sides. Each side can have two layers for a total of four layers per disc. DVD FORMATS AND CAPACITIES
120 mm (4 ) DVD FULL SIZE DVD
DVD ROM (Read Only Memory) (Full Size DVD 120 mm)
Maximum of two layers per side Top Layer: 4.27 Gigabytes
Bottom Layer: 4.27 Gigabytes Single Sided (two layers) 9.4 Gigabytes
Double Sided (two layers per side) 17 Gigabytes 80 mm (3 1/8") MiniDV
DVD ROM (Read Only Memory)
Maximum of two layers per side Top Layer: 1.46 Gigabytes
Bottom Layer: 1.46 Gigabytes Single Sided (two layers) 2.92 Gigabytes
Double Sided (two layers per side) 5.32 Gigabytes 120 mm (4 ) DVD FULL SIZE DVD
DVD WORM (Write Once, Read Many)
Maximum of one layers per side Single Sided (one layer) 4.7 Gigabytes
Double Sided (one layer per side) 9.4 Gigabytes 120 mm (4 ) DVD FULL SIZE DVD
DVD RW (Read Write, Rewritable) and RAM (Random Access Memory) Maximum of one layers per side Single Sided (one layer) 4.7 Gigabytes
Double Sided (one layer per side) 9.4 Gigabytes If you just want to preserve and watch your raw video footage and don't want to do anything else, a DVD camcorder is good choice. Today the miniDV is still the Camcorder of choice. They offer the best quality, the largest selection and the highest compatibility with video editing programs. Camcorders that record to hard drive are probably going to reign in the future, however you will be stuck with lower quality MPEG-2 and lower compatibility with video editing programs. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN OPTICAL ZOOM AND DIGITAL ZOOM? A digital camcorder's optical zoom involves the use of actual moving lenses to zoom in (like in a binocular) while the digital zoom goes in closer digitally and enlarges the picture electronically. This results in a lower resolution thereby producing a lower quality picture. When using optical zoom, there is no loss in quality, but when digital zoom is used, the image may become grainy. Look for a camcorder with a decent amount of optical zoom like 10x or 20x. If you plan to use your Camcorder to tape sporting events, a 20x or 25x optical is best. WHAT IS CCD? A CCD camcorder uses a small, rectangular piece of silicon rather than a piece of film to receive incoming light called a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD). The CCD is the most element of the camcorder because it is a grid of individual light-sensitive cells called "photosites" or pixels. Each photosite is one element of the whole picture that is formed and is called a picture element or pixel". The more common CCDs found in camcorders and other retail devices have a pixel array that is a few hundred pixels high by a few hundred pixels wide (e.g., 500x300, or 320x200), yielding tens of thousands of pixels. DO YOU KNOW AN IMAGE MADE FOR WIDESCREEN IS DIFFERENT THAN ONE ADAPTED TO WIDESCREEN? So why is the way you record widescreen images so important? Because you want an image made for widescreen, not adapted for widescreen. Widescreen is the future-every HD television is widescreen. Camcorders should use the entire width of its image sensor to capture your precious video in true 16:9 format. What difference does that make? With more pixels captured, you get better image quality. Some camcorders force the wider picture into a smaller space on the sensor - giving you a less true image, with fewer pixels and lower quality. Remember - widescreen is the future - be sure you invest in that future when choosing your Camcorder. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HD AND HDV? HDV is a video tape recording format developed to record HD signals. Therefore, HDV is real high definition. It has two distinguishing characteristics from earlier HD recording formats. First, it utilizes widely available and economical DV tape cassettes as a storage medium. Secondly, it employs highly efficient MPEG-2 compression. WHAT IS RGB? Bayer color filter array is a popular format for digital acquisition of color images. In order to obtain color information, the color image sensor is covered with either a red, a green, or a blue filter, in a repeating pattern. This pattern, or sequence, of filters can vary, but the widely adopted Bayer pattern, which was invented at Kodak, is a repeating 2x2 arrangement. When the image sensor is read out, line by line, the pixel sequence comes out GRGRGR, etc., and then the alternate line sequence is BGBGBG, etc. This output is called sequential RGB (or sRGB). |
