Appendix 1

Figure A3.5 AJ-HDC27 VariCam by Panasonic
Appendix 3: Current Video Formats
HDV is the newest DV format and has become very popular after Sony entered the arena with several
pieces of HDV equipment. HDV is a highly compressed HD format that is recorded in the MPEG4
format. The amount of data recorded on the tape is virtually the same as DVCam, yet the picture
information in HD is six times that of SD. This requires that the image be much more compressed
than standard DVCam. In spite of this extra compression, the image quality is very good. As this
was intended as a “prosumer” format, the early cameras were cheap and the image only fair. But the
new Sony cameras demonstrate just how good the HDV image can look.
The Sony format is 1080i and lacks a real 24P format. The professional versions of the Sony cameras
and recorders can also record and play in DVCam for standard defi nition projects. HDV is supported
in versions Final Cut Pro 5 and above.
D-5, D-1, IMX, and Digital Beta
D-5 is the highest quality SD video format available. It is somewhat rare and very expensive.
Although the frame size is still 720 × 480, it is recorded in 10-bit digital.
D-1 is one of the oldest digital formats, developed in 1986. It is similar to D-5 with the exception
of being an 8-bit system and 640 × 480. The quality is nevertheless quite good, better than Digital
Beta. There are also the D-2 and D-3 formats; however, these are not often used anymore. The
quality of these formats is not nearly as good, closer to DV. D-1, D-2, D-3, and D-5 all record to a
large 1 /2″ tape cassette. All digital formats were to be given a D number as a SMPTE standard, but
not all manufactures have done this. DVC Pro, for example, is also known as D-7. The number 4
was skipped because it is considered unlucky in Japan, the word for four is the same as the word for
death.
D-1 and D-5 are often referred to as “uncompressed.” This is not exactly true. All digital video
formats use compression; however, these formats are “lossless.” With lossless, compression all compressed
information can be uncompressed into its exact original form.
Digital Beta (Digi Beta) has become the broadcast format of choice. While not quite as high in quality
as D-1, it is much more affordable and much more commonplace than D-5 or D-1. There is an offshoot
format of Digital Beta called IMX. IMX format uses the same tape as Digital Beta but has an
improved image quality.
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