DV Cam vs. Mini DV

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Shooting DV Films : One Thread

Hello everyone! I want to know if the difference between the quality of DV cam and Mini DV is worth the difference in price. Let me explain. I am making a DVD video and I want to include footage that was shot on Beta Cam and Hi 8. I am planning to get the footage transferred to a digital video format. The problem is, I am not sure whether I want to transfer the footage to mini DV or DV Cam. I have heard that DV cam has a higher quality picture. However, it is more expensive and I would have to rent a DV cam deck for capture while I have access to a Mini DV deck for free. On the other hand, I want a good quality image for the final product. Any advice would be appreciated. Rachel

-- Rachel Boggia (rboggia@hotmail.com), September 12, 2002

Answers

It's true, DV has a higher quality, but not noticeable when it comes down to the convenience of miniDV. miniDV in the long run will be the cheaper, smarter choice for your project. Good luck.

-- JJ (coloradoconsulate@yahoo.com), September 17, 2002.

There is no difference between DV Cam and Mini DV Cam in quality (unless you are comparing professional tape stock to consumer tape stock). The formats are exactly the same...the cassettes are contrcuted differently. Claiming there is a quality difference is like saying a large load 90 minute BetaCam will produce a higher quality image than a smaller 30 minute BetaCam cassette. It's how the video is recorded to the tape stock that makes the difference. It's all about data rate!!!

-- Christopher Bigbie (christopher@bigbcreative.com), January 16, 2003.

We have equipment that covers both the miniDV format and DV cam. Rachel was close, but the only difference betweem DVCAM and miniDV is the tape speed. not the data rate. data rates are the same, its practically the same format DVCAM is more rugged with higher tape speed in the larger case. same record time, just more tape used. Both are a 25 mbit / second format. Most DVCAM deck will playback miniDV but always record in DVCAM. DVCAM does not play back in miniDV equipment.

-- Chris Reddick (chris@rocketfactory.com), September 18, 2003.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ