HDV Camcorders:

Capture your memories in high definition

By The Vann’s Editorial Team

When it comes to home entertainment, HDTV (High Definition Television) is all the buzz. You may have even noticed the “Broadcast in HDTV” logos on your screen at the beginning of some television shows. And, if you're one of the lucky ones to have already jumped on the bandwagon, you’re already well acquainted with the added resolution and realism of HDTV.

Think of the possibilities of owning a camcorder with the same qualities. After all, why watch home recordings in standard definition when you could view the footage of your last vacation in glorious HD? HDV (high-definition video) camcorders use MPEG2 compression to translate HD images onto DV or MiniDV tapes. Yep, the tapes are the exact same medium that standard definition (like DVD and low-budget network TV broadcasts) uses -- only in HD. HDV doesn’t gobble up near as much data space as HD formats due to the MPEG2 compression. Plus, HDV is much less expensive than HD formats to operate. They’re for people like you who want to record clear, colorful memories at a low cost for years to come.

Pros and cons

Here are a few things to consider when looking into an HDV camcorder. The initial cost of an HDV camcorder is somewhat higher than a standard format camcorder. At this point, HDV camcorders are an emerging product, so the selection isn’t that big. That is changing as giants like Sony and Canon develop more and more HDV camcorders.

Now bear with me as I get a little technical. HDV camcorders record sound with MPEG 1 layer 2 (384 kbit/s) vs the 1535 kbit/s for DV and audio CDs. Less data space is used, but quality is lost. Before you jump to any conclusions, listen to this. Some HD camcorders use memory cards that can cost over $50 per minute compared to a couple bucks per hour for the MiniDV tapes that HDV camcorders use. So if you’re recording a symphony with an HDV camcorder, consider investing in a better microphone but know you’re saving a lot of money by going with HDV.

The revolution of resolution

Not all HDTV monitors support the highest 1920 x 1080 resolutions, but many consumers already have HD sets that can show the significant improvement HDV offers over SD (Standard Definition). SD is represented by the PAL and NTSC video systems of the last 40-plus years. The video frame for HDV is defined to have an aspect ratio of 16:9, in resolutions of either 720p or 1080i. HDV 1080i uses a pixel resolution of 1440 x 1080, but when displayed has an effective resolution of 1920 x 1080. Visually, the images are considered to be equal since the spacial resolution of the human eye is less sensitive to differences in horizontal resolution than vertical resolution. Even though it uses 1440 x 1080 pixels for 1080i, the perceived sharpness with HDV is much higher than with PAL or NTSC DV formats. 1440 is still twice the horizontal resolution of DV and DVD formats. 1080i has a resolution of 1,555,200 pixels, which is 4.5 times larger than the resolution of NTSC-DV (345,600 pixels) and 3.75 times larger than PAL-DV (414,720 pixels).

So you’re checking out a Sony HDV camcorder that captures video at 1440 x 1080i. What does that do for you exactly? Well, more pixels mean sharper images and deeper colors. The result is pretty spectacular on the big screen. The 1440 x 1080 pixel resolution is a big contrast from the 720 x 480 pixel resolution of standard MiniDV camcorders.

Easy integration

Although you do need an HDTV to get the full effects of an HD recording, don’t recycle your standard TV just yet. HD recordings can be viewed on all existing equipment at the quality limits of the viewing device. In other words, you can watch your HD recordings on any television, but if it’s not HD the images won’t show up in HD.

And just because it's high definition doesn't mean it's high maintenance. HDV camcorders record information the same way other digital camcorders do. They can even use the same MiniDV cassettes. Digital processing and encoding is used to put more relevant visual detail onto the existing digital cassette. The bottom line is that a 60-minute MiniDV tape is usable for HDV and still provides 60 minutes of recording time. With HDV camcorders, you don't need any extra gadgets (except maybe a microphone for the symphony) or have to know any complicated tricks. But now you do know that they bring high quality to your recordings at a low cost, especially when viewed on an HDTV.