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MOD and TOD (video format)
Encyclopedia
MOD and TOD are recording formats for use in digital tapeless camcorder
s. The formats are comparable to XDCAM EX
, HDV
and AVCHD
.
MOD and TOD are informal names of tapeless video formats used by JVC (MOD and TOD), Panasonic (MOD only) and Canon (MOD only) in some models of digital camcorders. Format names correspond to extensions of video files. Neither JVC nor Panasonic, who pioneered the format, explained meaning of the file extensions, and the formats were never given an official name. Some think that TOD stands for "Transport stream on disk". MOD is used exclusively for standard definition video files, while TOD is used for high definition files.
The first camcorders that used MOD format appeared in 2003. JVC introduced the Everio GZ-MG30, which recorded directly to an internal hard disk drive. Panasonic unveiled the SDR-S100, which recorded to SD cards. The encoding scheme, data rate, frame rate and frame size closely matched parameters of DVD-video
.
In January 2007 JVC announced its first high definition tapeless consumer camcorder, the Everio GZ-HD7
, which recorded 1080i
MPEG-2 video to either a built-in hard disk drive or an SD memory card. Data rates, frame sizes and frame rate were comparable to 1080-line XDCAM
and HDV video. Panasonic has never released a consumer high definition camcorder that used TOD recording format. Instead, Panasonic joined Sony to develop AVCHD
.
In January 2008 Canon unveiled a family of tapeless standard definition consumer camcorders: the FS100, FS10 and FS11. All these camcorders record in MOD format.
Both MOD and TOD are file-based formats that are stored on a random-access media. Directory structure and naming convention are identical except for extensions of media files.
Standard definition video is stored in MPEG program stream container files with MOD extension; in most other systems these files have extension MPG or MPEG. High definition video is stored in MPEG transport stream container files with TOD extension; in most other systems these files have M2T extension. Transport stream files can be converted into program stream files without recompressing the video itself. For example, FFmpeg
, a free
program, performs the conversion on Windows and Linux systems with the following command: ffmpeg -i myclip.TOD -acodec copy -vcodec copy myclip.mpg. A similar command is used for MOD files: ffmpeg -i myClip.MOD -vcodec copy -acodec mp2 -ab 192k myClip.mpg. Software, included with TOD camcorders, performs this conversion as part of capture process.
Despite the file structure being unique to this video recording format, the location for still images follows the standard agreed upon by many still camera manufacturers.
Standard definition video can be recorded in 4:3 and 16:9 formats. Some video decoders do not interpret the aspect ratio information in the media file header correctly, so 16:9 video may appear squeezed horizontally when viewed. Software that is shipped with camcorders is capable of processing the aspect ratio information correctly, aided perhaps by the metadata stored in MOI files
. There are also third-party tools for modifying the wide-screen aspect ratio information in the media file header so that it satisfies decoders which would otherwise fail to interpret this information correctly in an unmodified MOD file. Some tools such as MediaInfo
can correctly report the aspect ratio of widescreen MOD files, but media players may or may not display them correctly depending on the capabilities of the video decoder that they are utilizing at the time.
TOD format is comparable with AVCHD, but cannot be directly played on consumer video equipment. Media files must be packaged into distribution formats like HD DVD
or Blu-ray Disc
, using authoring software. One of TOD recording modes, "1440CBR", has the same frame size, aspect ratio and frame rate as 1080i HDV, and can be loosely called "HDV on disk".
format, licensed from Sony. Like TOD, XDCAM EX employs MPEG-2 HD video encoding scheme. Unlike TOD, XDCAM EX uses MP4
container.
As of 2011, MOD format is still being used in standard definition camcorders manufactured by JVC, Panasonic and Canon. Sony employs MPEG-2 video encoding and Program Stream container in its standard definition camcorders too, but the directory structure is different from MOD, and the media files have conventional MPG extension.
MOD and TOD formats do not allow recording progressive-scan video, neither at "film" rates (24, 25, 30 frames/s) nor at "reality" rates (50, 60 frames/s). This limitation makes MOD and TOD formats suboptimal for online video viewing, because most video hosting websites stream progressive-scan video. On another hand, AVCHD
allows recording progressive-scan high-definition video at both "film" and "reality" rates.
Tapeless Camcorder
A tapeless camcorder is a camcorder that does not use video tape for the digital recording of video productions as 20th century ones did. Tapeless camcorders record video as digital computer files onto random access data storage devices such as optical discs, hard disk drives and solid-state flash...
s. The formats are comparable to XDCAM EX
XDCAM
XDCAM is a a series of products for digital recording using random access solid-state memory media, introduced by Sony in 2003. Four different product lines — the XDCAM SD, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422 — differ in types of encoder used, frame size, container type and in...
, HDV
HDV
HDV is a format for recording of high-definition video on DV cassette tape. The format was originally developed by JVC and supported by Sony, Canon and Sharp...
and AVCHD
AVCHD
AVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
.
Overview
The first camcorders that used MOD format appeared in 2003. JVC introduced the Everio GZ-MG30, which recorded directly to an internal hard disk drive. Panasonic unveiled the SDR-S100, which recorded to SD cards. The encoding scheme, data rate, frame rate and frame size closely matched parameters of DVD-video
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
.
In January 2007 JVC announced its first high definition tapeless consumer camcorder, the Everio GZ-HD7
JVC GZ-HD7
The JVC GZ-HD7 high definition camcorder was launched in 2007. This is one of the first camcorders that records high definition video on a built-in hard drive, as well as onto a secure digital memory card...
, which recorded 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
MPEG-2 video to either a built-in hard disk drive or an SD memory card. Data rates, frame sizes and frame rate were comparable to 1080-line XDCAM
XDCAM
XDCAM is a a series of products for digital recording using random access solid-state memory media, introduced by Sony in 2003. Four different product lines — the XDCAM SD, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422 — differ in types of encoder used, frame size, container type and in...
and HDV video. Panasonic has never released a consumer high definition camcorder that used TOD recording format. Instead, Panasonic joined Sony to develop AVCHD
AVCHD
AVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
.
In January 2008 Canon unveiled a family of tapeless standard definition consumer camcorders: the FS100, FS10 and FS11. All these camcorders record in MOD format.
Both MOD and TOD are file-based formats that are stored on a random-access media. Directory structure and naming convention are identical except for extensions of media files.
Standard definition video is stored in MPEG program stream container files with MOD extension; in most other systems these files have extension MPG or MPEG. High definition video is stored in MPEG transport stream container files with TOD extension; in most other systems these files have M2T extension. Transport stream files can be converted into program stream files without recompressing the video itself. For example, FFmpeg
FFmpeg
FFmpeg is a free software project that produces libraries and programs for handling multimedia data. The most notable parts of FFmpeg are libavcodec, an audio/video codec library used by several other projects, libavformat, an audio/video container mux and demux library, and the ffmpeg command line...
, a free
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
program, performs the conversion on Windows and Linux systems with the following command: ffmpeg -i myclip.TOD -acodec copy -vcodec copy myclip.mpg. A similar command is used for MOD files: ffmpeg -i myClip.MOD -vcodec copy -acodec mp2 -ab 192k myClip.mpg. Software, included with TOD camcorders, performs this conversion as part of capture process.
Despite the file structure being unique to this video recording format, the location for still images follows the standard agreed upon by many still camera manufacturers.
Standard definition video can be recorded in 4:3 and 16:9 formats. Some video decoders do not interpret the aspect ratio information in the media file header correctly, so 16:9 video may appear squeezed horizontally when viewed. Software that is shipped with camcorders is capable of processing the aspect ratio information correctly, aided perhaps by the metadata stored in MOI files
MOI (file format)
MOI is a computer file format used primarily to represent information. MOI files are associated with MOD or TOD files whose content they represent. They are mainly used on JVC camcorders.- Format overview :...
. There are also third-party tools for modifying the wide-screen aspect ratio information in the media file header so that it satisfies decoders which would otherwise fail to interpret this information correctly in an unmodified MOD file. Some tools such as MediaInfo
MediaInfo
MediaInfo is a free, Open-source program that displays technical information about media files, as well as tag information for many audio and video files. It is used in many programs such as XMedia Recode, MediaCoder, eMule, K-Lite Codec Pack, Media Player Classic Homecinema and can be easily...
can correctly report the aspect ratio of widescreen MOD files, but media players may or may not display them correctly depending on the capabilities of the video decoder that they are utilizing at the time.
Playing and editing
MOD video can be viewed on a computer with a player that is capable of reproducing MPEG-2 video. This video can be easily authored for watching on a DVD player without recompression, because it is fully compliant with DVD-video standard.TOD format is comparable with AVCHD, but cannot be directly played on consumer video equipment. Media files must be packaged into distribution formats like HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
or Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, using authoring software. One of TOD recording modes, "1440CBR", has the same frame size, aspect ratio and frame rate as 1080i HDV, and can be loosely called "HDV on disk".
Future of MOD and TOD formats
JVC was the only supporter of TOD format. In 2008 JVC released several hybrid TOD/AVCHD consumer models, and some AVCHD only models. Consumer high definition camcorders offered by JVC from 2009 onwards record only in AVCHD format. Professional JVC tapeless camcorders introduced in 2009 use XDCAM EXXDCAM
XDCAM is a a series of products for digital recording using random access solid-state memory media, introduced by Sony in 2003. Four different product lines — the XDCAM SD, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422 — differ in types of encoder used, frame size, container type and in...
format, licensed from Sony. Like TOD, XDCAM EX employs MPEG-2 HD video encoding scheme. Unlike TOD, XDCAM EX uses MP4
MPEG-4 Part 14
MPEG-4 Part 14 or MP4 is a multimedia container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4. It is most commonly used to store digital video and digital audio streams, especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images...
container.
As of 2011, MOD format is still being used in standard definition camcorders manufactured by JVC, Panasonic and Canon. Sony employs MPEG-2 video encoding and Program Stream container in its standard definition camcorders too, but the directory structure is different from MOD, and the media files have conventional MPG extension.
MOD and TOD formats do not allow recording progressive-scan video, neither at "film" rates (24, 25, 30 frames/s) nor at "reality" rates (50, 60 frames/s). This limitation makes MOD and TOD formats suboptimal for online video viewing, because most video hosting websites stream progressive-scan video. On another hand, AVCHD
AVCHD
AVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
allows recording progressive-scan high-definition video at both "film" and "reality" rates.
JVC MOD camcorders
- 2004: GZ-MC100 (SD), GZ-MC200 (SD)
- 2005: GZ-MG30 (HDD), GZ-MG70 (HDD)
- 2006: GZ-MG37 (HDD), GZ-MG77 (HDD), GZ-MG505 (HDD, SD/SDHC card)
- 2007: GZ-MG130 (HDD), GZ-MG155 (HDD), GZ-MG175 (HDD, SD/SDHC card), GZ-MG255 (HDD), GZ-MG555JVC GZ-MG555The JVC GZ-MG555 camcorder , also known as the JVC GZ-MG575 , was produced by JVC in 2007. It records standard definition MPEG-2 video onto either a built-in hard disk drive, or on a secure digital memory card in MOD format.Video can be recorded in four quality settings: Ultra Fine , Fine , Normal...
(HDD, SD/SDHC card) - 2008: GZ-MS100U (SD/SDHC card)
- 2008: GZ-MG7230 (30 GB HDD, MicroSD)
- 2009: GZ-MG630 (60 GB HDD, MicroSD), GZ-MG670 (80 GB HDD, MicroSD), GZ-MG680 (120 GB HDD, MicroSD)
JVC TOD camcorders
- 2007: GZ-HD7JVC GZ-HD7The JVC GZ-HD7 high definition camcorder was launched in 2007. This is one of the first camcorders that records high definition video on a built-in hard drive, as well as onto a secure digital memory card...
(HDD, SD/SDHC), GZ-HD3 (HDD, SD/SDHC) - March 2008: GZ-HD5 (HDD, MicroSD), GZ-HD6 (HDD, MicroSD)
- June 2008: GZ-HD30, GZ-HD40 (HDD, MicroSD, capable of both TOD and AVCHDAVCHDAVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
recording)
Panasonic MOD camcorders
- 2003: SV-AV100 (SD card)
- 2005: SDR-S100 (SD card)
- 2006: SDR-S150 (SD/SDHC card)
- 2007: SDR-S10 (SD/SDHC card), SDR-H18 (HDD, SD card), SDR-H200 (HDD, SD/SDHC card)
- 2008: SDR-H20 (HDD, SD/SDHC card), SDR-H60 (HDD, SD/SDHC card)
- 2008: SDR-S7 (SD/SDHC card)
- 2008: SDR-SW20 (SD/SDHC card)
- 2009: SDR-SW21 (SD/SDHC card)
- 2009: SDR-S26 (SD/SDHC card)
- 2010: SDR-S50 (SD/SDHC/SDXC card), SDR-T50P, SDR-T55P (SD/SDHC/SDXC card, internal flash), SDR-H85P (SD/SDHC/SDXC card, hard drive)
Canon MOD Camcorders
- 2008: FS100 (SDHC), FS10 (SDHC), FS11 (SDHC)
- 2009: FS200 (SDHC), FS21 (SDHC), FS22 (SDHC)
Specifications
| Name of format | MOD | TOD |
|---|---|---|
| Media | Hard disk drive, solid-state memory cards | |
| Video | ||
| Video signal | 480i, 576i | 1080/60i, 1080/50i |
| Frame size in pixels | 720 x 480, 720 x 576, 704 x 480, 352 x 480 | 1440 x 1080, 1920 x 1080 |
| Frame aspect ratio | 4:3, 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Video Compression | MPEG2 MPEG-2 MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods which permit storage and transmission of movies using currently available storage media and transmission... Video (profile & level: MP@ML) |
MPEG2 MPEG-2 MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods which permit storage and transmission of movies using currently available storage media and transmission... Video (profile & level: MP@HL) |
| Chroma sampling format | 4:2:0 | |
| Compressed video bitstream rate | ~3 - 10 Mbit/s depending on quality mode | ~17 - 30 Mbit/s depending on quality mode |
| Audio | ||
| Compression | MPEG-1 Audio Layer II MPEG-1 Audio Layer II MPEG-1 Audio Layer II or MPEG-2 Audio Layer II is a lossy audio compression format defined by ISO/IEC 11172-3 alongside MPEG-1 Audio Layer I and MPEG-1 Audio Layer III... |
|
| System | ||
| Stream type | Program stream | Transport stream |
| Media file extension | MOD (on camcorder), MPG or MPEG (on computer) |
TOD (on camcorder), M2T (on computer) |
See also
- H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2H.262 or MPEG-2 Part 2 is a digital video compression and encoding standard developed and maintained jointly by ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group and ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group . It is the second part of the ISO/IEC MPEG-2 standard...
: digital video compression scheme - HDVHDVHDV is a format for recording of high-definition video on DV cassette tape. The format was originally developed by JVC and supported by Sony, Canon and Sharp...
: tape-based high definition format that uses MPEG-2 Part 2 video compression - XDCAMXDCAMXDCAM is a a series of products for digital recording using random access solid-state memory media, introduced by Sony in 2003. Four different product lines — the XDCAM SD, XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422 — differ in types of encoder used, frame size, container type and in...
: a family of tapeless high definition formats that use MPEG-2 Part 2 video compression