Tapeless Camcorder
Encyclopedia
A tapeless camcorder is a camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...

 that does not use video tape for the digital recording
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...

 of video production
Video production
Video production is videography, the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media. The term includes methods of production and post-production...

s as 20th century ones did. Tapeless camcorders record video as digital computer file
Computer file
A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...

s onto random access
Random access
In computer science, random access is the ability to access an element at an arbitrary position in a sequence in equal time, independent of sequence size. The position is arbitrary in the sense that it is unpredictable, thus the use of the term "random" in "random access"...

 data storage device
Data storage device
thumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....

s such as optical disc
Optical disc
In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material on one of its flat surfaces...

s, hard disk drives and solid-state flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...

 cards.

Inexpensive pocket video camera
Pocket video camera
A pocket video camera is a tapeless camcorder that is small enough to be carried in one's pocket. Most pocket video cameras resemble mobile phones in shape and size, unlike traditional cameras....

s use flash memory card
Memory card
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...

s, while some more expensive camcorders use optical DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 or MiniDVD
MiniDVD
MiniDVD is a DVD disc having 8 cm in diameter.The 8 cm optical disc format was originally used for music CD singles, hence the commonly used names CD single and miniCD...

; similar flash technology is used on semi-pro and high-end professional video camera
Professional video camera
A professional video camera is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images...

s for ultrafast transfer of High-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...

 (HDTV) content. Hard disk drives can also be used in high end or professional units.

Camcorders using DVD media became increasingly popular at the turn of the 21st century due to the convenience of being able to drop a disc into the family DVD player
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...

; however, DVD capability, due to the limitations of the format, is largely limited to consumer-level equipment targeted at people who are not likely to spend any great amount of effort video editing
Video editing
The term video editing can refer to:* Linear video editing, using video tape* Non-linear editing system , using computers with video editing software* Offline editing* Online editing...

 their video footage.

Most consumer-level tapeless camcorders use MPEG-2
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...

, MPEG-4
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...

 video compression or its derivatives as Video coding formats. They are normally capable of still-image capture to JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....

 format additionally.

Consumer-grade tapeless camcorders include a USB port to transfer video onto a computer. Professional models include other options like Serial digital interface
Serial Digital Interface
Serial digital interface is a family of video interfaces standardized by SMPTE. For example, ITU-R BT.656 and SMPTE 259M define digital video interfaces used for broadcast-grade video...

 (SDI) or HDMI
HDMI
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...

. Some tapeless camcorders are equipped with a Firewire (IEEE-1394) port to ensure compatibility with magnetic tape
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...

-based DV
DV
DV is a format for the digital recording and playing back of digital video. The DV codec was launched in 1995 with joint efforts of leading producers of video camcorders....

 and 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...

 formats.

Optical discs

These include Professional Disc, 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...

 and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 (including the small 8 cm variant).

Professional Disc

Pros:
  • Reliable high-quality media in a protective cartridge
  • Fast data transfer rate
  • An established format in Electronic news-gathering (ENG) applications


Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Susceptible to vibration
  • Requires a special disc reader

Blu-ray Disc

Pros:
  • More affordable than Professional Disc
  • Relatively reliable with scratch-protective coating
  • Fast data transfer rate
  • Recorded disc can be played back in a consumer Blu-ray player
  • Discs can be used as immediate backup media


Cons:
  • Expensive
  • Susceptible to vibration
  • Capacity of 8 cm variant is limited to 7.5GB

DVD

Pros:
  • DVDs are familiar to most consumers, thus considered user-friendly
  • Recordable DVDs are relatively cheap
  • Immediate playback of recorded disc in almost any DVD or Blu-ray player
  • Discs can be used as immediate backup media, can be stored separately from a camcorder


Cons:
  • The longevity of recordable DVDs is argued to be much shorter than expected
  • Rewritable DVDs cost more than write-once discs
  • DVDs have to be "finalized" to be played back on set-top players
  • DVDs with high definition recordings cannot be played back on regular DVD players
  • A single-sided single-layer 8 cm DVD can fit only 1.4GB of data
  • DVDs are susceptible to vibration
  • 8 cm DVDs cannot be used in most slot-loading drives and may even damage the drive

Built-in drive

Pros:
  • Higher capacity than other media types, which allows for longer continuous direct to disk recording
    Direct to Disk Recording
    Direct-to-disk recording refers to methods by which analog signals and digital signals such as digital audio and digital video are digitally recorded to optical disc recording technologies such as DVDs, and CD optical discs...

    .
  • Faster data transfer rate than DVDs and memory cards; may require less time for uploading video (ingest) on a computer than a memory card.


Cons:
  • Sensitive to atmospheric pressure. Most HDD-based camcorders cannot be operated at altitudes above 10000 feet (3,048 m).
  • Vulnerable to mechanical shock or fast movement.
  • To transfer video to a computer the camcorder must be connected with a USB cable. Usage of an AC power adapter is often needed as well.

Removable drive

Removable HDDs are used in professional applications. When attached to a tape-based camcorder, a removable HDD offers fast DTE (Direct To Edit)
DTE (Direct To Edit)
DTE is a digital video direct-to-disk recording method used to streamline the post-production video editing workflow of raw video files into a Non-linear editing system .-See also:* Computer file...

 workflow
Workflow
A workflow consists of a sequence of connected steps. It is a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, a group of persons, an organization of staff, or one or more simple or complex mechanisms. Workflow may be seen as any abstraction of real work...

 and also acts as a duplicate media. When attached to a tapeless camcorder, a removable HDD offers redundant storage and often higher capacity than a memory card.

Memory card

These include Secure Digital
Secure Digital
Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...

, professional P2 (storage media)
P2 (storage media)
P2 is a professional digital recording solid-state memory storage media format introduced by Panasonic in 2004, and especially tailored to electronic news-gathering applications. It features tapeless recording of DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO25, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO-HD, or AVC-Intra streams on a solid-state...

 and SxS
SxS
SxS is a flash memory standard compliant to the Sony and Sandisk-created ExpressCard standard. According to Sandisk and Sony, the cards have transfer rates of 800 Mbit/s and burst transfer rate of up to 2.5 Gbit/s...



Utilizing solid-state flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...

 technology, memory cards offer rewritable storage in a compact form factor with no moving parts.

Historically, flash memory capacity and pricing have improved steadily since introduction to the consumer market, though not yet matching the price of optical media.

Pros:
  • Does not require time for spin-up and initialization, always ready for recording.
  • Not vulnerable to magnetic fields.
  • Can withstand a wider range of air pressure and humidity than HDDs and tapes.
  • The camera is more likely to survive being dropped than DVD, miniDV tape, and hard disk, which all have very delicate write/record head components.
  • Can store mixed media content, including still images (snapshot photos or still-frame captures).


Cons:
  • Compatibility issues: may need a proprietary reader
  • Vulnerable to electrical damage, such as static discharge
  • Not yet proven to be reliable archival media

See also

  • AVCHD
    AVCHD
    AVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....

  • Camera phone
    Camera phone
    A camera phone is a mobile phone which is able to capture still photographs . Since early in the 21st century the majority of mobile phones in use are camera phones....

  • Editcam
    Editcam
    Editcam is a professional digital camera system manufactured by Ikegami and first introduced in 1995, available both as professional camcorders and modular dock recorders...

  • Electronic field production
    Electronic field production
    Electronic field production is a television industry term referring to a video production which takes place in the field, outside of a formal television studio, in a practical location or special venue...

     (EFP)
  • 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...

  • Pocket video camera
    Pocket video camera
    A pocket video camera is a tapeless camcorder that is small enough to be carried in one's pocket. Most pocket video cameras resemble mobile phones in shape and size, unlike traditional cameras....

  • Television production
  • 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...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK