About Mini DV Tapes
Mini DV tapes are a storage medium for electronic media that records and plays back in a digital format. Initially developed for the professional market, specifically for television news crews, the mini DV format became a means for consumers to participate in the higher quality, yet affordable, digital camcorder market and quickly eclipsed the sales of older VHS camcorder technology. While the format is still widespread, mini DV tapes are now giving way to newer technologies such as flash drives, DVD drives and hard disk drives.
History
The digital video format was introduced to the consumer market in 1995 by a consortium of electronics manufacturers that included Panasonic, Sony and JVC as a direct competitor to the more established analog formats. Digital video, or DV, was further refined and compressed into what is now known as Mini DV, and is now the dominant format for consumer use and is also frequently used by professional broadcasters and filmmakers. Problems with interchangeability of mini DV tapes between manufacturers was solved in 1997 when a standard for lubricants was accepted.
Significance
Mini DV tapes have provided consumers with an affordable entry into the digital recording market. The tapes are considerably smaller than comparable VHS, Beta or Hi8 format tapes and are capable of storing up to 60 minutes of high quality video or 90 minutes when recording in the lower quality LP mode. Mini DV tapes also address the drop-out issues that plagued earlier analog formats making them a natural choice for video journalists. Because the cost of both mini DV tapes and digital camcorders has become extremely affordable many independent filmmakers have also embraced the format.
Types
Mini DV tapes come in to basic types, consumer and professional, but each type has variants and may be used in a variety of modes. Consumer quality mini DV tapes can be used by standard and the newer High Definition digital video camcorders. They can also be used to record audio only for high quality digital reproduction of sound. Professional applications of mini DV tape include Sony's DVCAM and Panasonic's DVCPRO formats.
Considerations
While mini DV tapes have the capability to record high quality images and sound, they are limited by their linear technology. DVD, flash drives and hard disk drives all have the advantage of random access of information, even though their compression rates frequently produce lower quality video and audio reproduction. Although there is strong legacy support for the mini DV tape format, consumers should consider that newer technologies will continue to make the format obsolete prior to purchasing a mini DV system.
Benefits
Mini DV tapes have proven to be an affordable, stable and high quality means of recording significant moments. The tapes are small for easy storage, can be easily re-recorded over and can hold an hour's worth of high quality video material. Mini DV tapes are widely accessible and tapes from different manufacturers may be successfully used with virtually any mini DV camcorder. As the format has matured the prices on both the camcorders and mini DV tapes have dropped considerably, making them an excellent choice for consumer use.
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