Both miniDV
and DVD camcorders are highly portable
MiniDV and DVD camcorders are two common varieties of home video recorders in 2011. Though the two different media formats record video of roughly the same quality, they have different applications and usability restrictions. Your choice of a specific format will depend on how you wish to use the footage and how long you need to record continuously.
Playback Differences
MiniDV and DVD camcorders are compatible with different playback devices. DVDs created on a DVD camcorder work immediately with most DVD players and computers for instant playback, making it easy to show home movies on a variety of platforms. MiniDV cameras often must connect directly to the television, as home theater systems cannot read miniDV tapes. In contrast, most non-linear editing programs can import miniDV video for editing by connecting the camera to the computer, while ripping DVD video for editing usually requires specialized third-party software.
Recording Time
Standard miniDV tapes have up to sixty minutes of recording time. Many cameras have LP, or "Long Play" features that slow the tape speed, and give additional recording time in exchange for a decrease in video quality. DVD discs can only hold twenty minutes of footage at high quality, and up to sixty minutes of standard quality recording. MiniDV tapes may be recorded over several times, while rerecording on a DVD camcorder depends on the inserted media. DVD-R and DVD+R discs only support a single recording session, while DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs remain rewritable for several sessions.
Video Quality
Both miniDV and DVD camcorders record video in standard definition, and will not record footage as detailed or large as Blu-ray camcorders, HD hard disk recorders or HDV tape cameras. As with any camera, the lens and recording instruments also greatly affect video quality. Reused minDV tapes may lose their video quality over time as the tape degrades.
Expense
Though the capacity of DVDs is smaller, recordable DVDs remain much cheaper than miniDV tapes, making it more cost-efficient per minute of recording. Both miniDV and DVD camcorders have models available for a few hundred dollars, manufactured by Panasonic, Sony, Canon and others. More recently introduced camcorder models often make use of hard disk recording or other media technology, and are slowly replacing the older formats in current manufacturing.
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