Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Tech Report

Digital Video Camera Storage Formats


In this technical report I am going to take a look at the Prosumer to low-end Professional level video camera ($1000 to $4000 range) storage Medias.Storage Medias being the video cameras built-in storage utilized to store High Definition Video. I’ll briefly go over each type of media, discussing their origin, pros, cons, and things to consider prior to choosing a media type.

I know you may be saying that as designer, I really do not need to know about video camcorder media formats and that I’ll let my videographer worry about it. That may be true, but people in the digital media field are wearing more hats, you may find it more cost effective to meet your simple video needs by doing it yourself. If nothing else, this report will provide a basic understanding of media formats available enabling you carry on a more intelligent conversation with your videographer.

Using B&H Photo as litmus test for the market, I came to the conclusion that the following formats   were the primary formats to consider (keep in mind the specific market we are exploring):

  • Tape
  • Memory Cards
  • Built-In Hard Drives
  • Built-In Solid State Devices

Tape


Tape – MiniDV/MiniHDV

The DV referrers to a digital video format first established in 1995 by leading producers of video cameras. Initially it was designed for use on magnetic tape but later was used with cameras that use optical disc, flash memory, and hard drives.  The “Mini” portion of MiniDV referrers to the packaging of the tape. It was originally intended for the novice but the quality turned out to good enough to be considered professional grade.  According to the CNET reviews the media is “waning in popularity” but it’s “not dead yet”.  Price for the media varies around $10 to $18 for 60 and 80 minutes making it a comparatively cheap and probably, a good reason the media is still around.


Memory Cards

Secure Digital/ Secure Digital High Capacity (SD/SDHC)

This solid state card was first introduced as the SD card around 2000 to compete with Sony’s memory stick.  It wasn’t until 2005 that it gained popularity for use with digital cameras. The SDHC has overcome some limitations such as capacity and write speed to become a very popular, light weight, reliable media for use with digital camcorders. Price of the media varies around $50 to $150 for 16 to 32 GB cards that are class 6 or higher (class 6 being write speeds of 6 MB/s). There seems to be ambiguity for class speeds by the manufactures that claim much higher write speeds by still label the media as class 6. The next version of this card will be SDX that may have capacities of up to 2 TB. After searching the internet I did not find any SD style SDX cards.


Memory Stick Duo Pro

The Memory Stick Duo Pro is many times improved version of Sony’s original Memory Stick introduced in 1998. In 2008 like many of the other media mentioned, its capacity and write speed made it an option for digital camcorders. The card is proprietary for use with Sony cameras and prices range from $14 to $190 storage capacities of 4 to 32 GB.

P2 Card

The P2 memory is Panasonics answer to memory card storage market. It was first introduced in 2004 and presently comes in storage sizes of 16 to 64 GB ranging in price from $400 to $900. This is another proprietary card for use with Panasonic cameras.


Built-In Hard Drives

After a search for camcorders on B&H Photo, only the consumer level cameras had internal hard drives. Prices for cameras that were HD ranged from $500 to $1000 with hard drive capacities of 80 to 120 GB’s.  These large storage capacities make for long record times. However, based on my internet search, internal hard drives do not appear to be the choice for the Prosumer/Professional market.
I did some research as to why that is the case and found inputs posted on CNET’s article” Camcorders: flash drive vs. hard drive” and based on those inputs, came to the conclusion that solid state devices (memory cards) are more robust, less prone to problems , and use less power.

Built-In Solid State Devices

After a search on B&H Photo, I only found cameras that used memory cards and no onboard storage. However, this is probably because onboard solid state storage is a new technology for Professional grade camcorders.  This being said, Sony( http://www.slashgear.com/) announced this month its first professional grade camcorder, the HXR-NX5Uthat will be priced just under $5000.  As the technology improves solid state devices will probably cause the HDD cameras to fade out.

Conclusions

Based on the research discussed above, consider the following things in regards to media types for camcorders:
  1. What are my specific needs:
    • Do I need to maintain archive copies?
    • What kind budget do I have?
    • Which format will best serve my work flow?
    • Which format is the most reliable?
    • Which format will is the most accessible (i.e. can I run to the store and purchase another card)?
  2. How risky is the choice in regards to future technology
    • Will the format I choose pose a problem when it becomes obsolete?
    • Will the state of the art technology I choose become the industry standard or flop?
    • Is the media proprietary or open market?
These considerations taken, I’ve narrowed my choices down to two options for the market in question (Prosumer/low-end Professional).If budget is a concern and maintaining archives, I recommend the MiniHDV. It is the cheapest and best quality media for the cost. If budget is not as big of concern, I recommend the SDHC memory due to being either most common among all the cameras, including ones with other proprietary cards. 

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