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| Tape Formats |
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NTSC * PAL
* M-PAL *
N-PAL * SECAM
* MESECAM
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Mini-DVC
DVC
DVCPro
DVCPro50
DVCProHD
Hi-8
Digital-8
VHS or Betamax tapes
DV formats are typically reckoned to be equal to or slightly better than
Betacam SP and MII in terms of picture quality (however, DV holds up
better over repeated play cycles, where BetaSP shows noticeable
dropout). They are a notch below Digital-S and
DVCPRO50, which are themselves a (largely imperceptible) notch below
Digital Betacam, D-1, and D-5. They are quite a bit better than 3/4" U-matic,
Hi8, and SVHS.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is just barely video and 10 is as good
as it gets, I would arrogantly rate assorted formats as follows:
| D-5 (10-bit uncompressed digital) |
10 |
| D-1 (8-bit uncompressed digital) |
9.9 |
| Digital Betacam, Ampex DCT |
9.7 |
| D-9 (Digital-S), DVCPRO50 |
9.6 |
| DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO (D-7), Digital8 |
9 |
| MII, Betacam SP |
8.9 |
| 1" Type C |
8.7 |
| 3/4" SP |
6.5 |
| 3/4", Hi8, SVHS |
5.5 |
| Video 8, Betamax |
4 |
| VHS |
3.5 |
| EIAJ Type 1, Fisher-Price Pixelvision |
1 |
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