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Consumer Formats
 VHS,
VHS-C and 8mm
These are the original analogue consumer formats. They are
used in many home camcorders. VHS is the standard video tape
used in home VCRs. 8mm and VHS-C are more compact formats,
VHS-C was introduced to provide a VHS version of the smaller
8mm tape.
Industrial Formats
S-VHS and Hi-8
These are more durable formats, and a level up from the consumer
formats. S-VHS look like a VHS tape but requires an S-VHS
VCR. Hi-8 is often found in more upmarket home camcorders.
Both of these formats are often used for industrial formats
such as in-house training videos.
Digital 8
Digital 8 cameras use the same tape as Hi-8, but record a
digital signal on it. Broadcast quality can be achieved on
this format, but requires very specialist equipment and as
a result this format is generally used to achieve better quality
for industrial use.
MiniDV
This is used both at the home and professional level. MiniDv
is the format used in DV cameras. It is similar to Digital8
on home camcorders, and DVcam and DVCPro at professional level.
Broadcast Formats
DVCam
and DVCPro
DVCam and DVCPro generally come with better built cameras
designed for professional video production. They are popular
formats for achieving broadcast quality.
BetacamSP
BetacamSP has been the standard analogue format for broadcast
quality video production for many years, and whilst many are
now moving to the digital formats, BetacamSP is still a widely
used format.
DigitalS and DVCPro 50
These formats are only used for very high quality productions,
such as film and TV, and always come with high end Camcorders
and VCRs tailored for the broadcast market. The only format
superior to this in terms of picture and sound is High Definition
Video (see below)
High Definition Video
High Definition Video, or HD is the best you can achieve with
video at the moment. It has higher resolution, detail, colour
and contrast than any other format. HD is now used in the
best digital television, and DVD.
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