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The other digital video cameras made by Sony, JVC, and others use a DVC (digital video camera) format. I think it is similar to M-JPEG in which each frame is compressed, but there is no inter-frame compression. This results in a lower compression ratio, but it makes the encoder/decoder electronic much simpler. The advantages of recording in MPEG1 are better compression and wider compatibility with computer systems, satellite systems, etc. Remember, MPEG1 can be played back on any MPEG1 or MPEG2 system, except Divx, which will not play back MPEG1. A video file in MPEG format can be e-mailed to your friends over the internet, and they can easily play it back their PC. They won't need a special DVC player or 42DD system to view the video clip. Pretty cool for convergence systems. Unfortunately, the digital video tapes have a shorter recording time and are expensive. They are manufactured only by Sony and Maxell (a Hitachi subsidiary). I expect we'll see more MPEG digital video cameras in the next several years, especially when CUBE gets its DVx MPEG2 codec down to $50! |
