How to Work with Mini DV


Most of us don’t know what is meant by a mini DV. Without even knowing the true meaning of a DV we often see them in video cameras, digital cameras and some electronic gadgets. The following passage gives us a brief description about a mini DV.

Mini DV is defined as a cassette which is very small in size and records digital videotape which is in the form of DV. The videos and audios are captured in a good quality by these tapes. The picture and sound quality is very sharp and clear. This is the best feature of this tape. There are three different types of formats. The mini DV is the most popular when compared to other types. Big companies like Sony, JVC, Panasonic etc. which manufactures camera recorders commonly use these.

These are also called video cassette. These are designed in such a way that a magnetic tape records audio and video data. These tapes are made in different sizes: extra-large, large, medium and small. The width is about 6.35 millimeters. The ones which are small in size are known as mini DV. These are basically designed for the use of amateur only. But as they are easy to use they are being employed for professional use like major productions etc. The maintenance of mini DV is very low. Hence it is widely used in film making as it is of low cost.

Any video which is DV labeled can make use of this mini DV. Recorders can also make use of this. Though there are many different kinds of DVs like DCCPRO, DVCAM etc. it indicates only the recording time length. The memory of the DV tapes is either in the MIC or cassette. These are memory chips of very low capacity. All the data that are recorded like date and time, birthday videos etc. are stored in this memory. The data is automatically stored in the MIC till the red button of the camcorder is being pushed. The various lengths that are available are 80, 60 and 30 minutes.

Nowadays there is an increase in digital discs and various non-magnetic takes which is used for recording video. Hence now mini DVs can be recorded in memory cards, hard disc drives and stable memory cards. These are stored and then can be converted to various formats like QuickTime, MXF and AVI formats. The following are the various file based media.

DV-DIF: This DV-DIF is a format of DV and it is original. These files have extensions like .dif and .dv.

DV-AVI: Microsoft Corporation created this of format. This is a different form of video arrangement. The AVI container encapsulates the data. It is of two types. The first type combines the video and audio into a single file. But the second type stores the video and audio in separate files. The Windows OS is best suited for this.

QuickTime DV: The QuickTime container wraps this type of DV. Apple or MAC computers are best suited for this.

MXF-DV: MXF container wraps this type of DV. XDCAM or XDCAM EX equipment makes use of this format

Different media players can play this Mini DV. VLC, windows media player etc. are different types. These are used for professional uses also.

Filed Under: Computers & Technology

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About the Author: Justin Belden is a freelance web & graphic designer with over 15 years' experience. He is also an Avid member of the Design/Development community and a Serial Blogger who loves to help people by sharing interesting and informative tips and trick related to computer and technology.

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