DVD Formats For Dummies
by Doina Stefanescu | June 28, 2008
A digital video is a video recording that uses a digital video signal, rather than an old analogue recording system. Here you have a list consisting of the most common used digital video formats, with technical details and specs, starting with the nowadays DVD's predecessors.
The Digital Betacam version, also known as Digibeta or D-Beta, was created in 1993 by Sony who replaced the old Betacam SP format. The main advantage of the new version was that of being cheaper than D1, while performing better than DVCam and DVCPro.
The D-Beta never became an industry standard, although it was praised by a fair number of professionals.
They have an approximative size as other Beta versions: the small tapes, S version, record up to 40 minutes, the large ones, L, record up to 124 minutes.
Cassette sizes are the same as other Beta versions: S (small) tapes record up to 40 minutes, L (large) tapes record up to 124 minutes. Cassettes are light blue. PAL resolution is 720x576, NTSC resolution is 720x480. The bitrate is 90 Mbit/s and they have 5 audio channels.
 One of the most commonly used formats is the MiniDV, which is the offspring of the wider DV, or simply, Digital Video. The Digital Video format was revealed in 1996, being created by several companies under the official name of IEC 61834. The DV format also released offsprings like DVCAM, from Sony, and DVCPRO, from Panasonic. The MiniDV is just a smaller format of 65 x 48 x 12 mm. Record time is 60 minutes (standard play) or 90 minutes (extended/long play). MiniDV can also be used to store other forms of data with the help of appropriate software. MiniDV tapes can hold about 13GB of data in this way.
The DV format is ideal for editing because it uses intraframe compression, that is, a compression method realized within each frame rather than between consecutive frames.
The DV format should not be confused with the HDV format, which is the high-definition version of DV. Although it uses the same style tapes, it uses MPEG-2 for compression.
DV uses the Firewire (IEEE 1394) interface to transfer video files between cameras, editing equipment and so on, and DV tapes can be played back in both DVCAM and DVCPRO VCRs.
The offspring of DV, the DVCAM was created by Sony and was targeted at the semi-professional and lower-end professional market. This format uses the same type of tape and compression as DV and MiniDV, but at a higher speed, almost 50% faster. It also provides an HD mode.
The other famous DV version is the DVCPRO which was designed by Panasonic and was targeted at the professional segment. It is also known as DVCPRO Standard  or DVCPRO25, to be better differentiated from other versions, like the DVCPRO50 which has a blue lid, or the DVCPRO HD which have a red lid. Simple DVCPRO cassettes have a yellow label. DVCPRO VCRs can play both DV and DVCAM tapes but cannot record in these formats. MiniDV tapes can be played with an adaptor.
The DVD is basically an optical disc storage technology and it was released in 1997 as a replacement format for other ones like CDs, VHS and laserdisc. It is not quite sure what the letters DVD stand for since the official standard did not specify any particular meaning, but the most probable versions are Digital Video Disc and Digital Versatile Disc. Although the DVD format become relatively slow accepted than previous expected, it turned out to be the dominant format for distribution of pre-recorded content and computer data storage due to significant advantages, like a single-sided DVD that can hold up to 4.7 GB of data, enough for two to three hours of standard-definition video. There are also specific DVD formats for game consoles such as Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox.
There are a multitude of actual DVD formats is quite disturbing. The physical format vary in terms of how the data is actually stored, and application formats range in  terms of how program content is stored and played.
Recordable DVD formats: DVD-R for General, DVD-R for Authoring, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R.
Application DVD formats: DVD-Video, DVD-Video Recording (DVD-VR), DVD+RW Video Recording (DVD+VR), DVD-Audio Recording (DVD-AR), DVD Stream Recording (DVD-SR), DVD-Audio (DVD-A), Super Audio CD (SACD).
Following the DVD is the Blu-Ray which is also an optical type of disc storage technology. The name comes from the color of the laser used in fabrication, blue instead of red like for DVD. The blue laser light has a shorter wavelenght, making the Blu-Ray able to store more data in the same space. The Blu-Ray won over the HD-DVD in February 2008 in the post-DVD high-definition market.
The features that made the Blu-Ray the dominant element on the DVD market are the huge improvement in storage space, a single layer Blu-Ray disc can hold up to 25GB of data which is enough for 2.5h of high-definition video, or 13h of standard definition video. A double layer one can hold 50GB, enough for 4.5h of high-definition video or 20h of standard definition video. Certain prototypes have been proven to store up to 100GB, with a theoretical limit of 200GB, although these kind of features will not be available that soon. Blu-Ray supports 1080p resolution. This is thought of as the best high-definition resolution for consumers, despite the fact that pre-recorded content is not yet readily available. However the inclusion of 1080p is another big plus for Blu-Ray.
The Blu-Ray format also allows you to: search for empty disc space, edit and rearrange programs, access the Internet to download features such as subtitles, create playlists, record one program while playing back another.
As regards to the gaming corporations, Sony has Columbia Pictures and MGM and the support of certain big players, like PlayStation 3 which will play Blu-Ray DVDs.
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