Digital Video Cameras

• Analogue and Digital video
• DV camcorders: which one to choose?
• Tape-based camcorders
• HD-based camcorders
• Disc-based camcorders
• Controls and features
• DV and the Web
• Editing your video for the Web
• Entry-level video editing applications
• High-end video editing applications
• Camcorder pricing

Digital Video (DV) is an ideal format for anyone wanting to use a camcorder (DV camera) to work with video on the PC or the Web. The most exciting aspect of DV editing is the purity of the content. No matter how much you work with your video, if you keep the data in a digital format, the video quality will be exactly the same.

However, deciding on the right camcorder can be difficult when you look at the many choices available. The type of media you want to use, the quality you need and the price you want to pay are all important aspects to consider.

Several pieces of the DV puzzle had to come together to bring movie making to the masses. PCs had to be sufficiently powerful to deal with the demands on storage and performance that video makes. Next, there had to be a way to connect a camcorder to a PC quickly and easily. Finally, there had to be a way to preserve the quality of the original footage so that it could be used without degradation.

Most dual-core PCs released over the last few years will provide more than enough processing power to deal with video transfers. The increases in storage capacity and dramatic reductions in the cost of RAM have also served the DV user well. The arrival of Windows XP (and more recently, Windows Vista) has provided crucial operating system support for Digital Video connectivity features such as FireWire, and Plug-and-Play support for removable hard drives and DV camcorders. In addition, the Vista version of Windows Movie Maker allows you to import, edit, manage and share high-definition video (HDV).