Posted by Richard Crowley on 08/21/06 04:31

<Acurajustin1978@hotmail.com> wrote ...
> When I was looking there were decks that has DVCAM
> miniDV. What is the difference?

http://www.adamwilt.com/DV-FAQ-tech.html#DVformats

>>From what I can tell DVCAM has been around the pro world since 1996
>>and
> it much better quality than consumer level miniDV. DUh - that makes
> sense.

Depends on how you define "quality". The bits recorded on
the tape are nearly identical between DV and DVCAM. There
is a minor difference in how the video and audio are handled
in DVCAM ("locked"), but this makes no difference in the
sync between video and audio here in The Real World. I have
been running both DVCAM and DV interchangably for years
and have never seen a difference in A\V sync of DVCAM vs.
DV.

DVCAM camcorders virtually always have significantly
better cameras (and lenses) than DV camcorders. So in that
respect, DVCAM is "better quality".

> Can one play a miniDV tape in a DVCAM marked deck?

Except for a very old DVCAM model (which likely does not
survive to this era), yes all DVCAM equipment will play DV.
("mini" is just a reference to the physical size of the cassette)

> What about vice versa?

Most modern Sony DV equipment will play DVCAM.
But don't buy anything without confirming the specific
model first.

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