Newbie confusion about tape formats

G

galt

Well-known member
I am pretty new to video, and am just now learning about the DVX. But I am hung up on something that is probably silly, yet needs an answer. I looked on Panasonic website, but they seemed to treat this as something everyone must know, since they did not address it anywhere I could find. For some reason thsi site is running at molasses speed right now, so I didn't do all the searching here I probably should have.... (apologies if this gets asked every week).

WHat is DVCPRO format? Is it the same as miniDV on a Sony, with just a different name to confuse us all? Are tapes written on one readable on the other? Are blank media interchangeable? Or is it something completely different?

Also DVCPRO50... Is that comparable to DVCAM on SOny (same media, twice the tape speed, half the capacity)?

And likewise DVCPRO-HD, is that a different tape and form factor from PRO or PRO50 ?

And one final question about the p2. If it is a 4GB device, does that mean it stores like 10-15 minutes of video at SD ? Does that translate to 2-4 minutes at HD (100Mbps) ??
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

DV and mini DV are consumer formats. DVCPRO is a professional/broadcast format. More differences between the two are in PAL world. However, both share the same datarate (25Mbps) and same sampling, 4:1:1. DVCPRO is the equivalent of DVCAM. Also, all DVCPRO tape decks will playback DV and mini DV tapes (some of them will even record DV). The fundamental difference between the two is the control track on DVCPRO, which is absent on DV format.
DVCPRO50, as the name implies, is 50Mbps and 4:2:2. As quality is equivqlent to digibeta. Same formfactor as DVCPRO25 ans same as DVCPROHD, for that matter. Tape duration halves, of course.
DVCPROHD is 100Mbps and can use same tapes as the other two formats, but tape duration is 1/4 of the DVCPRO25. The exception is the newer EX format, which has narrower tracks, but it's not backwards compatible with the older ones.
P2 is currently sitting at 4MB, which translates into 16 min of video per card in DVCPRO25 mode or 8 min in DVCPRO50 mode. It's not available yet in HD exactly because of the capacity. The cards will get bigger and bigger and will be obviously suitable for HD too.
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

Hey, Thanks for the complete answer. A couple of points just to nail down my understanding.

Can I use regular DV tapes (like Sony cheapies) in a DVCPRO camera? (My guess is yes).

Can a DV tape deck play DVCPRO tapes? (guess: No)

Do I need special tape formulations for DVCPro50 and PDVProHD, or do DVCPro tapes work ?

15 minute tapes for HD is not exciting, do you think they will find way to stuff longer tape into the cassette?

DO you know of a good resource that explains more detail about control track, etc. ??

If I was smarter I would answer questions instead of ask them ... :)
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

No, you can't use DV tapes. The machine will know that that's the wrong tape and will not record to it.
No, DVCPRO cannot be played back by DV decks. Some Sony DVCAM will play back DVCPRO, but not all.
All DVCPRO 25/50/HD are the same stock. The only difference is in the labelling of the cases which takes into account the duration indifferent modes.
The Varicam takes the large DVCPRO tape which is about 32 minutes in HD. People using it are happy with the duration, as far as I can tell.
Sorry, but I am not aware of other resources online.
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

You can use mini-DVCAM tapes in the DVX100A, yes. You cannot record DVCAM data on a DVX100A, it doesn't support the format.
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

So a one hour tape is $13 to $20 each? At that price, they should give away the cameras to get you to buy the tape. Not like the $3.50 I am used to. And I see that DVCPRO decks are up in the $6000 range. Choosing a DVX camera is not a cheap decision.
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

Galt - NZ did a great job of explaining the differences but your last post reads a little confusing.....
The DVX does not shoot on $13-20 tapes nor do you need a $6k DVCPro deck.

It's MiniDV - Tape stock is $4-7 bucks a piece and you can use your camera as a deck or do like I do and buy a cheap MiniDV camera as the VCR.
I use my old $400 Canon Elura40 as a deck. I keep it hooked up to my PC permently and use it as the VCR.

But the camera is still gonna set you back a few $$$$ :D

http://store.yahoo.com/tapestock/pamidv.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20330&item=3873740976&rd=1
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

Obviously Galt is under the impression that DVX100 is DVCPRO. I wish it was DVCPRO50, actually, but they made it bigger and called it SDX900... And I'm not going to mention the price. ;)
 
Re: Newbie confusion about tape formats

Yes indeed, I was under impression that DVX100/a was DVCPRO. All is now clear (I think). I don't have to worry about DVCPRO unless/until I buy an HDX. I gotta get to a big city so I can put these things in my hands.
 
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