MiniDV

MiniDV is a format to record digital video streams.

MiniDV tapes are about the size of an answering machine tape and hold either an hour or an hour and a half of video depending on whether the video is recorded at SP or EP; the MiniDV tapes are said to be of lower quality than the DV tapes but are still clearer than any of the analog formats (though Digital8 recorded on a Hi8 camera approaches the same fidelity as DV, the drawback being in this case not the tape but the camera).

A full MiniDV tape is about the size of an answering machine tape and holds about 15 GB of information; as the tapes sell for less than $10 apiece, researchers are working on a way to have the tapes hold information other than video.

/Talk