Editing DV (video format) (section)

== Recording media ==

=== Magnetic tape ===
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2016}}
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| image1            = Digital8, DAT, & MiniDV vert.jpg
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| footer            = MiniDV compared to Digital8 and DAT
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The table below show the physical DV cassette formats at a glance:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Cassette formats
! DV
! DVCPRO
! DVCAM
|-
! Small ''S-size'' / "MiniDV"
| {{ya}} || Only made MiniDV adapters || {{ya}}
|-
! Medium ''M-size''
| align="center" | - || {{ya}} || align="center" |-
|-
! Large ''L-size''
| {{ya}} || {{ya}} || {{ya}}
|-
! Extra Large ''XL-size''
| align="center" | - || {{ya}} || align="center" |-
|}

DV was originally designed for recording onto [[magnetic tape]]. Tape is enclosed into [[Videocassette#Cassette formats|videocassette]] of four different sizes: small, medium, large and extra-large. All DV cassettes use {{convert|1/4|in|mm}} wide tape. DV on magnetic tape uses [[helical scan]], which wraps the tape around a tilted, rotating head drum with video heads mounted to it. As the drum rotates, the heads read the tape diagonally. DV, DVCAM and DVCPRO use a 21.7&nbsp;mm diameter head drum at 9000&nbsp;rpm. The diagonal video tracks read by the heads are 10 microns wide in DV tapes.<ref name="Tozer 2012 p473" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QmaQTIdoWmYC&dq=dv+9000+rpm&pg=PA373 |title=Newnes Guide to Television and Video Technology |first=Eugene |last=Trundle |date=18 June 2001 |publisher=Newnes |isbn=9780750648103 |via=Google Books }}</ref>

Technically, any DV cassette can record any variant of DV video. Nevertheless, manufacturers often label cassettes with DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50 or DVCPRO HD and indicate recording time with regards to the label posted. Cassettes labeled as DV indicate recording time of baseline DV; another number can indicate recording time of Long Play DV. Cassettes labeled as DVCPRO have a yellow tape door and indicate recording time when DVCPRO25 is used; with DVCPRO50 the recording time is half, with DVCPRO HD it is a quarter. Cassettes labeled as DVCPRO50 have a blue tape door and indicate recording time when DVCPRO50 is used. Cassettes labeled as DVCPRO HD have a red tape door and indicate recording time when DVCPRO HD-LP format is used; a second number may be used for DVCPRO HD recording, which will be half as long.

Panasonic stipulated use of a particular magnetic-tape formulation—[[metal particle]] (MP)—as an inherent part of its DVCPRO family of formats. Regular DV tape uses Metal Evaporate (ME) formulation (which, as the name suggests, uses [[physical vapor deposition]] to deposit metal onto the tape<ref>S.B. Luitjens, S.E. Stupp, J.C. Lodder,
Metal evaporated tape: state of the art and prospects,
Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials,
Volume 155, Issues 1–3,
1996,
Pages 261–265,
ISSN 0304-8853,
{{doi|10.1016/0304-8853(95)00727-X}}</ref>), which was pioneered for use in [[Hi8]] camcorders. Early Hi8 ME tapes were plagued with excessive dropouts, which forced many shooters to switch to more expensive MP tapes. After the technology improved, the dropout rate was greatly reduced, nevertheless Panasonic deemed ME formulation not robust enough for professional use. Tape-based professional Panasonic DVCPRO camcorders and decks only record onto DVCPRO-branded cassettes, effectively preventing use of ME tape.

==== Small size (MiniDV) ====
[[File:MiniDV logo.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|MiniDV mark]]
[[File:Video 8, VHS and MiniDV.jpg|thumb|A MiniDV tape (centre) size comparison against a Video8 tape (left) and VHS tape (right)]]

Small cassettes (66 x 48 x 12.2&nbsp;mm),<ref name="borgotallo">{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/archivesandmanuscripts/2012/03/26/media-recognition-dv-part-1/|title=Media Recognition: DV part 1|date=26 March 2012}}</ref> also known as ''S-size'' or ''MiniDV'' cassettes, had been intended for amateur use, but have become accepted in professional productions as well. MiniDV cassettes are used for recording baseline DV, DVCAM, and [[HDV]]. These cassettes come in lengths up to about 14~20.8[[Gigabyte|GB]] for 63 or 90 minutes of DV or HDV video.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://westcityfilms.com/images/Filmmakers_Handbook-4th-ed_data_rates.pdf |title=The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age |edition=4th |chapter=Appendix B: Data Rates and Storage Needs for Various Digital Formats |via=WestCityFilms.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216223027/http://westcityfilms.com/images/Filmmakers_Handbook-4th-ed_data_rates.pdf |archive-date=16 December 2014 }}</ref> When recording in DVCAM, these cassettes hold up to 41 minutes of video. There are some 83-minute versions but these use thinner tape than the 63-minute ones and Panasonic advised against playing these cassettes in DVCPRO decks.

==== Medium size ====
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| image1            = MiniDV DVCPRO adapter.jpg
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| image2            = MiniDV DVCPRO adapter & cassette (cropped etc).jpg
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| footer            = Adapter to place a MiniDV cassette to use with DVCPRO
}}

Medium or ''M-size'' cassettes (97.5 × 64.5 × 14.6&nbsp;mm),<ref name="borgotallo" /> which are about the size of [[8 mm video format|eight-millimeter]] cassettes, are used in professional Panasonic equipment and are often called ''DVCPRO tapes''. Panasonic video recorders that accept medium cassette can play back from and record to medium cassette in different flavors of DVCPRO format; they will also play small cassettes containing DV or DVCAM recording via an adapter. These cassettes come in lengths up to 66 minutes for DVCPRO, 33 minutes for DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD-LP, and 16.5 minutes for the original DVCPRO HD.

==== Large size ====
[[File:DVCAM cassettes.jpg|thumb|DVCAM cassettes in both miniDV and large size]]
[[File:Maxell DVCPRO DVP-126L.jpg|thumb|A 126-minute L-size Maxell DVCPRO cassette]]

Large or ''L-size'' cassettes (125.1 x 78 x 14.6&nbsp;mm)<ref name="borgotallo" /> are close in size to small [[MII (videocassette format)|MII]] cassettes and are accepted by most standalone DV tape recorders and are used in many shoulder-mount camcorders. The L-size cassette can be used in both Sony and Panasonic equipment; nevertheless, they are often called ''DVCAM tapes''. Older Sony decks would not play large cassettes with DVCPRO recordings, but newer models can play these and M-size DVCPRO cassettes. These cassettes come in lengths up to 276 minutes of DV or HDV video (or 184 minutes for DVCAM). Unlike the VHS and Digital8 formats that use thinner tape for their longest-length variants, the 276-minute DV cassette employs the same tape as its shorter-length variants. On the DVCPRO side, these cassettes have nearly double the tape capacity of their M-size counterparts, with duration up to 126 minutes for DVCPRO, 63 minutes for DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD-LP, and 31.5 minutes for the original DVCPRO HD.{{Discuss|DVCPRO HD L-cassette maximum length}} A thin-tape 184/92/46-minute version was also released.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

==== Extra-large size ====
Extra-large cassettes or ''XL-size'' (172 x 102 x 14.6&nbsp;mm)<ref name="borgotallo" /> are close in size to [[VHS]] cassettes and have been designed for use in Panasonic equipment and are sometimes called DVCPRO&nbsp;XL. These cassettes are not widespread, only a few models of Panasonic tape recorders can accept them. Each XL-size cassette holds nearly double the amount of tape as the full-length L-size cassettes with a capacity of 252 minutes of DVCPRO video or 126 minutes of DVCPRO50 or DVCPRO HD-LP video.

[[File:Mini video tape 0699.jpg|thumb|A disassembled MiniDV cassette]]
[[File:Camcorder DV tape mechanism.jpg|thumb|Mini-DV tape mechanism inside an early 2000s Panasonic Palmcorder. Quarter for scale.]]

=== File-based media ===
With proliferation of [[tapeless camcorder]] video recording, DV video can be recorded on [[optical disc]]s, solid state [[flash memory]] cards and [[hard disk drives]] and used as [[computer file]]s. In particular:
* Sony [[XDCAM]] family of cameras can record DV onto either [[Professional Disc]] or [[SxS]] memory cards.
* Panasonic DVCPRO&nbsp;HD and AVC-Intra camcorders can record DV (as well as DVCPRO) onto [[P2 (storage media)|P2]] cards.
* Some Panasonic [[AVCHD]] camcorders (AG-HMC80, AG-AC130, AG-AC160) record DV video onto [[Secure Digital]] memory cards.
* Most DV and [[HDV]] camcorders can feed live DV stream over [[IEEE 1394 interface]] to an external file-based recorder.

Video is stored either as native DIF bitstream or wrapped into an audio/video [[Container format (digital)|container]] such as [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]], [[QuickTime File Format|QuickTime]] or [[Material Exchange Format|MXF]].

* ''DV-DIF'' is the raw form of DV video. The files usually have extensions *.dv or *.dif.
* ''[[Audio Video Interleave#DV AVI|DV-AVI]]'' is [[Microsoft]]'s implementation of DV video file, which is wrapped into an AVI container. Two variants of wrapping are available: with Type 1 the multiplexed audio and video is saved into the video section of a single AVI file, with Type 2 video and audio are saved as separate streams in an AVI file (one video stream and one to four audio streams). This container is used primarily on Windows-based computers, though Sony offers two tapeless recorders, the HDD-based HVR-DR60<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-HVRDR60 |title=HVR-DR60 HDV Hard Disk Recorder }}</ref> and the CompactFlash-based HVR-MRC1K,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-HVRMRC1K |title=HVR-MRC1K Memory Recording Unit }}</ref> for use with DV/HDV camcorders that can record in DV-AVI format either making a file-based copy of the tape or bypassing tape recording altogether. Panasonic AVCHD camcorders use Type 2 DV-AVI for recording DV video onto Secure Digital memory card.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/panasonic/business/provideo/op_manuals/AG-HMC80_OI_Advanced.pdf |title=Panasonic AG-HMC80 operating instructions }}</ref>
* ''[[QuickTime]]-DV'' is DV video wrapped into QuickTime container. This container is used primarily on Apple computers.
* ''MXF-DV'' wraps DV video into MXF container, which is presently used on P2-based camcorders (Panasonic) and on XDCAM/XDCAM EX camcorders (Sony).