Digital video cameras come in two different formats of image capture: interlaced and progressive scan. The cameras record interlaced image in alternating sets of lines are odd-numbered scan lines and then scanning the even number lines, then odd-numbered scan lines, and so on. A set of odd or even lines is called “field”, rigging and a consecutive two fields of opposite parity is called frame.
A progressive scan camera records each frame as a different image, unregistered fields. Thus, interlaced video captures twice fields per second progressive video when both operate at the same number of frames per second. this is one of the reasons why the video has a “hyper” as it draws a different image 60 times per second, unlike the film, that makes 24 or 25 progressive images per second. We speak here of playback speed for display. Film cameras have the ability to record at variable speeds, for example, explosions in action movies are recorded up to 300 frames per second, which when played back at 30 after giving an excellent camera and a slow-chamber Varicam digital video call, capable of recording up to 200 frames per second.
Progressive scan camcorders such as Panasonic DVX100 are generally more desirable by the similarities they share with cinema. Both the images recorded progressively, resulting in a sharper image. Both can shoot at 24 frames per second, resulting in motion “strobing” (makes blurry when there is an object moving fast). Thus, progressive scan camcorders tend to be more expensive than their interlaced counterparts. (Note that although the digital video format only allows for 29.97 interlaced images per second or 25 for PAL , the progressive video at 24 frames per second is possible to show identical fields for each image, and displaying 3 fields of an identical image for certain frames. For a more detailed explanation, see the link adamwilt.com.)
Standards like the film in 16 mm and 35 mm recorded at 24 or 25 images per second. For video, there are two images per second standard: NTSC (30/1.001 shooting at around 29.97, images per second) and PAL (25 frames per second).
The digital video can be copied without any degradation in quality. No matter how many generations of copying a digital source, it will be clear as the original first generation of digital materials.
The digital video can be processed and edited on a non-linear editing station, a device built exclusively to edit video and audio. these can often be imported from both analogue and digital sources, but are not intended to do something different to edit videos. The digital video can be edited on a personal computer having appropriate hardware and software. Using a non-linear editing, digital video can be manipulated to follow an order, or sequence of video clips. The Avid software and hardware is almost synonymous with the professional market of non-linear editing station, but Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, and similar programs are also popular.
Increasingly, video editing software and hardware readily available and increasingly affordable. Even big-budget movies such as Cold Mountain, have been completely edited with Final Cut Pro, the nonlinear editing software from Apple.
Despite the software, digital video editing is usually a configuration with plenty of disk space. The digital video compression standard with a DV / DVCPRO occupies about 250 megabytes per minute or 13 gigabytes per hour.
The digital video is a cost considerably lower than the 35 mm film, because the tapes can be on location without disclosure, and the tape is very inexpensive (about 3.5 ‘to a MiniDV tape 60 minutes, wholesale, to December 2005). In comparison, a 35mm film costs about 1200 ‘per minute, including the developer.
The digital video is used outside of movie making. The digital television (including higher quality HDTV) started to spread in most developed countries in the early 2000. The digital video is also used in modern mobile phones and videoconferencing systems. The digital video is also used for Internet distribution of video, including streaming video and film distribution peer.
There are many types of video compression used for digital video on the Internet and on DVD. While DV video is not compressed beyond its own codec while editing, the resulting file sizes are not practical for delivery on optical disks or on the internet, with codecs such as Windows Media format, MPEG2, MPEG4, Real Media The latest H.264 video codec and Sorenson.
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold (Paperback – Nov 11, 2000)