The Magnificent Seven: Choosing a Video Format

In 1954, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai filled the silver screen with swords flashing and heroes saving the less fortunate. In 1960 the seven came to Hollywood in true western form and became The Magnificent Seven. Now in the new millennium the Magnificent Seven ride again, this time into our VCRs and camcorders in the form of the seven consumer video formats. These formats are available to videographers for the creation of their own star-filled productions. VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS, 8mm, Hi8, Mini DV and Digital8. This alphabet soup of formats can get rather confusing. The Magnificent Seven are here to help us, but as video victims, we are often puzzled as to which member of the troupe to call on in our hour of need.
If you are buying a new camcorder, and are considering changing from the format you are using now, this article will take you through the flying bullets to reach the ultimate goal of finding the format that best meets your needs. We will look at the seven formats in terms of the size and length of the tape, differences in resolution and overall video and audio quality, audio flexibility and the inherent strengths and weaknesses of each format.

Setting the Stage

The quality of video and audio is an important point to ponder when choosing a format. Video resolution and generation loss are important aspects for consideration. Resolution is the amount of detail possible with the particular format. The higher the number, the better the picture quality. Generation loss refers to the inherent loss in signal quality that occurs when you make analog copies. You can define a generation as a copy of a copy. If you don�t edit tape-to-tape, or extensively copy your videos, a format with a lower resolution may work fine for you. If however, you plan on editing your footage in a linear fashion and/or making multiple copies, resolution and the ability to withstand generation loss are important things to look for in a format.
Another area to look at concerns audio, namely the format�s ability to dub sound onto a tape without damaging prerecorded video. This is very important if you will be editing in the camera, not so much if you�ll be digitizing your footage and editing everything on your computer.
Editing protocols are concerns for those of you who use linear editing systems. You�ll have to match the protocol used by your camcorder to that of your edit controller and record decks so that your equipment can talk to each other. Not all systems are equal and outside of the DV format, the manufacturers of equipment rarely agree on anything. Choose a format that best matches your current set-up.
It is important to note that nonlinear editing, which involves digitizing or capturing video to a hard drive for random access editing, has made terms like generation loss, audio insert and edit protocols nearly extinct. Nonlinear editing allows you to rearrange audio and video segments electronically without spending multiple generations. As a result, videographers are no longer as bound by the limitations of the format on which they shoot. In the end, edited footage is nearly identical to camera quality. In any case, both linear and nonlinear editors want to begin with the best quality footage possible.
Price may be a determining factor when choosing a format. It used to seem that the higher the video and audio quality, the higher the price. However, with the advent of digital equipment this is no longer as true. As time goes by, the prices of digital formats will continue to drop. In our last all-camcorder buyer�s guide (December 1999) we saw digital camcorders, both Mini DV and Digital8 models, with MSRPs less than $1,000, significantly cheaper than some Hi8 and S-VHS models.
Now that we have prepared you for the various ways to look at these seven formats, lets saddle up and take a closer look at video�s Magnificent Seven.