Video formats and systems can seem very confusing. The first point is that tape and DVD formats such as VHS, DV, or Betacam are quite separate from television systems such as PAL or NTSC. VHS, DV, Betacam and DVD are video recording systems, whereas PAL or NTSC refers to the different television systems of various countries. The British television system is PAL and all video tapes and DVDs used in this country will need to be recorded in the PAL system. Video cassettes and DVDs for USA or Japan where the TV system is NTSC will need to be recorded in NTSC.

Digital systems include DV tape, DVDs, CD-ROMs and Internet files. All digital video is compressed to some extent to reduce storage space. Digital television and DVDs use MPEG-2 compression which provides broadcast quality. Video CD using MPEG-1 compression delivers moderate quality video comparable with VHS. The internet generally needs much more compression and uses files such as Windows Media (WMV), QuickTime, or REAL formats.

The main systems are PAL (UK , Germany, Australia etc.), Secam (France and the Middle East etc.), and NTSC (USA, Canada, Japan etc.).
PAL and Secam pictures are similar in that they are both made up of 625 lines, whereas NTSC has 525 lines, so copying from or to NTSC requires Line Standard Conversion. Much equipment these days is multi-standard. Some modern PAL video recorders can playback NTSC, and many are PAL/SECAM compatible, so if you are sending video tapes abroad find out what your contacts can play. It may be that they can play PAL avoiding the cost of conversion. A full list of systems for video cassettes in different countries is given at the end of this section. A variation of Secam, Middle East Secam or MESECAM is used in many Middle East countries (except Kuwait which is PAL) but they should be able to play SECAM or even PAL. The other anomaly is Brazil that uses a unique combination of PAL but with the 525 NTSC line standard. They should be able to play NTSC.

Video cassette systems fall roughly into two groups, DOMESTIC or PROFESSIONAL. Professional formats are generally Broadcast Quality.

Sony Betacam (not to be confused with the domestic Betamax system from which it was developed) established the standard of excellence for broadcast quality and the best corporate videos. Today, digital systems are universal. Digital Betacam, together with comparable systems by Panasonic and JVC, are used in broadcasting, whilst the domestic DV standard has transformed the quality of home movies. Professional equipment using DV tape offers excellent quality for cost-effective corporate video.

VHS, once the universal format for home recording and the distribution of corporate videos, has largely given way to DVD. Cost-effective corporate video is generally filmed on digital tape, edited on a computer system and copied to DVD, CD-ROM or Internet files for distribution.

The domestic digital video format, mini-DV, has redefining all the boundaries. Introduced as a universal domestic format that all manufacturers have adopted, it produces quality pictures and sound that no one would have believed possible in a tiny domestic camcorder. So much so that it challenges the relevance of the term "Broadcast Quality", as professional mini-DV camcorders are now being used for unobtrusive news gathering and reality television. These lightweight cameras using 60 minute mini-DV tapes produce results comparable with Betacam, whilst reducing the weight of equipment and opening up new options for low cost overseas filming.

Today, almost all editing is performed on a computer, which provides ultimate flexibility with countless facilities and effects, and the ability to make detailed changes and refinements at any stage

A Creativ Video computer edit suite

Video cameras use CCD chips to convert the image produced by the lens into an electrical signal. One of the main differences between domestic and professional cameras is that domestic cameras use one chip to pick up all colours, whilst professional cameras use three chips, one for each primary colour. This produces a higher resolution picture and better colour rendition.

If you are likely to use a domestic camera in your work, any DV camcorder would be useful, but consider one of the few three-chip camcorders. In this way a family camcorder could double up for professional use and produce broadcast quality results if edited professionally.

Since DV tape revolutionised domestic video, the choice of recording systems is now muddying the water. Cameras that record directly onto DVD appeal to those who like the idea of being able to playback instantly on their DVD player. However, precious recordings can easily be lost by a careless scratch on a delicate DVD, and if you want to do any editing you might as well start with tape and produce the DVD at the end of the day. Cameras that record direct onto hard drives save having to encode video for editing but the footage remains in the camera with only so much capacity. The reliability of any mechanical recording system, particularly DVDs and hard drives is limited.

As flash memory increases in capacity, the future has to be solid state recording, and the first cameras recording directly onto flash drives have appeared. DV tape is reliable, cheap and compact, and until a suitable flash drive camera is available we think that it is still the best choice.