DV (video format)

DV (from Digital Video) is a family of <a href="/facts/Codec/C7b7Am8t">codecs</a> and <a href="/facts/Videotape/fNekHd5Y">tape</a> formats used for storing <a href="/facts/Digital_video/xsn9omqG">digital video</a>, launched in 1995 by a consortium of <a href="/facts/Camcorder/yhvxrblz">video camera</a> manufacturers led by <a href="/facts/Sony/7x4tCtBd">Sony</a> and <a href="/facts/Panasonic/TqkBQmgj">Panasonic</a>. It includes the recording or cassette formats DV, MiniDV, <a href="/facts/HDV/M8FHF6Wt">HDV</a>, DVCAM, DVCPro, DVCPro50, DVCProHD, <a href="/facts/Digital8/k337WkJw">Digital8</a>, and <a href="/facts/Digital-S/lklgwqjC">Digital-S</a>. DV has been used primarily for video recording with camcorders in the amateur and professional sectors.
DV was designed to be a standard for home video using digital data instead of <a href="/facts/Analog_video/F1AV8ben">analog</a>. Compared to the analog <a href="/facts/8_mm_video_format/jWddHEYB">Video8/Hi8</a>, <a href="/facts/VHS-C/JsY1dreb">VHS-C</a> and <a href="/facts/VHS/aN1lffdC">VHS</a> formats, DV features a higher video resolution (on par with professional-grade <a href="/facts/Digital_Betacam/ut9e8Lzh">Digital Betacam</a>); it records uncompressed 16-bit <a href="/facts/Pulse-code_modulation/5gdfjtH3">PCM</a> audio like <a href="/facts/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio/FDMqNLw5">CD</a>. The most popular tape format using a DV codec was MiniDV; these cassettes measured just 6.35 mm/¼ inch, making it ideal for video cameras and rendering older analog formats obsolete. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, DV was strongly associated with the transition from <a href="/facts/Analog_video/F1AV8ben">analog</a> to digital <a href="/facts/Desktop_video/TvRTEPhz">desktop video</a> production, and also with several enduring "<a href="/facts/Prosumer/tIHXyay1">prosumer</a>" camera designs such as the <a href="/facts/Sony_DCR-VX1000/wJ4jsS6K">Sony VX-1000</a>. 
In 2003, DV was joined by a successor format called <a href="/facts/HDV/M8FHF6Wt">HDV</a>, which used the same tapes but with an updated video codec with <a href="/facts/High-definition_video/3CoUBum1">high-definition video</a>; HDV cameras could typically switch between DV and HDV recording modes. In the 2010s, DV rapidly grew obsolete as cameras using <a href="/facts/Memory_card/Rwy2lKS2">memory cards</a> and <a href="/facts/Solid-state_drive/aMHBy8gU">solid-state drives</a> became the norm, recording at higher <a href="/facts/Bit_rate/ppUNMmVd">bitrates</a> and <a href="/facts/Image_resolution/NAL4uFV9">resolutions</a> that were impractical for mechanical tape formats. Additionally, as manufacturers switched from <a href="/facts/Interlaced/YBk246TF">interlaced</a> to superior <a href="/facts/Progressive_scan/HqMvzpoV">progressive</a> recording methods, they broke the <a href="/facts/Interoperability/7WgqUbXU">interoperability</a> that had previously been maintained across multiple generations of DV and HDV equipment.

DV (video format) open-in-new

DV (video format)