Consumer Video Camcorder Media

Video Tape

8MM

A broad line of 8mm metal tapes meet a range of consumer needs for quality and capacity. Standard Metal MP tape maintains high RF- output even after 200 repeated playbacks. Metal HG features picture quality 12% better than standard metal particle tape. Ideal for use with Sony Digital 8® Camcorders, Hi8™ tapes deliver superlative performance. In fact, Hi8 Metal Evaporative tape delivers the highest retentivity of any consumer tape.

Mini-DV

	Model			Time/Capacity		Pack Size		Description
	Mini DV Cassette			30-min		Single Pack		DVC Premium
	Mini DV Cassette			60-min		Single Pack		DVC Premium
	Mini DV Cassette			30-min		Single Pack		DVC Excellence without Chip
	Mini DV Cassette			60-min		Single Pack		DVC Excellence without Chip
	Mini DV Cassette			30-min		Single Pack		DVC Excellence with Chip
	Mini DV Cassette			60-min		Single Pack		DVC Excellence with Chip
	Digital Video Cassette			180-min		Single Pack		Standard with Chip
	Cleaning Mini DV Cassette			N/A		Single Cassette		Mini DV Cleaning Cassette
	Cleaning Standard			N/A		Single Cassette		Digital Video Cleaning Cassette
	Digital Video Cassette			120-min		Single Pack		standard with Chip

This table compares the size of the Mini DV with other formats.

The Cassette

    The tape is coiled within a protective housing, held tight by a reel locking system. A tape door protects the tape from dust and damage and opens when you insert the cassette into a camcorder or MiniDV player/recorder. The cassette has a record-prevention tab that slides open to prevent anyone from recording on the tape, and closed to allow it. On the bottom of the cassette are ID holes that a recording or playback device can use to determine the tape’s grade and thickness when deciding what settings to use.

A label on the cassette indicates a Mini DV cassette.

    Mini DV cassettes can also have a small 4K memory chip referred to as  memory in cassette (MIC). You can use this to record a contents list, times and dates of recordings and the camera settings used. It does not however effect the way the picture or sound is recorded and great results can be achieved without using a tape with memory.

The Tape

    The tape is metal evaporated (ME) which means it is stronger and longer lasting than previous tapes. Mini DV tapes are also layered:

• The base layer has two magnetic layers of evaporated metal for higher image quality.
• The magnetic portion is covered by a layer of carbon that protects it.
• A back coating reduces friction and provides smoother tape movement.

MicroMV

Sony MICROMV™ cassettes are about 70% smaller than MiniDV tapes, making them the perfect match for the miniature Sony MICROMV™ Handycam® camcorder. The media fits in the palm of your hand, a purse, or even a shirt pocket! Within the diminutive size, the MICROMV™ cassette provides up to 60 minutes of high quality digital video footage. Its 64 kbit memory chip offers 16x the amount of memory currently available on a premium MiniDV cassette. This memory chip also contains Index Pictures, the multi-picture search that allows users to access different sections of the tape as they would a DVD. This is accomplished through thumbnail image replication of all recorded frames on the tape. Once a Micro MV cassette is inserted into the camcorder, its Index Titling allows for the first date of use, last date of use, available recording space, and titling capability to be automatically displayed on the LCD screen.