Why Digital Video is better than Analog Video
Digital Video has become the new standard in video, with mini-DV, microMV, Hard-Drive and DVD-based camcorders replacing the older Analog VHS, VHS-C and 8mm video camcorders. Before jumping into the world of Video, it is important to understand the difference between analog and digital video and why analog video is no longer an acceptable form of video if you are living in modern times!
Digital vs. Analog Video
Analog video uses an electrical signal to capture images on magnetic tape. A digital video signal is a pattern of 1’s and 0’s that represent the video image. There is no variation in the original signal once it’s captured, and the image does not lose any of its original sharpness or clarity—it’s an exact copy of the original. Due to the major advances in digital technology, you should capture video with a digital video camera and not an analog camcorder.
Here’s why we recommend Digital Video over Analog Video:
- Digital video quality begins and remains digital from your digital camcorder to computer via FireWire cables. Analog degrades with each copy.
- Digital video resolution is higher than analog because you can choose how many pixels, some of which offer as much as 410,000 or more pixels per Digital CCD (charged couple devices). No matter what digital video format you choose, they all have excellent resolution quality. Although some digital formats have higher quality than others, the quality of analog can deteriorate only after 5 years.
- Analog recordings are highly susceptible to deterioration. Although a regular analog camcorder may be cheaper in price, it is imperative to use digital video with digital camcorders so that preservation of your video lasts and remains in the best condition.
Of course, digital video tapes are still subject to the same deterioration hazards caused by high temperatures and humidity, and digital files can still suffer loss due to hard-drive failure. So be sure to backup your digital video files on your own computer or on one of the many video sharing or video archival sites (such as stashSpace, XDrive, Streamload, etc.).
