Is MiniDV better quality than Digital High8?

[ArthurDaley]

My girlfriend was borrowing someone else's miniDV camera but it was becoming a problem, so I offered her my Sony Digital High8. But her professor told her that it was not suitable, due to quality, something (!) about pixles.

Anyone got any idea why this may be the case?

[JimJohnD]

From the Glossary.....

Digital8
Camcorder format which allows you to record digital-quality video onto standard Hi8 or 8mm tape. Most Digital8 camcorders also play back analog Hi8 and 8mm recordings, although they do not record in Hi8 or 8mm. A 120-minute Hi8/8mm tape yields one hour of recording when used with a Digital8 camcorder, giving you essentially the same stunning picture quality as you get with Mini DV (500 lines of horizontal resolution)

Mini DV
Mini DV is a video cassette designed for use in MiniDV digital camcorders. The picture quality of digital video (DV) recorded on a Mini DV cassette is basically identical or better to the quality of DV recorded on a Hi8 or 8mm cassette by a Digital8 camcorder. Mini DV can have up to 530 lines of video resolution for some camcorder models. However, Mini DV tapes are smaller which allows for smaller camcorders. Mini DV tapes are available in lengths of 30 and 60 minutes (plus, recording in LP mode lets you extend total recording time with a 60-minute tape to 90 minutes).
......

Just because a format is capable of 500 or 530 lines of resolution doesn't mean the camera can record with that quality. You didn't say what camera she was borrowing. I've seen some miniDV cameras that look like bad VHS and others that are simply amazing, both using the same miniDV format. What kind of class is she taking and what are the suggested cameras?

[garrisonkw]

Not really. They have the same capabilites, but Digital8 tends to be aimed only at consumers. As such, the hardware tends not to be as good. Often Digital8 recordings look like Hi8 recordings, which are analog and somewhat "fuzzy". MiniDV tends to give a cleaner, crisper picture. MiniDV also tends to be the format of choice for teaching video editting these days.

Hope this helps. Incidentally, if you google for "Digital8 versus MiniDV" you'll find all sorts of comparisons. That's what I did.

[Webster]

You also need to take in to consideration of the size and the number of pixels of the CCD.
For example if you was to compare the Sony DCR-TRV740 (which is a D8 camera with 1070K pixels ) to the Samsung SC-D353 (which is a DV camera with 680K pixels ). The quality of the recorded images on the Sony will beat the Samsung hand down. So when someone said that all miniDV cameras will beat all D8 cameras in image quality, they're misinformed.

ArthurDaley- Maybe the professor misunderstood what your girl friend told him. Maybe she said to him High8 instead of Digital8.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Digital8 is a Sony format and is meant to be a bridge between Hi8 and miniDV,one of the few Sony propietary ideas that I like.As long as the camcorder has analog passthrough and a firewire connector you're fine.

[edDV]

Professor was wrong,

MiniDV and Digital8 record the same DV signal on tape. He might have been talking about lack of a local playback deck or the camera section. Low end MiniDV and Digital8 camcorders have similar camera sections but higher end 3CCD cameras and advanced features are only available with MinDV format.

[Richard_G]

It may also be that the camcorder he has is a Hi-8 one. A lot of the Sony analogue Hi-8 camcorders had the word Digital in big letters down the side to signify they had a digital zoom. As it was describe as a Sony Digital High8, I would think this is what it is, an analogue Hi-8 camcorder with digital zoom.

[edDV]

It may also be that the camcorder he has is a Hi-8 one. A lot of the Sony analogue Hi-8 camcorders had the word Digital in big letters down the side to signify they had a digital zoom. As it was describe as a Sony Digital High8, I would think this is what it is, an analogue Hi-8 camcorder with digital zoom.

If the camcorder says "Digital8" then it is recording in DV format, has the same DV codecs and has IEEE-1394 (aka I-Link) for DV transfer to the computer.

The higher end Hi8 camcorders had additional digital modes but none of the Digital8 features. My early 90's Sony CCD-V5000 had digital TBC and digital special effects modes. It also recorded 4ch PCM audio with manual mixer levels. This was the top of the consumer line (the position the VX-2100 holds today). The picture quality is still great (although large single CCD). If I need an extra camera, I can record this camera through the Canopus ADVC-100 to DV with very good results.

[thor300]

Maybe Proffy wasnt talking about the format, or maybe the cam is a Hi8 and not a Digital8? Its hard to know what you mean when you call it Digital High 8. You sure its digital?
For the quality, assuming it really is a Digital8 cam, they are not lower quality than MiniDV cams, but they are most often older and that could be a problem, newer is usually better in digital video =). On the other hand, many older Sony Digital8 has no problem in humiliating newer korean made MiniDV when it comes to quality and then especially on the audio quality.

[Richard_G]

If the camcorder says "Digital8" then it is recording in DV format, has the same DV codecs and has IEEE-1394 (aka I-Link) for DV transfer to the computer.

The higher end Hi8 camcorders had additional digital modes but none of the Digital8 features. My early 90's Sony CCD-V5000 had digital TBC and digital special effects modes.

I'm aware of that (owning a Digital8 and 2 miniDV cameras), but some of the early Hi-8 camcorders had the word Digital along the side (I used to own one but can't remember the exact model number) to signify that they had digital zoom. I suppose at the time they were made digital recording was so far in the future that it was never thought that it could cause confusion and was simply a marketing thing.

If a camcorder was described as a Sony Digital 8 then there is unlikely to be any confusion, but if somebody described a camcorder as a Sony Digital High 8 then I would suspect it isn't digital at all. That's the point I was trying to make.

[edDV]

If a camcorder was described as a Sony Digital 8 then there is unlikely to be any confusion, but if somebody described a camcorder as a Sony Digital High 8 then I would suspect it isn't digital at all. That's the point I was trying to make.

True, the Digital8 value add features all related to the DV digital recording and I-Link features. Nothing really changed in the camera section. Digital8 camcorders usually have low to low-medium quality camera secions. However the recording section is identical in quality to MiniDV. Some advanced audio and timecode features are only available with MiniDV. Shuttle times can be slower in Digital8 due to the 2x recording speed vs normal 8mm.

[Marvingj]

Mini DV has a slight edge in resolution over Digital 8. But if you a student you wouldn't notice a difference, only a trained eye would notice the difference. Majority of Guys here would notice, but a novice wouldn't notice anything.

[edDV]

Mini DV has a slight edge in resolution over Digital 8. But if you a student you wouldn't notice a difference, only a trained eye would notice the difference. Majority of Guys here would notice, but a novice wouldn't notice anything.

The only resolution difference would be in the camera section. The recording and data transfer is identical DV standard.