Glossary - A Practical Guide to Video and Audio Compression - page 727

Topic Description

DVCAM A popular professional format of video recording and storage

that is a slight compromise on quality in order to reduce the cost
but is good enough for news-gathering footage for broadcast TV.
It is likely to become popular as a high-end consumer format.

DVCPro50 The NTSC and PAL variants of this correspond to the lower spec

DVCPro formats. Because of the higher bit rate, the compression
is reduced to 3.3:1 instead of 5:1. DVCPro50 also supports the
4:2:2 color sampling but results in larger files. Recompression
should be avoided unless going to a target delivery format. This
is a production format.

DVCPro—HD This is the HDTV format and operates at several raster sizes

from 1080i60 to 720p60. It supports higher data rates and color
sampling is improved over other DV formats; uses a 4:2:2
sampling format. Designed for broadcast or D-cinema use. This
format delivers excellent quality for all uses but is also quite
bulky and not intended for amateur use. DVCPro supports
variable compression ratios. The files created in this format are
huge and while there is some light compression, it still requires
large systems to cope. You only need this codec to work in high
definition for broadcasting purposes.

DVCPro—NTSC This is the North American standard version that runs at 30 fps

with 525 lines, Y'UV color space, and operates at a compression
ratio of 5:1.

DVCPro—PAL This is the European standard version that runs at 25 FPS with

625 lines, Y'UV color space and operates at a compression ratio
of 5:1.

DVD Digital Versatile Disk is a format that was developed for the

delivery of movies and other data sets that are too bulky for
transfer on a CD format.

DVD-ROM The computer equivalent of a DVD, designed for similar

applications as CD-ROM but providing much greater capacity.

DVPA The Digital Video Producers Association is a group of like-

minded professionals who collaborate and provide mutual
support and training. Their seminars are particularly informative.

DVR A Digital Video Recorder describes what was previously called a

Personal Video Recorder. A PVR typically has analog I/O, while
a DVR interacts directly with a digital TV service. The
distinction is somewhat blurred and there isn't any hard and
fast rule for which term is the most appropriate.

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