Digital Camcorder History

60 years ago photography was the preserve of the wealthy and required expensive and bulky equipment, considerable training and the patience of the saint. Processing the films was also an expensive and time consuming business requiring dedicated space and machinery along with a multitude of chemicals. The invention of home cinema cameras (cine-cameras) and later the VHS camcorder followed a similar pattern requiring expensive equipment to capture the images and then expensive electronics to edit the raw footage.

The revolution in photography and videography in the last 10 years has transformed the market beyond recognition. The days of physical media such as film and tape is all but gone with digital formats replacing them allowing users to quickly transfer data to their PCs and laptops for editing and distribution on sharing sites such as Facebook, Youtube, FLIKR and Vimeo. This move to electronic media has massively reduced the size and weight of camcorders and allows us to capture hours of video on a single card or hard drive.

The bonus of digital media is the speed at which the raw images or footage can be downloaded onto modern computers for editing. In the world of video digital editing, or non-linear editing, to use the proper title, has transformed the world of video editing. Now anyone can edit video with a minimal set-up to create audience friendly compositions in minutes that they can share with family and friends.

One fly in the video ointment however has been the massive array of file formats used by the various camcorder manufacturers. With no de-facto standard each manufacturer has produced their own unique file formats which can sometimes lead to problems when trying to get your computer to recognise your video footage. When you download the video from your camcorder's hard drive or flash card the PC tries to identify the file format by looking at the file extension. These are the three or four letters that come after the full stop in the file name. Most people are familiar with common file extensions such as .doc (Microsoft Word File) or .jpg (a graphics file using the Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) but the murky world of video file extensions can confuse even the most savvy computer user. The proliferation of file extensions such as .mov, .mp4, .mod, .avi, .mts can lead to compatibility issues when trying to access these files on your PC or import them into your editing software. The advent of HD video has simply added to the vast array of file extensions.

One option when faced with compatibility issues is to transcode the files. This means turning the file from one format into another that your editing software can cope with. Many users have found the more modern video formats such as mod files (used by the likes of JVC and Panasonic) and mts files (used by Sony and Panasonic) are not easy to import into some editing software.

By transcoding the file users can quickly turn awkward footage with the file extension mod or the file extension mts into more familiar formats that their editing software will recognise.

One day we may see a standardised video format adopted by all camcorder manufacturers but with the market moving so fast and the pace of technological advancement so high that day may be some time off yet.