Instruction manual

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4.1.9 Still Photos and Short Movies
Most digital camcorders let you take still photos. This is a handy feature if
you need to take “snap photos” from your tape to e-mail, print small (4" x 6")
prints, or view on a computer.
In addition to still photos, you can also record short movies to the camcorder’s
memory card. On the Optura20, you can choose between 320 x 240 and 160 x
120 resolutions, with each movie being limited to 10 and 30 seconds, respectively.
Movies are saved in AVI format, using the M-JPEG codec.
4.2 Media File Formats
4.2.1 Video 8 (analog)
Video 8 was developed for the camcorder market in the late 1980s. The tape
is 8mm wide and has recording times of 90 minutes.
4.2.2 Hi8 (analog)
Hi8 produces better quality images in playback (significantly higher quality
than VHS and is on a par with S-VHS), and has a 90-minute maximum recording
time. Hi8 is considered to be the better analog format.
4.2.3 Digital8
Digital8 camcorders record digital video onto analog (non-digital) 8mm
videotapes, giving users all the advantages of digital video while still using
inexpensive analog tapes. These camcorders are bulkier than DV camcorders.
Digital8 camcorders will run tape at a faster speed when recording on Hi8
tapes digitally, providing for approximately 40 minutes of digital recording on one
60-minute Hi8 tape.
4.2.4 MiniDV
Of all the small consumer video formats currently available, the small MiniDV
format is by far the best. MiniDV tapes are inexpensive (60 minute tapes are
available for around $4), available in a variety of lengths, capable of recording
high quality video with 500-line horizontal resolution (about twice the resolution of
VHS and 8mm video and 25% better than S-VHS or Hi-8), reproduce colors
better, and produce clearer images with less static. DV utilizes a compression
system such that very high quality images can be recorded onto tiny tapes (a
typical 60-minute tape holds 13 GB of data). Sound is of a very high quality, too,
with 12-bit and 16-bit encoding being the norm - well up to CD audio quality.
MiniDV tapes are compatible with most video editing software applications,
and can also be played directly from MiniDV VCRs.
4.2.5 MicroMV
MicroMV was launched by Sony in late 2001, and record to a smaller format
of digital tape than even DV (about 70% the size). This format is completely