Choosing a Video Production Format

When the time comes to book new york city video crews, companies often have a difficult time deciding which format they would like to be used for the production. Numerous factors will play a role in which format is ultimately used, such as what the crew has available to them and the production budget. However, companies need to understand that various options to better make a decision as to which crew to use. Which formats are most popular and why?

High Definition

This video format offers the highest quality currently available, yet costs more than other options. This is due to the equipment being very expensive and the crew must pass this on to their clients. However, companies find major network programs and feature films are typically produced with high definition equipment.

Digi-Beta

When older people hear the word Beta mentioned, they often think of the Beta players of the 80s. This digital format, however, is of a much higher quality. In fact, many rental houses and production companies opt to make use of Digi-Beta or Digital BetaCam.

Beta SP or BetaCam SP

Popular with production houses and news organizations during the 1990s, Beta SP is slowly falling in disfavor. While it is a high end format, it is not digital, thus it is being replaced with more advanced options.

DVCam

Sony provides this digital format that offers medium quality productions. As a result, it is widely used by many video crews today.

DVCPro

The standard for many local news organizations, DVCPro is similar to DVCam, but it offered by Panasonic instead of Sony.

DV and MiniDV

As with the DVCAM and DVCPro, DV and MiniDV provide medium quality digital productions. This format is also used by Panasonic and Sony, and consumers are familiar with MiniDV as this is the format of many lower end home camcorders.

Be aware that video crews often don't own the equipment necessary to handle all of these formats. This does not mean they should be overlooked though, as they can rent additional equipment as needed. The key in this situation is to ensure they have used the desired format before and that the results will be as expected. For this reason, clients need to always ask for samples of their work before proceeding.