HDV

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**HDV** is a videocassette format for recording high-definition video, developed by JVC in 2003. It is a variant of the DV format.

## History

JVC developed the HDV format by 2003, and JVC was supported by Sony, Canon and Sharp. The HDV Consortium, led by the four companies, was formed on September 2003.

Production of HDV products were phased out during 2011. The HV40, the last HDV camcorder made by Canon, continued to have stocks until 2012. The companies have shifted to tapeless formats such as XDCAM and AVCHD.

## Technical information

### Resolution

HDV has three available resolutions: 720p, 1080i and 1080p. All of these resolutions are in high-definition.

### Audio/Video

Video and audio in HDV are encoded in a digital form, using lossy interframe compression. Video is encoded with the H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 compression scheme, using 8-bit Chroma and Luma samples with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling.

Stereo audio is encoded with the MPEG-1 Layer 2 compression scheme, and the compressed audio and video are multiplexed into an MPEG-2 transport stream, which is typically recorded onto magnetic tape, but can also be stored in a computer file.

The audio/video data rates are constant and are roughly the same as the DV data rate. The low data rates can cause bit rate starvation in scenes that have much fine detail, rapid movement or other complex activity.

In contrast to the video, HDV's audio bitrate is relatively generous. At the coded bitrate of 384 kbit/s, MPEG-1 Layer 2 audio is regarded as *perceptually lossless*.

## Camcorders

### Initial camcorders

The first HDV camcorder was released in 2003 by JVC, called the GR-HD1, which was handheld. The following year, in September, Sony released the HDR-FX1, and in September 2005, Canon entered the market with the XL H1. For unknown reasons, Sharp was the only company in the HDV Consortium to not release an HDV camcorder.

### Final models and discontinuation

As the end of the HDV format became closer, the companies in the consortium began to phase out the production and distribution of HDV camcorders. JVC released its last HDV camcorder, the GY-HD250, in 2006, and in 2009, Canon released the HV-40, which was phased out in 2011. The former would be discontinued in the US market by September 2011, and the latter was phased out during 2011, with stocks lasting until 2012.

The last HDV camcorder made by Sony was the HDR-HC9, which was discontinued in the North American market in 2011. All of the three companies began to focus on tapeless products, such as XDCAM and the XF Codec. Sony and Canon, together with Panasonic, developed the consumer-based AVCHD format.

### Gallery

Canon HV30Sony HDR FX1ECanon XL-H1JVC GY-HD100
## Usage

Due to its acceptable image quality, portability and low cost, it quickly caught on with many amateur and professional videographers.

Aside from use in videography, television networks use HDV with varying restrictions. KRON's chief engineer, Craig Porter, says that the cameras are reliable, while *Guiding Light*, the longest running soap opera in broadcast history at the time, used handheld HDV cameras in selected locations until the show was cancelled in 2009.

## External links

* HDV - Museum of Obsolete Media
* HDV - Wikipedia