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: tape format were among the cheapest on the market. Their tiny cassette tapes lasted for up to 90 minutes, cost around $3 apiece and could be erased and reused.

As a bonus, they offered the best video quality around. The algorithm involved in DV compression ran three times faster than the MPEG-2 used for compressing video onto MiniDVDs or hard-drives. All things being equal, the faster the rate of compression, the better the video quality.

But apart from being easier to handle and edit, MiniDVD and hard-drive camcorders have since caught up on picture quality. A couple of years ago, Sony and Panasonic introduced a high-definition form of compression derived from their Blu-ray disc format. This high-definition algorithm (called AVCHD) can record in two of the three picture qualities used by HDTV—the 720p and 1080i formats, though not the top-ranking 1080p.

By contrast, the high-definition form of the MiniDV format (called HDV) also offered 1080i resolution, but only in the old-fashioned 3-by-4 picture shape. The captured video had to be digitally ‘stretched’ to fit the 9-by-16 proportions of a modern HDTV set.

Such drawbacks were expected to put the final nail in MiniDV’s coffin. But thanks to the internet, tape-based camcorders live on. Like the little Flip-style pocket camcorders, their standard-definition resolution is more than adequate for MySpace, YouTube and other streaming-video sites. Currently, high-definition video is mostly wasted on the internet.

This will change. And anyone about to buy a video camera should future-proof themselves by opting for a high-definition version, even though they currently cost more. The question, then, is which mainstream recording media-DVD or hard-drive to choose?

That depends on what you want to do. If you just want to make home movies for family and friends, then MiniDVD camcorders are the obvious answer. The DVDs are easy to record on, watch and share.

The downside is that recording times can be as short as 15 minutes. Also, some older DVD players can’t handle MiniDVDs.

If, however, you want to make more professional videos for product demonstrations or training exercises, then a camcorder with a hard-drive is a better bet. Most can store 60 gigabytes or more-about 14 hours of high-quality video. Meanwhile, transferring the captured video to a computer for editing, using a USB cable or memory card, becomes a snap.