4
Jul
The history of the modern digital video started back in the 70s and 80s when the analog video input was digitized by means of time base connectors and digital video effects units. The outcome of such experiments was the improvement of the video quality for manipulation, effects and signal. More digital video equipments were created in the Bosch research labs in the 70s but the commercial introduction took longer, with the first digital video available with Sony D-1 in 1986.
In the first forms of digital video, the analog source remained essential because it served for the digitized encoding that could be read by computers. Step by step, television transmissions adopted the digital video standard when passing from the analog to the digital signal. Soon, the appearance of the non-linear editing systems would mark the evolution of electronics for good. This progress contributed significantly to the introduction of the high definition television.
At present, almost every family has at least one digital video camera, not to mention that the technology is available with all the communications devices we use today. Only the older phone models are camera-less. The more popular concept of camcorder (a device that combines the recorder and the camera) is winning the market as our society depends on the quick quality access to information more than ever. A digital video can be stored and copied without any degradation of the information; after editing, the clarity of the image is the same as at the moment when it was filmed.
Digital video applications are more numerous than just the private use with mobile phones; Internet communications and conferencing systems are the best examples here. The editing process for the applications has been simplified to a very large extent and there is an avalanche of programs, softwares and tools that make editing possible. The most common format for editing a digital video with Internet applications is Windows Media while MPEG2 is exclusively used for DVDs.
It is impossible to exhaust the number of applications and the constant extent of free digital video in day to day life. From home applications and corporate business, digital technology has become not only relevant but characteristic of our society. And we can expect to use it in even more evolved forms over the coming decades. Digital video technology can still surprise us!