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VHS: (Video Home System)
The original format; VHS offers several advantages over all of the other formats. VHS tapes are inexpensive, plentiful, and provide up to two hours of recording time. But by far the most important benefit of VHS is the ability to drop a recorded tape into one of millions of VHS VCRs, and instantly playback your tape. No adapters are needed, simply drop it in and hit PLAY. On the downside, VHS offers a lower resolution than the other formats. With only 240 lines of horizontal resolution, VHS pales in comparison to S-VHS (400 lines) or DV (500 lines).

VHS-C: (Video Home System-Compact)
A very popular format, VHS-C camcorders use standard VHS tape, but in a smaller cassette. The smaller cassette size allows, the cameras to be smaller, which is great for travel, but the video and audio quality is the same as VHS. Tapes can be viewed in your VCR by popping the VHS-C cassette into an adapter, which is generally included with the camcorder. With their popularity surging in recent years, VHS-C camcorders have become more feature-packed than ever before brimming with the latest technology.

S-VHS: (Super VHS)
Super VHS (or simply S-VHS) tape and even camcorders are physically identical to VHS. The main difference is in the way the camcorder processes the video signal. By separating the luminance (B&W information) from the chrominance (color information) before the video signal is recorded to tape, S-VHS delivers a much cleaner video signal with a much higher resolution of 400 horizontal lines.

S-VHS-C: (Super VHS Compact)
Super VHS Compact (or simply S-VHS-C) tapes is physically identical to VHS-C. The main difference is in the way the camcorder processes the video signal. By separating the luminance (B&W information) from the chrominance (color information) before the video signal is recorded to tape, S-VHS delivers a much cleaner video signal with a much higher resolution of 400 horizontal lines.
The smaller format makes the cameras easier to handle and great for travel, but the video and audio quality is the same as S-VHS. Tapes can be viewed in a Super VHS VCR by inserting the S-VHS-C cassette into an adapter, which is generally included with the camcorder.

8mm:
This format uses tapes that are even smaller than VHS-C cassettes, allowing the camcorders to be lighter and more portable. You can record up to 2 hours (SP mode) or up to 5 hours (although in a lower quality) in LP mode on relatively inexpensive and plentiful 8mm tapes. Video quality is the same as VHS (240 lines of horizontal resolution). The downside is, the tapes won't play in a regular VHS VCR, so you'll have to hook up your camcorder to your TV or VCR in order to view your movies.

Hi-8:
This format uses tapes that are even smaller than VHS-C/S-VHS-C cassettes, allowing the camcorders to be lighter and more portable. You can record up to 2 hours (SP mode) or up to 5 hours (although in a lower quality) in LP mode on relatively inexpensive and plentiful Hi8 tapes. Video quality is the same as S-VHS (400 lines of horizontal resolution). The downside is, the tapes won't play in a regular VHS VCR, so you'll have to hook up your camcorder to your TV or VCR in order to view your movies.

Digital8
The Digital8 format lets you fast forward to the digital future, without leaving its analog past behind. Digital8 is not a new format, but rather the evolution of the Hi-8 format. Digital8 technology delivers a picture quality that looks richer and more accurate in detail than any consumer analog format. You will enjoy better picture quality, CD-quality sound, digital editing, and virtually perfect copying generation after generation. In most cases, Digital8 players can still play back the current analog 8mm or Hi8 recorded tapes and still record Digital information on easy-to-find, inexpensive Hi-8 or 8mm cassettes.

DV (Digital Video)
The Digital DV format offers more precise image detail and color accuracy than analog video. By digitally recording images and sound on to tapes in the form of "1"s and "0"s, you get super clean high resolution video up to 530 horizontal lines and CD-quality audio. However, by far the most important benefit of digital video is the ability to make endless copies, without sacrificing video or audio quality. This is unlike all the other analog formats where each successive dub (copy) resulted in a 25-30% loss of quality.

MICROMV
The MICROMV format has transformed the camcorder industry and helped to create the world's smallest camcorders. MICROMV records digitally in the PC-friendly MPEG2 standard - the same standard used for DVD recording, a worldwide standard for data compression. The MPEG2 standard intelligently groups similar images, resulting in much smaller file sizes without sacrificing quality. As a result, comparable quality is achieved with tapes that are 70% of the size of regular DV tapes . So… although the MICROMV camcorders are the smallest on the market, all of your footage will be captured with brilliant visuals and high-quality audio - giving you a competitive edge while you're on the move.