Freevideoworkshop provides tech explainer articles, tutorials and guides for beginners.

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Kumara Velu

Kumara has a background in electronic engineering and has been exploring video technology since 1996. He has been a multimedia trainer since 1999, while editing various trade and technical magazines before switching to web publishing in 2007.

How to Convert Analog TV to Digital TV Quickly and Affordably

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>Since June 12&comma; 2009&comma; analog TV signals have been replaced by digital TV transmission in the USA&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>The government had also imposed the ruling that all analog TV broadcast stations must adopt digital by July 13&comma; 2021&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>Owners of Digital TV with <a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;freevideoworkshop&period;com&sol;difference-between-an-ntsc-tv-tuner-and-an-atsc-tv-tuner&sol;amp” target&equals;”&lowbar;blank” rel&equals;”noreferrer noopener”>ATSC tuners<&sol;a> would not be much affected by […]

Kumara Velu

What is a Time Base Corrector (TBC)? When Do You Need One For Your Video Projects?

<h2 class&equals;”wp-block-heading” id&equals;”h-what-is-a-time-base-corrector”>What is a Time Base Corrector&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>A time base corrector &lpar;TBC&rpar; stabilizes video quality and video signals output from tapes&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>When we talk about time base&comma; we&&num;8217&semi;re talking about the rate &lpar;based on time&rpar; at which each line&comma; field&comma; and frame of video that is reproduced when video is played back&comma; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>Taking […]

Kumara Velu

The Best S-VHS Players to Convert Your Tapes to Digital

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>During the age of VHS&comma; if one wanted better quality video&comma; one had to opt for S-VHS&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>VHS provides 240 lines of horizontal resolution&period; S-VHS offers over 50 &percnt; more at 400 lines&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>S-VHS resolution is no big deal these days&period; However&comma; when S-VHS VCRs hit the market in the late 1980s&comma; their main […]

Kumara Velu

What is the MII Format? Why Did It Fail?

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>MII &lpar;pronounced <strong>em 2<&sol;strong>&rpar; was a professional video format developed by Panasonic and released in 1986&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>It was positioned as a competitor to Sony&&num;8217&semi;s pro video format&comma; <a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;freevideoworkshop&period;com&sol;betacam-sp&sol;amp&sol;” target&equals;”&lowbar;blank” rel&equals;”noreferrer noopener”>Betacam SP<&sol;a>&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>MII drew inspiration from the failed M format released in 1982&period; The M format itself drew inspiration from VHS&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p […]

Kumara Velu

What is Betacam SP? Is it Still in Use?

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>You would have known that <a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;freevideoworkshop&period;com&sol;vhs-vs-betamax-why-betamax-lost&sol;amp&sol;” target&equals;”&lowbar;blank” rel&equals;”noreferrer noopener”>Sony&&num;8217&semi;s Betamax lost out to JVC&&num;8217&semi;s VHS in the home video entertainment format war<&sol;a> in the 1980s&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>That didn&&num;8217&semi;t stop Sony from venturing into another &&num;8216&semi;Beta&&num;8217&semi; format&comma; namely&comma; Betacam SP or Beta SP&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>SP stands for<strong> Superior Quality<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;”wp-block-heading” id&equals;”h-betacam-sp-history”>Betacam SP History<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>Sony introduced this […]

Kumara Velu

What is HDV? What’s the Difference Between HDV and DV?

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>HDV stands for High-Definition Video&period; It should not be confused with HD video&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>HDV is the high-definition version as applied to the DV magnetic tape format&period; One of its selling points is HD video can be recorded on an <strong>inexpensive DV cassette tape<&sol;strong>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>HDV is a video format developed jointly by <strong>JVC&comma; Sharp […]

Kumara Velu

The Best Baby Video Camera Monitors: Take Your Pick

<h2 class&equals;”wp-block-heading” id&equals;”h-what-is-a-baby-video-camera-monitor”>What is a Baby Video Camera Monitor&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>A baby video camera monitor&comma; as its name suggests&comma; is a camera system that lets you check on your baby from a different location&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>It is also called a baby monitor with a camera&comma; which differentiates it from the audio-only version&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>It is especially useful […]

Kumara Velu

What is an HD DVD? How is it Different from Blu-ray?

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>HD DVD stands for <strong>High-Definition Digital Versatile Disc<&sol;strong>&period; At the initial stage&comma; it was called<strong> Advanced Optical Disc<&sol;strong> &lpar;AOD&rpar;&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>The disc size is similar to that of the DVD &&num;8211&semi; 12 centimeters in diameter&period; It uses the same substrate &lpar; internal construction&rpar; as a DVD&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>The HD DVD technology was pioneered by Toshiba&comma; […]

Kumara Velu

What is the Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD)? What Makes it Superior?

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>A <strong>Holographic Versatile Disc &lpar;HVD&rpar;<&sol;strong> resembles a CD or DVD&period; What makes it stand out is its storage capacity on a single disc&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>According to the book <em>Light and Optics<&sol;em> by Kyle Kirkland&comma; the HVD would have the capacity to store 200 movies on a single disc&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>In other words&comma; the HVD would […]

Kumara Velu

What is the DV Format? How Many Types of DV Variants are there?

<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>DV stands for Digital Video&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>The video format is the result of the cooperation between about 60 electronics giants such as Sony&comma; Panasonic&comma; JVC&comma; Canon&comma; and Sharp&comma; among others&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>It is a tape format released in 1996&period; Before the advent of HD video&comma; DV was popularly used for consumer and professional video production&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;”wp-block-paragraph”>DV […]

Kumara Velu