Flash Memory for Camcorders on the Rise by David Kender Published on Sep 2, 2005 8:00 AM

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Today’s announcement of the Panasonic SDR-S100 marks yet another step in the rise of flash memory video recording. Having already made digital still cameras capable of ever-higher quality and quantities of photos, the technology seems to be a player in the video industry within a few years.

Amongst a number of flash memory cards – Compact Flash (CF), Memory Stick (MS), MultimediaCards (MMC), xD-Picture cards (xD) – the most popular choice has proven to be the Secure Digital (SD) cards. The SDR-S100 ships with a 2GB SD card, the largest on the market. Panasonic promises that larger cards are on their way, and soon.

The SDR-S100 is not the first SD-based camcorder from Panasonic. For a few years they have offered the SV-AV series, which recorded in MPEG4 format. The MPEG4 format is a lower-quality, highly-compressed video often used in emails and streaming video. A number of camcorders already record MPEG4, frequently lumped together under the “toy cam” category. These include the Audiovox DC400, the Fisher FVD-C1, the Samsung SC-M105S, and others, each recording to various flash memory card types. These toy cams are typically disdained by professionals and serious hobbyists for the poor quality and lack of features.

Some of the many flash format choices facing consumers

The SDR-S100 makes its distinction in two ways. First, it marks the first 3CCD camcorder to record to SD cards. Secondly, Panasonic has completely overhauled the compression system, and records to hte higer quality MPEG2 format. These improvements suggest that Panasonic hopes be the leader in moving the SD-based video recording in consumer camcorders.

Several manufacturers have taken similar steps. JVC, most notably, launched the Everio series in 2004, MPEG2 camcorders recording to a removable “Microdrive” hard disk. The GZ-MC100, GZ-MC200 (Specs, $719), and GZ-MC500 offer larger capacity (up to 6GB), but that advantage will only hold so long. Sony, creator of the Memory Stick, has twice upgraded their original design with the Memory Stick Duo and the Memory Stick Pro, also available in a 4GB size. They have also shown more aggressive strategies for getting their format into the market, including MS ports on nearly all their 2005 camcorders. Their MS cards have henceforth only been able to record stills. It is unclear whether Sony plans to make MS-based video recording in the future.

JVC's GZ-MC500 and its Microdrive

Transfer speeds are yet another consideration in the flash memory war. The 2GB SD card that comes included with the SDR-S100 transfer information at a maximum rate of 10MB/s. Already, they and other manufacturers like SanDisk offer SD cards with up to 20MB/s. Other formats, such as MiniSD and Compact Flash, are adequate for still photography, but transfers data much more slowly.

Complications are furthered by newer versions of existing formats. Memory Stick Duos require an adapter to fit into original Memory Stick slots. Older camcorders cannot make use of the latest Memory Stick Pros. Slots for Compact Flash Type II cards can also read Type I cards, but not the other way around. SD cards and MiniSD card users are experiencing the same adaptation frustrations as Memory Stick users.

The price of the memory and widespread consumer adoption are critical to the success of the SDR-S100. Video files are very large, and the result is that archiving them in a digital format takes up a very large amount of space. One MiniDV tape at high quality would take two of the 2GB SD cards which are included with the SDR-S100. Most consumers will have at least a shoe box full of MiniDV tapes in their closet. At $160 a card, it would be cost prohibitive for users to archive their videos on SD cards, rather they must transfer the videos to DVD or MiniDV tape. This makes shooting with the format much more complicated. However, price aside, the advantages of a solid state medium like flash SD are huge compared to tape and DVD mediums. If the price of SD cards can drop dramatically to the point where you can purchase an hour of recording time for $8-$12, SD could quickly overtake MiniDV and DVD as the recording medium of choice.

All of these factors – card formats, upgrades, version types – can leave consumers bewildered as to which format they should choose. Resources like SanDisk’s Product Compatibility database (http://www.sandisk.com/tech/comp.asp) offer some answers. Speculations on what makes the better long-term investment, however, still cloudy. While SD cards are the most universally implemented, Sony seems unlikely to break from their proprietary technology business practices. Microdrives have an early jump on the race for largest capacity, and may be able to hold their lead for a while longer. For now, consumers must remain watchful and well-informed.