Consumers are guinea pigs. This is the frequent cry of today's technology savvy generation, but is it really true? In an age of continuous and rapid technological development, is it any wonder new shiny new gadgets are whisked through testing and released to the consumer? Ultimately manufacturers are responding to an insatiable appetite for technology before their competitor grabs an advantage.

Enter High Definition DV (HDV). It seems crazy but DV is now a mature product, and Sony believe it's time for the next generation in consumer video editing: HDV. But why now? The answer to that is the High Definition era that's set to change the way you view TV for ever... well, for the next 5 years at least.

As described in our previous article, this High Definition age is a much needed update to our aging way of viewing video - the same method used for over 50 years (which stands in stark contrast to today's ever changing technology, but necessary given the requirements of a uniform broadcast standard). The technology behind high definition video is nothing radical nor particularly new, but it's a new standard and that's a fundamental change.

To keep pace with this high definition evololution, an update was needed to the way camcorders capture video. DV camcorders are now merely Standard Definition. High Definition camcorders are HDV.