It's surprising sometimes to discover what we don't know--holes in our knowledge that we've never had to fill in (might be an interesting thread starter). Anyway, along those lines I've had occasion to wonder this:

Are video and audio recorded in the same magnetic track on the tape? Seems they should be, since captured .avi is identical to what's on the tape, but I can conceive otherwise.

Is this still true in 12-bit mode? If so, are channels 3 and 4 ("stereo 2") added to that one magnetic track when you dub in 12 bit mode, or is a second magnetic track laid down? I can picture either process.

Hey Fred,
You can read about how many of the digital formats are recorded at the following site:
http://www.danalee.ca/ttt/video_recording.htm

DVCPRO has a audio cue track?, which may be different than mini-DV.


Is this still true in 12-bit mode? If so, are channels 3 and 4 ("stereo 2") added to that one magnetic track when you dub in 12 bit mode, or is a second magnetic track laid down? I can picture either process.
"12bit": 12-bit bit depth, 32khz sampling rate, 4 tracks of audio. I believe insert editing is of the third and fourth track is possible (i.e. you want to dub in narration), which suggests this sound is recorded seperately. But I could be wrong!
In practical use, I'd avoid 12bit audio. Sync issues, quality issues, capture issues. Plus many cameras can't record all 4 tracks at once.
16bit: 16bit bit depth, 48khz sampling rate, 2 tracks of audio.

Thanks Glen. Checked out that excellent link. Whew! It's a deep subject!

And thanks for the advice, but don't worry, I have no intention of using 12-bit, it was just musing on my part.