You’re shopping for a camcorder, and you’re swamped by a sea of letters, numbers, and indecipherable acronyms—AVCHD, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, MPEG-2, and so on. What do they all mean and which ones should you care about? Get the lowdown.
A Tale of Two Formats
Each label describes a compressed video format. Fortunately, most people have a simple choice: MPEG-4 or AVCHD. You decide between convenience (MPEG-4) and a wider variety of features (AVCHD). However, as camcorders, computers, video players, and editors grow more powerful, AVCHD is becoming more convenient to shoot, edit, and preview.
MPEG-4
MPEG-4, a standard format from the Moving Picture Experts Group, has been around for more than 20 years. The current version is officially called H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, but it’s usually shortened to a snappy MPEG-4. Social networking…