Since there was videotape, there has been a format war. Manufacturers made video camcorders and other video devices that stored all the videos you took on moving tape, but cutthroat competition (and a single-minded pursuit of profits) kept the companies from agreeing on what that tape should look like, or even how big it should be. Everybody wanted to sell their brand of tape, not the kind the other guy had.
So here’s the alphabet soup we had to drink: Hi-8, 8-millimeter, DV, mini DV, digi-Beta, BetaSP, VHS and even spinning discs and drives. A big problem resulted, and it was all yours: Once you shot your movie, sometimes you couldn’t get it off your camera. You had to find just the right player to play your tape.
But as of today at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, videotape is officially dead.
Replacing it is something called “flash memory,” which is nothing more than a hard wafer that stores electrical charge easily, quickly, durably and almost indefinitely. Of course, an electrical charge can be read as “digits,” which we see as pictures and video.
You’re familiar with flash memory already — you’ve seen it in those little blue SD cards that store your camera’s pictures, and you’ve seen it in the so-called “thumb drives” that slide into your laptop’s USB slot and store information.
The great thing about flash is there are no moving parts. Two men won the Nobel Prize this past year for their 1988 invention of flash, in part because flash enabled things like the iPod Shuffle and Nano (which store music on a flash memory card) and now video cameras with no spinning hard drive or rolling tape.
Which is another huge benefit of flash memory: With no moving parts required to store or access video, it’s more rugged — and there is less drain on a camcorder’s battery. So shooting hours of video no longer means constantly replacing the battery or stopping to recharge. Flash, in sum, uses less energy, stores more video and makes it easy to move information around.
The latest and greatest:
Canon Vixia HF10 video camcorderThis video camera is the first in the world to have something called “dual flash,” which means there is a flash memory card permanently installed on the camera, and a second slot which lets you slide in even more flash memory — hence the word “dual.” The benefit: Tons of flash memory means tons of room for video. Right now, the Vixia will hold up to 32 gigabytes of video, which is the same as three full-length high-definition movies. Plus, the camera even shoots in true high-def, too, so you’ll be making movies with the same fine resolution that George Lucas uses when he shoots “Star Wars” movies.
Samsung NV24HD still camera
This camera uses the same principles as the Vixia, but in a still-camera body. It represents another result of the flash explosion — the blurring of the line between still camera and video camera. It can handle an 8 gigabyte card, too, but it looks like a point-and-shoot. It’s tiny and portable. And it will shoot more than three hours of high-def video (unlike the conventional still camera, which used to be able to shoot a minute or two). Again, its flash memory — and enormous storage capacity in a tiny space — make all the difference here.
Asus U2E flash drive laptop computer
From the manufacturer that makes iPods for Apple comes a laptop computer that is leading two different trends here at CES — fashion and aesthetics in high-tech and, for this story’s purpose, a powerful device driven by solid-state or flash memory. In addition to the on-board 32 gigabyte flash hard drive, the ultra-slim U2E contains a DVD burner and weighs only 2.87 pounds. If it had a moving hard drive, it would likely weigh almost a pound more. The Asus is clad in black leather. $2,100-$2,400;
LG Venus cell phone and MP3 player
Maybe the biggest trend at this year’s CES aside from flash is touch technology (read more here), which allows you to touch the screen of your favorite device and make it do things for you. The elegant LG Venus has both. Not only is the touch screen simple to use, the phone can store lots of songs on its internal 64 megabyte memory and, if you slide a microSD card into the side of the phone (there’s room for this flash type, too), you can store literally thousands of songs. $199 after $50 rebate and 2-year VerizonWireless contract;
Paul Hochman is the gear and technology editor for the TODAY Show and a “Fast Company” magazine contributor. He covered the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Athens and Torino, Italy, for TODAY. He was also a three-year letter winner on the Dartmouth ski team and has a black belt in karate. Paul’s blog can be found at: