DV (from Digital Video) is a family of codecs and magnetic tape formats used for storing digital video, launched in 1995 by a consortium of camcorder manufacturers led by Sony and Panasonic. It includes the DV, MiniDV, DVCAM, DVCPro, DVCPro50, DVCProHD, Digital8, and Digital-S recording or tape formats. DV was primarily used for video recording with camcorders in the amateur and professional sectors.
DV was developed as a standard for home video, using digital data instead of analog.
DV was developed by the HD Digital Video Recorder Association: 55 companies from around the world participated in the development of the format's standards and specifications in April 1994.
MiniDV
Small cassettes (66 x 48 x 12.2 mm) [28], also known as S-size or MiniDV cassettes, were intended for amateur use but were also adopted for professional projection. MiniDV cassettes were used for recording basic DV, DVCAM, and HDV. These cassettes were produced in capacities of up to 14–20.8 GB for 63 or 90 minutes of DV or HDV.