In the beginning, there was VHS and it was good, and man was content. Then the manufacturers said: 'Let there be Betamax,' and there was confusion. Man said unto the manufacturers: 'Betamax is better, but VHS is licensed to many manufacturers, and it is cheap, and it is widely available.' So man remained with VHS. Betamax was banished to professional users and it was good and man was contented. Then the manufacturers said: 'Let there be High Band 8mm,' and there was confusion - again. Man said: 'Hi8 is better and it is small, but VHSc works with my existing VCR. And if it be S-VHSc, its picture shall be equal to Hi8 although its recording time is much shorter.' And confusion reigned throughout the land and man was in despair. Then the manufacturers said: 'Let there be digital.' And there was light and it was good and man was contented. Since dawn of VCR time - or the early 1970s - videotape machines have recorded images basically the same way as standard old audio cassettes. Darker and lighter bits in the image are represented by peaks and troughs in an electrical wave, which are translated into a magnetic signal laid down on a tape. Digital cameras still lay magnetic signals down on tape, but these signals represent only two things: ones and zeros. This lets digital cameras overcome many of the problems with analogue. MiniDV tapes in digital video cameras are tiny - about twice the size of a microcassette audio tape. It would be impossible to make a decent picture from something so small using analogue technology. Digital technology also is fault-tolerant. Videotapes basically are made of tiny pieces of metal stuck to a plastic backing. The signal is recorded in those little metal bits and should one of them fall off, a small bit of the picture goes with it. Digital videotape builds in fault-tolerance which allows it to overcome dropout problems. When a bit of the information is lost through a dropout, the tape deck basically can work around that lost bit and still construct a clean image. Most importantly, digital videotape records a much more detailed picture than analogue formats. TVs in the 1970s were not that good, and VHS tape decks only recorded 250 horizontal lines of resolution as a result. With Hi8, that went up to 420, but with digital it is a much finer 500 lines, giving you a much more detailed picture. And man was contented and it was good. CHRIS WALTON