How Many Minutes in a 50GB XDCAM?

The short answer is: it depends. It depends on things like the format you're using, the bit rate mode, the number of audio channels and the number of clips you're recording. Because of these variables, you'll see us using the term "approximately" a lot.

The 50GB XDCAM prodisc has more than 10 times the capacity of a DVD. The dual layer media will record approximately 190 min. of SD content in DVCAM mode at 25 Mbps and 270 min of HD content in MPEG mode at 18 Mbps.

Recording Times
	DVCAM	IMX	MPEG HD420	MPEG HD422
Format/Transfer Speed (Mbps)	25	50 40 30	35 25 18	50
PFD23A - 23.3GB (Single Layer)	approx. 85	50: approx. 45 40: approx. 55 30: approx. 68	35: approx. 60 25: approx. 90 18: approx. 120	approx. 43
PFD50DLA -50GB (Dual Layer)	approx. 190	50: approx. 105 40: approx. 126 30: approx. 157	35:approx. 150 25: approx. 200 18: approx. 270	approx. 10

What Does the Class Rating of SDHC Card Mean?

By definition, the SDHC card's class rating is the minimum sustained read/write speed of an SDHC card expressed in megabytes per second (or MB/s) when recording 1080p HD video. For example, if your DCLR camera requires a Class 10 card for shooting 1080p video, that means you need a card with a minimum sustained write speed of 10MB/s to ensure proper video quality from your camera.

Remember, this is the minimum recording speed, not the maximum performance of the card. So it is possible to have a Class 10 card that boasts 30MB/s or higher read/write speeds.

What is the difference between an SDHC card and an SDXC Card?

SDXC is simply a higher capacity secure digital (SD) card. The capacities are divided like this:

0-2GB	SD Card
2GB-32GB	SDHC
greater than 32GB	SDXC

SDXC Cards are not backwards compatible, so you can not use one in a camera that was designed to use only SDHC cards.

How do I polish out scratches on DVDs?

A: Since you took the time to write in, I know that you've already tried cleaning your disc and you know for certain that your DVD is scratched.

Your best bet is to take your DVD to a game store like Game Stop. They'll probably charge you a  couple bucks to buff out the scratches in one of their machines, but it's worth it.

There are some things you need to keep in mind, however. The scratch(es) may be too deep to buff out. Remember, that polycarbonate covering is pretty darn thin and there's only so much you can do. And, along the same lines, you can't keep buffing and rebuffing the same disc. Every time that disc is buffed, it's removing a thin layer of polycarbonate from the disc.

You may have been hoping I'd weigh-in on whether or not you could buff out the scratches using toothpaste or peanut butter. Here's the thing, if your DVD is some readily-available, mass-marketed DVD, go ahead and give one of those home remedies a shot. If it works you saved yourself $5. If you accidently mess up your disc, you can get a new one for $10-15. No harm, no foul.

But, if that disc has your wedding or some other one-of-a-kind thing on it, just take it to the professionals. It's not worth the drama of explaining to your spouse how you tried to save $5 by rubbing peanut butter on your wedding DVD.