DVD AVCHD

conventional 12 cm disc (left) compared 8 cm disc (right)

when avchd standard first announced, recordable dvd recording medium. reduce camcorder size, manufacturers opted 8 cm disc, called minidvd. recording capacity of 8 cm disc ranges 1.4 gb single-sided single layer disc 5.2 gb double-sided double layer disc.

pros:

dvds familiar consumers, considered user-friendly.
recordable dvds relatively cheap.
recorded disc can played in blu-ray disc players.
discs can used long-term storage of recorded video.

cons:

some argue longevity of recordable dvds may shorter expected.
rewritable dvds cost more write-once discs.
dvds must finalized play on set-top players (though dvd-rws can unfinalized again).
double-layer recording less robust single-layer recording.
to use both sides of double-sided disc must flipped over, because camcorders have pickup 1 side only.
avchd dvds can played on dvd/blu-ray players designed so.
the avchd specification limits data rate dvd-based avchd camcorders 18 mbit/s, no dvd-based avchd camcorder manufactured date capable of recording @ data rate higher 12 mbit/s (canon, sony) or 13 mbit/s (panasonic).
a single-sided single-layer 8 cm dvd can fit 15 minutes of video @ 12 mbit/s, 14 minutes @ 13 mbit/s.
dvd pickup mechanism susceptible vibration.
8 cm dvds cannot used in many slot-loading drives , may damage drive.

as capacity of memory cards grew , price dropped, dvds use recordable media declined. no dvd-based avchd camcorders have been produced since 2008. while dvds no longer used acquisition, remain popular distribution media. many authoring programs offer avchd profile recording high definition video on dvd. such avchd discs incompatible regular dvd-video players, play in many blu-ray disc players. conventional single-layer 12 cm dvd can store 35 minutes of video recorded @ maximum bitrate avchd specification allows dvd media—18 mbit/s.