To start here I am going to take us back in time with video, as video has gone through a massive transformation, and a very good one, video used to be recorded as an analogue signal, or waveform on videotape. this has always meant copying video which was SD Standard Definition to VHS, (Vertical Helical Scan) some expensive equipment was required to make a copy. In the professional arena, it was very expensive to do all of this signal processing, meaning it was beyond average Joe's pay packet to do much with it, as there was always a significant signal loss, when you copied, even SVHS to VHS.

But then digital signal processing was invented, and that changed it all. The signal was no longer analogue but was converted directly to digital format, which means, no signal loss. Decks did record in the digital format, making editing and transfers, way better. The prices of equipment started to come down, as now the mechanics of a deck started to reduce, to the point where that has completely disappeared, all the processing is now handled by computer chips in a digital world, meaning it is now recorded in 1's and zeros. Video had now fully taken on the digital world, so now editing is done on the computer, and outputted digitally as well. HDDs and SSDs are now the storage medium, rather than tape, including, USB sticks, and memory cards.