What are some advantages of a HD video camera vs. a standard video camera?

HD video is a television standard that contains approximately 5 times the amount of data as standard definition television signals.

HD is formatted as either 1080 line or 720 line. Both line counts are HD. 1080 line signals can be interlaced or progressive scan. (Interlaced requires two fields, or passes of the display, to fully update the image, progressive fully updates on every field)

Frame rates can be 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 50 or 59.94 frames per second depending on the region or the type of content.

HD signals in the studio are always digital whereas SD signals can still be processed as analog.

Domestic equipment carries HD only on HDMI connectors. New equipment does not support HD on analog interfaces to reduce unauthorized copying of material.

HD is always 16 : 9 aspect ratio (wide screen). In comparison, SD can be either 4 : 3 or 16 : 9 although wide screen SD is largely confined to European markets.