The XDCAM format, created by Sony in 2003, records onto Optical Disc. The professional disk technology is low cost, has a high recording capacity and is extremely robust. Above all of those benefits though is the exceptional flexibility that they offer.
The Professional Disc format records proxy content and metadata that can slash transfer and editing times, and offer the option of recording in two different formats (MPEG IMX & DVCAM).
The XDCAM optical disks can record up to 85 minutes of DVCAM on a single disc. As the disks are physically quite small, they are easily transportable and you can take a number of disks on your shoot.
Sony PFD-23 Discs
Sony are not the exclusive manufacturers of the disks. As well as the Sony PFD-23 Discs, other manufacturers such as TDK have released their version the PD-RE23CN.
Another benefit of the discs is that they are reusable a minimum of 1,000 read/write/erase cycles.
The newest addition the the XDCAM family is the XDCAM EX. The first camera launched under this umbrella is the PMW-EX1. These cameras record onto SxS memory cards offering all the benefits of a digital workflow. An 8GB SxS card will record 35 minutes at the 25MBps rate and 25 minutes at the 35MBps rate.