720×480 or 720×576 with aggressive compression — cheaper tape and decks. Visible artifacts in motion, quickly superseded. Never competitive for quality.
Anyone working with DV cameras in the late '90s and early 2000s couldn't avoid the D2 format—at least if the budget was tight. The format used the same resolution as D1 (720x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL) but compressed much more aggressively. This made the magnetic tapes cheaper, the recorders smaller, and the entire setup more affordable. For many smaller productions, documentaries, and especially TV magazines, D2 was the standard for a long time—not because it was great, but because it worked and the more expensive alternatives couldn't be afforded.
The crux lay in the compression: while D1 worked uncompressed or with minimal data loss, D2 used aggressive MJPEG (Motion JPEG) compression. This led to visible artifacts, especially with fast motion, camera pans, or high-frequency patterns. Anyone who edited material back then knew the typical block artifacts that appeared during scene transitions. For static shots, the format was acceptable; in action sequences, it quickly became problematic. Color grading revealed the limited color depth—8-bit compared to the 10-bit quality of higher-end formats.
Practically, this meant: D2 tapes were robust and storable, but the recorders were prone to wear and tear. Digitizing into an NLE required special drivers; real-time performance was weak on older computers. Many post-production houses therefore asked for digitization into ProRes or DNxHD to be able to work with the material effectively. The format quickly disappeared once HDV and later XDCAM-EX appeared—better compression, smaller tapes, better image quality at a similar price.
Today, D2 is only encountered in archive projects. Anyone with old tapes should digitize them before the magnetic layer deteriorates. The devices have become rare, and spare parts are no longer available. D2 was a transitional medium—necessary then, obsolete today.