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Flip Video

video recording device manufactured by Cisco

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ1428903
Source-derived summary

The Flip Video cameras were an American series of pocket video cameras for digital video created by Pure Digital Technologies, a company bought by Cisco Systems in March 2009; variants include the UltraHD, the MinoHD, and the SlideHD. Flip Video cameras were known for their simple interface with few buttons, minimal menus and built in USB plugs (from which they derived the flip name), and were marketed as making video "simple to shoot, simple to share" Production of the line of Flip video cameras ran from 2006 until April 2011, when Cisco Systems discontinued them as to "exit aspects of [its] consumer businesses". Flip cameras contributed to an increase in the popularity of similar small tapeless camcorders, although the inclusion of HD video cameras in many smartphones has since made them a more niche product.

Features

Flip cameras' video quality was unusually good for their prices and sizes. They can record videos at different resolutions. FlipHD camcorders digitally record high-definition video at 1280 x 720 resolution using H.264 video compression, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) audio compression and the MP4 file format, while the older models used a 640 x 480 resolution. The MinoHD and SlideHD models have an internal lithium-ion rechargeable battery included, while the Ultra series included a removable battery that can be interchanged with standard AA or AAA batteries.

All models lack memory card extension slots, though the Flip UltraHD(2 hr) can record to a storage device via FlipPort. Models can be connected to a computer with a flip-out USB connector, without the need for a USB cable. Flip Cameras record monaural sound, and use a simple clip-navigation interface with a D-pad and two control buttons which allowed for viewing of recorded videos, starting and stopping recording, and digital zoom. The third and final generation of Flip UltraHD cameras retailed for $149.99 and $199.99 for 4GB (1 hour) and 8GB (2 hour) models respectively, incorporate digital stabilization, and increased the frame rate from 30 to 60 frames per second.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Flip Video” as video recording device manufactured by Cisco. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2009, 2006, 2011, 1280—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Flip, Video and video can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as video recording device manufactured by Cisco. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1428903. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2009, 2006, 2011 and 1280.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Flip Video”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Flip Video primary sources, Flip Video archive and Flip research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Flip Video”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Flip Video” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.