Resolution & Aspect Ratio

• The Webcam Pro 9000 and the LifeCam Cinema webcams are both compatible with the 720p high-definition (HD), widescreen standard. This standard states that a webcam transmit video using 720 progressively-scanned vertical lines of pixels, as well as the 16 to 9 aspect ratio. However, the maximum resolutions that these two webcams are capable of differ. While the Webcam Pro 9000 has a maximum resolution of 1,600 horizontal lines of pixels by 1,200 vertical lines of pixels, the LifeCam Cinema has a maximum resolution of 1,280 horizontal lines of pixels by 720 vertical lines of pixels. Having a higher maximum resolution means that the Webcam Pro 9000 can provide video with a greater level of detail, which improves overall picture quality.
  
  

Frame Rate

• Frame rate refers to how much information a webcam is able to record and transmit to a computer. The Webcam Pro 9000 and the LifeCam Cinema provide the same maximum frame rate of 30 frames per second or fps. As Webopedia notes, 30 fps is the same frame rate that standard NTSC television broadcasting utilizes and is the minimum frame rate necessary for preventing visibly jerky or shaky on-screen motion. In comparison, some computer video files, like AVI files, rely on the inferior 15 fps rate.
  
  

Lens

• While the Webcam Pro 9000 utilizes a Carl Zeiss lens for letting in light, the LifeCam Cinema utilizes a high-precision glass element lens. Both lenses provide their respective webcams with automatic focus or auto-focus capabilities. An auto-focus lens uses sensors to automatically adjust to and focus in on the subject matter in front of the webcam.
  
  

Microphone

• The Webcam Pro 9000 and the LifeCam Cinema both have integrated microphones for recording a user's voice as well as other sounds. In addition, both microphones utilize specialized technology for improving audio quality, although these technologies are different. The Webcam Pro 9000's microphone uses Logitech RightSound technology, which minimizes microphone echoing by recognizing and filtering the sound waves coming out of a computer's speakers. In comparison, the LifeCam Cinema's microphone uses noise-canceling technology, which minimizes the noise the microphone picks up by emitting sound waves that cancel out the sound waves of surrounding noise.