FORMATS USING 2" TAPE
|
DEVELOPER
|
YEAR
|
INFORMATION
|
Quadruplex |
Ampex |
1956 |
The 2” Quad was the first successful videotape format. The
name comes from its four-head wheel which rotated 240 times
a second. It was still widely used in the industry in the
1980s. |
Octaplex |
RCA |
|
Developed for the military. |
VR 1500/600 |
Ampex |
1963 |
May be the first consumer VTR. |
Helical SV-201 |
Sony |
1962 |
Two-head system that was marketed for industrial,
educational, and medical applications. |
ACR 25 |
Ampex |
1970 |
Automated recording and playback of televesion commercials. |
IVC 9000 |
IVC |
1973 |
helical scan |
TCR 100 "Quad" |
RCA |
1969 |
These small videotapes allowed broadcasters to access
commercials without physically splicing them into the
broadcasting program. |
FORMATS USING 1” TAPE
|
DEVELOPER
|
YEAR
|
INFORMATION
|
MVC-10 |
Machtronics |
1962 |
One of the first commercial 1-inch helical scan videotape
recorders in the US. Identical to the PI-3V by Precision
Instruments. |
PI-3V |
Precision Instruments |
1963 |
Two-head helical scan recorder. Identical to the MVC-10 by
Machtronics. |
EV-200 |
Sony |
1964 |
The first “portable” VTR Sony offered for general use. |
EL-3400 |
Philips |
1965 |
Designed for the industrial/educational markets. |
IVC 700/800/900 |
IVC |
1967 |
Used by TV stations and the military. |
UV-340 or EV-210 |
Sony |
1964 |
1” videotape |
1" SMPTE Type A |
Ampex |
1965 |
Industrial and educational uses. |
1" SMPTE Type B |
Bosch |
1976 |
Was very popular in Europe. Similar to the Type C format, it
uses a segmented helical scan on a small-diameter drum. Each
video head pass records 52 lines of video information and is
therefore segmented and cannot offer still-frame or slow
motion. |
1" SMPTE Type C |
Ampex/Sony |
1976 |
Ampex and Sony agreed to a standard 1-inch professional
helical format called Type C. Both manufacturers had to
slightly modify their designs to create a common format. It
is the most popular of the 1” professional formats. Unlike
the 2” Quad and the 1” Type B, it offered viewable still
frame, slow and fast motion, and picture shuttle. 300 lines
of resolution. |
BVH-1000 |
Sony |
1976 |
Competitor of the Type A. Features of Type A and the
BVH-1000 were combined into a common, standardized
format…Type C. Sony’s first Type C machines were also called
BVH-1000. |
HDV-1000 |
Sony |
1984 |
First commercial high-definition format. Recorded component
analog video on
1-inch open-reel tape. At the time, HDTV had 1035 active
lines. The direct
predecessor of the HDD-1000. |
1” Analog HDTV |
Toshiba |
1985 |
First HDTV VTR |
HDD-1000 |
Sony |
1988 |
First digital component high-definition recorder. At the
time, had 1035
active lines. The starting price of the HDD-1000 and the
required HDDP-1000 companion processor in 1988 was $600,000,
metal evaporated tape cost $2500.00 per hour of tape and
each reel weighed nearly 10 pounds. |
FORMATS USING 3/4” TAPE
|
DEVELOPER
|
YEAR
|
INFORMATION
|
¾” U-Matic |
Sony/ JVC/ Matsushita |
1970 |
One of the most successful formats of all time. Until its
release, news acquisitions had primarily been gathered on
16mm film. Three versions. 280 lines of resolution. |
¾” U-Matic SP |
Sony |
1986 |
Improvements over the original format include a
higher-energy tape and an extended FM carrier. SP (Superior
Performance) had both chroma and luma subcarrier frequencies
increased. 340 lines of resolution. |
D1 |
Sony |
1987 |
First digital VTR. Received little acceptance in broadcast
where it was designed for, but was welcomed in graphics
production. Due to expensive machines and tapes, it was
mainly used in high-end postproduction facilities that
incorporate special effects with multiple layering of video
signal. 460 lines of resolution. |
D2 |
Ampex and Sony |
1986 |
Digital composite format. Advancements in component-based
advanced TV ended the interest in composite, including D2.
Cassettes hold up to 180 minutes. 450 lines of resolution. |
D6 |
Toshiba/BTS |
1995 |
Digital HDTV. Uses more heads and offers more audio channels
than any other videotape format. |
Digital Component Technology |
Ampex |
1992 |
DCT was the first format to employ digital video compression
to reduce recorded bit rate. |
FORMATS USING 1/2” TAPE
|
DEVELOPER
|
YEAR
|
INFORMATION
|
CV |
Sony |
1965 |
CV (Consumer Video/Commercial Video) One of the first
“affordable” VTRs for consumers. Decks can switch between
colour & b/w. |
VTR-600 |
Concord |
1967 |
Open-reel black-and-white format. |
1/2" EIAJ Type 1 |
Sony/ Panasonic/ others |
1969 |
Electronics Industries Association of Japan. AKA ½” AV
(Audio/Visual) Low end industrial and educational
recordings. Open-reel. |
EIAJ Cartridge |
Panasonic |
1971 |
AKA Omnivision. Identical to the open-reel EIAJ, only the
cartridge makes it different. Tapes were only 30 minutes in
length and they had to be completely rewound before it could
be removed from the deck. |
N1500 |
Philips |
1972 |
The first commercially available home video cartridge
machine introduced on the market. Recorded in color and
black-and-white. |
AVCO Cartivision |
Cartivision |
1972 |
Short-lived consumer format that was ahead of its time. It
was the first simple consumer video recording and playback
system to hit the market. |
V-Cord |
Sanyo |
1972 |
Consumer home video format. The V-Cord II was the first
consumer machine to offer two recording speeds, freeze-frame
and slow motion. |
VX |
Panasonic/ Quasar |
1975 |
“The Great Time Machine”. Its one-head helical-scan format
required a nearly 360-degree tape wrap. |
Betamax |
Sony |
1976 |
Was the first successful consumer videocassette. Was a hit
at first but later failed in the market place against VHS.
Its initial maximum record time of one hour was a
disadvantage initially that it was not able to overcome even
when it later offered five hour record times. |
VHS |
JVC |
1976 |
Video home system. The most successful of all home video
formats, it was introduced as a competitor of Betamax. 250
lines of resolution. Maximum tape length is 200 minutes in
SP mode, which is 600 minutes in EP mode. |
VHS-C |
|
|
Compact version of VHS. The “C” stands for compact. With an
adapter, tapes will play in a VHS VCR. Maximum tape length
is 40 minutes in SP mode, which is 120 minutes in EP mode.
|
S-VHS |
JVC and others |
|
S=super. Marketed as a high-end consumer format. “S-video”
separates the chrominance (color) and luminance (brightness)
signals, although not as purely as the true component
systems do. VHS tapes may be played and recorded on S-VHS
machines, but S-VHS cannot be played nor recorded on VHS
machines. 400 lines of resolution. Maximum tape length is
160 minutes. |
SVHS-C |
|
|
Compact version of SVHS. With an adapter, tapes will play in
a S-VHS VCR. Maximum tape length is 40 minutes. |
ED Beta |
Sony |
1987 |
ED (Enhanced Definition) Introduced as a competition to
SVHS. |
Betacam |
Sony |
1982 |
Aka ½” Type L. Developed as a component-recording
professional format to be able to use consumer
cassettes…Betamax. Records an analog component signal,
storing the luminance (Y) in one track and the chrominance
(R-Y, B-Y) on another. This splitting of channels provides a
crisp, true broadcast quality product. 300 lines of
resolution. |
M |
RCA/ Panasonic |
1982 |
Initially called Recam (recording camera) by Panasonic and
Hawkeye by RCA. RCA broadcast went out of business shortly
after it was released. It was the first component format
consisting of two separate signal systems: one for luminance
and another for chroma. Originally designed to use VHS
tapes. |
Video 2000 |
Philips and Grundig |
1979 |
Used flip-over tapes, similar to audio cassettes. In terms
of picture quality, it was a technically superior competitor
of VHS and Betamax. Able to play/record 4 hours of video on
each side of the cassette it also had its problems such as
not being inter-machine compatible. AKA Video Compact
Cassette (VCC) even though the tapes were larger than VHS. |
MII |
Panasonic |
1985 |
Introduced as a competitor to beta sp. Splits the video
signal into red, green and blue, providing outstanding
quality and color. 340 lines of resolution. |
Betacam SP |
Sony |
1986 |
SP (Superior Performance) was an industry standard for most
TV stations and high-end production houses up until the late
90s. 340 lines of resolution. |
D3 |
Panasonic |
1991 |
Introduced as Panasonic’s answer to D2, it was promoted as a
low-cost digital alternative. Achieved more than twice the
recording capacity of D2. 450 lines of resolution. |
Digital Betacam |
Sony |
1993 |
Digital successor to Betacam. Considered to have almost the
same quality as D1 at half the cost and size. High end SDTV.
Can playback, but not record betacam SP tapes. Sony’s answer
to DCT and D5. |
D5 |
Matsushita/ Panasonic |
1994 |
Component, non-compressed digital format. Can playback D3
tapes. |
D5HD |
Panasonic |
1994 |
Compressed HD version of D5. Can work with 1080 line and 720
line HDTV formats. |
Betacam SX |
Sony |
1996 |
Digital format targeted for ENG and newsroom use. Can be
sent back to the studio at 2X speed on a standard DS0-3 data
connection. |
D9 |
JVC |
1995 |
Digital S. Rivals the much more expensive Digital Betacam in
terms of picture quality. Downward compatible with SVHS. 540
lines of resolution. |
D9 HD |
JVC |
2000 |
AKA Digital S-100. Used for recording compressed and
sub-sampled HDTV. Uses same tape as D9. |
D-VHS |
JVC/ Matsushita |
1997 |
Consumer digital format designed to be used with satellite
dish systems. |
W-VHS |
JVC |
1994 |
Analog HDTV Uses a cassette physically identical with VHS.
Due to its high cost, it never caught on as a consumer
format, and due to its reduced quality, it never caught on
as a professional format. |
D11 |
Sony |
1997 |
AKA HDCAM. Compressed digital HDTV format that employs both
subsampling and compression to reduce data bandwidth.
|
MPEG IMX |
Sony |
2001 |
Enhanced picture quality and multi-generation performance.
Certain models allow playback of all current broadcast beta
formats. |
FORMATS USING 8 MM TAPE
|
DEVELOPER
|
YEAR
|
INFORMATION
|
8mm/ Video8 |
EIAJ and others |
1983 |
Kodak released first 8mm camcorder in 1984. 255 lines of
resolution. Maximum tape length is 120 minutes in SP mode or
240 minutes in LP mode. |
HI8 |
Sony |
1989 |
Much improved version of 8mm video. Has an optional second
AFM track for stereo sound. 415 lines of resolution. Maximum
tape length is 120 minutes in SP mode. |
Digital 8 |
Sony |
1999 |
Records same digital signal as DV onto less expensive Hi8
tapes. Plays back 8mm and Hi8 tapes. A 120 minute Hi8 tape
can record 60 minutes of Digital 8. Has analog inputs for
digitally archiving existing analog footage. Audio is
CD-quality. |
FORMATS USING ¼” TAPE
|
DEVELOPER
|
YEAR
|
INFORMATION
|
Bauer ¼” |
Bauer |
1969 |
Well-known for its Super-8 amateur movie cameras, Bauer
attempted to take part in the video adventure while demise
of Super-8 format was announced. |
¼” Akai |
Akai |
1969 |
Open-Reel. Could record video using normal audio tape but
the quality was reduced from the special quarter-inch
videotape offered by Akai. |
Compact Video Cassette |
Funai/ Technicolor |
1984 |
CVC was the lightest and most portable recording system of
its time. It used quarter-inch cassettes in 30-minute
lengths, which contributed to its short life. |
Pixelvision |
Fisher Price |
198? |
This was a kid's toy camcorder that recorded black and white
video on a standard audio cassette. |
DV |
EIAJ |
1996 |
AKA miniDV (formerly DVC) Many manufacturers released first
DV camcorders in 1995 - Sony, Philips, Thomson, Hitachi,
Panasonic, etc. First digital recording format available to
consumers. Nearly loss-less broadcast quality picture.
Maximum tape length is 80 minutes in SP mode or 120 minutes
in LP mode. 500 lines of resolution. |
D7 |
Panasonic/ EIAJ |
1995 |
AKA DVCPRO. Capable of 4X playback speed. Decks can play
back DVCAM. 530 lines of resolution. |
DVCPRO 50 |
Panasonic |
1998 |
Two more digital channels than DVCPRO. |
DVCAM |
Sony |
1996 |
Sony’s answer to DVCPRO. Includes a feature that allows
information to be recorded on a memory chip inside the
cassette, such as good and bad take identifiers. 530 lines
of resolution. |
DVCPRO HD |
Panasonic |
2000 |
High-definition version of DVCPRO recording the same signal
as D9HD. Machines can play all previous forms of DVCPRO
tapes as well as DVCAM and DV tapes. |
D4 |
|
|
D4 doesn’t exist because the number 4 is considered to be a
taboo in Asian cultures. |