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 |
RCA |
|
|
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. |
| PI-3V |
Precision
Instruments |
1963 |
Two-head
helical scan recorder. |
| EV-200 |
Sony |
1964 |
The first
“portable” VTR Sony offered for general use. |
| EL-3400 |
Phillips |
1965 |
Designed
for the industrial/educational markets. |
| IVC
700/800/900 |
IVC |
1967 |
Used by TV
stations and the military. |
| TCR-100
“Quad” |
RCA |
1969 |
These
small videotapes allowed broadcasters to access commercials
without physically splicing them into the broadcasting
program. |
| 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 |
“C” stands
for “compromise”. 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 1045
active lines. |
| 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. Recordings were made on 1” open reel C
format. ($35,000 for units and 63 minute tapes at
$1,300). |
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: Low Band (LB) early ‘70s. High Band (HB) increased
chroma subcarrier frequency. 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. |
| Phillips
½” VCR |
Phillips |
1970 |
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 . ½” videotape. 250
lines of resolution. Maximum tape length is 180 minutes in SP
mode, which is 540 minutes in EP mode. |
| VHS-C |
|
|
½”
videotape. 250 lines of resolution. Maximum tape length is 40
minutes in SP mode, which is 120 minutes in EP mode. The “C”
stands for compact. With an adapter, tapes will play in a VHS
VCR. |
| 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 |
|
|
½”
videotape. 400 lines of resolution. Maximum tape length is 40
minutes. Compact version of S-VHS. With an adapter, tapes will
play in a S-VHS VCR. |
| 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, meaning it is split into three
separate channels: red, green and blue. 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. |
| 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. Only
available as camcorders, not decks. |
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. |
| 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. |