|
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. |
| 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
|
| 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. |