Type C videotape
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Sony BVH-2000 1 inch VTR
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| Media type | Magnetic Tape |
|---|---|
| Encoding | NTSC, PAL |
| Read mechanism | Helical scan |
| Write mechanism | Helical scan |
| Developed by | Sony |
| Usage | Television production |
1 inch Type C (designated Type C by SMPTE) is a professional reel-to-reel analog recording helical scan videotape format co-developed and introduced by Ampex and Sony in 1976. It became the replacement in the professional video and broadcast television industries for the then-incumbent 2 inch Quadruplex videotape (2 inch Quad for short) open-reel format, due to the smaller size, comparative ease of operation (vs. 2 inch) and slightly higher video quality of 1 inch type C video tape recorder (VTR). 1 inch type C required less maintenance downtime than Quadruplex videotape, and did not require digital time base correction to produce a stable video signal.
1 inch Type C is capable of "trick-play" functions such as still, shuttle, and variable-speed playback, including slow motion. 2 inch Quadruplex videotape machines lacked these capabilities, due to the segmented manner in which it recorded video tracks onto the magnetic tape. Also, 1 inch Type C VTRs required much less maintenance (and used less power and space) than did 2 inch machines.
1 inch Type C records composite video at a very high video quality that is superior to contemporary color-under formats such as U-matic, and of comparable quality to analog component video formats like Betacam and MII. Both analog component formats were notoriously fussy and trouble-prone, so in practice Type C gave a stable, more reliable picture than the broadcast quality analog cassette-based videotape formats. Because television was broadcast as a composite signal, there was no real downside to Type C in television broadcasting and distribution.
The quality and reliability of 1 inch Type C made it a mainstay in television and video production in television studios for almost 20 years, before being supplanted by more reliable digital videocassette formats like DVCAM, D-1, D-2 and DVCPro. 1 inch Type C was also widely used for the mastering of early LaserDisc titles. It was replaced in that role by the digital D-2 videocassette format in the late 1980s.
Contents
Some Ampex models
- VPR-2 1976, studio model
- VPR-20 1977, Portable[1]
- VPR-2A studio model
- VPR-2B studio model[2]
- VPR-80 studio model
- VPR-6 studio model
- SMC-60 slow Motion system
- VPR-3 studio model, with air system like AVR-1
- XVR-80 wideband VTR
- VPR-5 portable made in jointly with Nagra
Some Marconi models
- MR2 studio model
Some Sony models
- BVH-1000 1979 studio model
- BVH-1100 with Dynamic head Tracking- DT, with digital TBC Model BVT-2000
- BVH-500 portable
- BVH-2000 studio model
- BVH-2180 3-hour record / play capability
- BVH-2500 Delta Time VTR
- BVH-2800/2 VTR With PCM Audio
- BVH-2830 VTR with PCM Audio and 3-hour record / play capability
- BVH-3000 Studio model
- BVH-3100 Studio model without sync channel record / play capability
Some Hitachi, Ltd. – Shibaden models
- HR-200 Studio model
- HR-230 2 and 3 hour Record/Play Studio model
- HR-100 portable model, 42 pounds [3]
Some NEC models
- TT-7000 Studio VTR ($38,000 new in 1987)
Some RCA models
- TH-100 was a re-badged Sony BVH-1000.
- TH-200A was a re-badged Sony BVH-1100A.
- TH-50 was re-badged Sony portable.
- TR-800 was an RCA engineered and built VTR, likely why it has the "TR-" designation, as all the RCA Quad recorders did. While the TH-800 was developed by RCA, the scanner assembly and upper drum could be replaced with Sony BVH-1100A parts.
In 1983, RCA turned to Ampex for supply of Helical VTRs.
- TH-400 was a re-badged Ampex VPR-80
- TH-900 was a re-badged Ampex VPR-3
- TH-700 was a re-badged Ampex VPR-6
Some 3M models
- TT-7000 (built by NEC)[4]
-
Ampex VPR6 VTR
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Open reel tape, Type B.jpg
1 inch reel to reel tape
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Ampex logo
See also
References
- ↑ adsausage.com VPR-20 Ad
- ↑ sausage.com VPR-2B studio model ad
- ↑ adsausage.com HR-100 portable ad
- ↑ adsausage.com 3M TT-7000 VTR ad
External links
- Information on a 1 inch Type C VTR, the Ampex VPR-1.
- VPR-2
- labguysworld.com Ampex VPR
- Sony BVH-3100 on YouTube
- Ampex/Nagra VPR-5」 NTSC 1-inch type-C portable VTR on YouTube
- Labguy checks out his Ampex Nagra VPR-5 on YouTube
- YouTube.com Ampex VPR 3 on YouTube
- Close-up of the Ampex VPR 3 in operation on YouTube
- History of Ampex on YouTube
- Video editing and post-production: a professional guide, page 45, By Gary H. Anderson
- lionlamb.us Ampex List
- montreuxsounds.com Sony "C"
