1–inch Type C (designated Type C by
SMPTE
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...
) is a professional
reel-to-reel
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...
analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which, among many possibilities, allows analog audio for later playback.
Analog audio recording began with mechanical systems such as the phonautograph and phonograph. ...
helical scan
Helical scan is a method of recording high-frequency signals on magnetic tape. It is used in open-reel video tape recorders, video cassette recorders, digital audio tape recorders, and some computer tape drives.
History
Earl E Masterson from ...
videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...
format co-developed and introduced by
Ampex
Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name AMPEX is a portmanteau, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence.AbramsoThe History ...
and
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
in 1976. It became the replacement in the professional
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
and
broadcast television
Broadcast television systems (or terrestrial television systems outside the US and Canada) are the encoding or formatting systems for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals.
Analog television systems were standardized b ...
industries for the then-incumbent 2–inch
quadruplex videotape
2-inch quadruplex videotape (also called 2″ quad video tape or quadraplex) was the first practical and commercially successful analog recording video tape format. It was developed and released for the broadcast television industry in 1956 by A ...
(2–inch Quad for short) open-reel format. Additionally, it replaced the unsuccessful
type A format, also invented by Ampex, and, primarily in mainland Europe, it supplemented the
type B format, invented by the
Fernseh
The Fernseh AG television company was registered in Berlin on July 3, 1929, by John Logie Baird, Robert Bosch, Zeiss Ikon and D.S. Loewe as partners. John Baird owned Baird Television Ltd. in London, Zeiss Ikon was a camera company in Dresden, D.S ...
division of
Bosch, but it was replaced by type C format also there.
Technical detail
Compared to Quad, Type C had a smaller size, comparative ease of operation, and slightly higher
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
quality. 1–inch Type C is capable of "trick-play" functions such as still, shuttle, and variable-speed playback, including
slow motion
Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use o ...
. 2–inch quadruplex videotape machines lacked these capabilities, due to the segmented manner in which it recorded video
tracks onto the
magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magne ...
. 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
Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channels) a ...
at a very high video quality that was superior to contemporary color-under formats such as
U-matic
U-matic is an analogue recording videocassette format first shown by Sony in prototype in October 1969, and introduced to the market in September 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as oppo ...
, and of comparable quality to analog
component video
Component video is an analog video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video (CAV) information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals. Compon ...
formats like
Betacam
Betacam is a family of half-inch professional videocassette products developed by Sony in 1982. In colloquial use, "Betacam" singly is often used to refer to a Betacam camcorder, a Betacam tape, a Betacam video recorder or the format itself.
All ...
and
MII
A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis c ...
. 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. It had approximately 300 (scan or vertical) lines of resolution, and a bandwidth of 5 MHz, with recording being done with the heads moving across the tape at (a writing speed of) 1,008 inches per second.
Type C VTRs can record a single complete video frame in a single revolution of the drum, using a single video head, which made the format useful in computer animation and allowed for stills without frame stores or buffers. The tape is almost completely wrapped around the drum of the VTR in what is known as an alpha wrap. The format is almost
immune to dropouts. PAL Type C VTRs may have higher writing speeds to achieve higher bandwidth given PAL's 5-6 MHz bandwidth versus NTSC's 4.2 MHz. Type C VTRs may have flying video erase heads mounted on the drum, allowing for individual frames to be erased.
Usage
1-inch tape gained numerous uses in television production including outside broadcasts where it was used for instant replays and creating programme titles. 1-inch machines were considerably smaller and more reliable than preceding two-inch versions and were seen by operators as a major technological breakthrough. Due to this smaller size, it was possible for OB crews to transport and use multiple machines, allowing for much more complex editing to be done on site for use within the programme. The quality and reliability of 1–inch Type C made it a mainstay in television and
video production
Video production is the process of producing video content for video. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard dri ...
in
television studio
A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for t ...
s for almost 20 years, before being supplanted by more reliable digital
videocassette
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...
formats like
DVCAM
DV refers to a family of codecs and tape formats used for storing digital video, launched in 1995 by a consortium of video camera manufacturers led by Sony and Panasonic. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, DV was strongly associated with the ...
,
D-1 D1, D01, D.I, D.1 or D-1 can refer to:
Science and technology Biochemistry and medicine
* ATC code D01 ''Antifungals for dermatological use'', a subgroup of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System
* Dopamine receptor D1, Dopamine ...
,
D-2, and
DVCPro
DV refers to a family of codecs and tape formats used for storing digital video, launched in 1995 by a consortium of video camera manufacturers led by Sony and Panasonic. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, DV was strongly associated with the t ...
. 1–inch Type C was also widely used for the mastering of early
LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
titles. It was replaced in that role by the digital
D-2 videocassette format in the late 1980s.
Ampex models
Models include:
* VPR-2 1976, studio model
* VPR-20 1977, Portable
* VPR-2A studio model
* VPR-2B studio model
* 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
Nagra is a brand of portable audio recorders produced from 1951 in Switzerland. Beginning in 1997 a range of high-end equipment aimed at the audiophile community was introduced, and Nagra expanded the company’s product lines into new markets.
...
Image:Ampex VPR6.jpg, Ampex VPR6 VTR
Image:Open reel tape, Type B.jpg, 1 inch reel to reel tape
Image:Ampex logo.jpg, Ampex logo
Marconi models
Models include:
* MR2 studio model
Sony models
Models include:
![Sony BVH-500 20070914](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Sony_BVH-500_20070914.jpg)
* BVH-1000 1979 studio model
* BVH-1100 with Dynamic
head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
Tracking- DT, with digital
TBC Model BVT-2000
* BVH-1180 with Dynamic
head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
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
Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to:
Sound
*Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound
*Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum
*Digital audio, representation of sound ...
* BVH-2830 VTR with
PCM Audio
Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to:
Sound
*Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound
*Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum
*Digital audio, representation of sound ...
and 3-hour record / play capability
* BVH-3000 Studio model
* BVH-3100 Studio model without sync channel record / play capability
Hitachi, Ltd. – Shibaden models
Models include:
![HITACHI 1 ZOLL C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/HITACHI_1_ZOLL_C.jpg)
* HR-200 Studio model
* HR-230 2 and 3 hour Record/Play Studio model
* HR-100 portable model, 42 pounds
NEC models
Models include:
* TT-7000 Studio VTR ($38,000 new in 1987)
RCA models
Models include:
* 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 TR-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
3M models
Models include:
* TT-7000 (built by NEC)
adsausage.com
3M TT-7000 VTR ad
Kometa models (
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
)
Models include:
* Кадр-103СЦ (Kadr-103STs), 1985 studio model with DSP
DSP may refer to:
Computing
* Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal
* Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing
* Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...
and Цифра-101 (Tsifra-101) digital time base corrector
Time base correction (TBC) is a technique to reduce or eliminate errors caused by mechanical instability present in analog recordings on mechanical media.
Without time base correction, a signal from a videotape recorder (VTR) or videocassette ...
See also
* Type A videotape
* Type B videotape
1–inch type B VTR (designated Type B by SMPTE) is a reel-to-reel analog recording video tape format developed by the Bosch Fernseh division of Bosch in Germany in 1976. The magnetic tape format became the broadcasting standard in continenta ...
* IVC videotape format
IVC 2 inch Helical scan was a high-end broadcast quality helical scan analog recording VTR format developed by International Video Corporation (IVC), and introduced in 1975. Previously, IVC had made a number of 1 inch Helical VTRs. IVC ...
* Ampex 2 inch helical VTR
From 1963 to 1970, Ampex manufactured several models of VTR 2-inch helical VTRs, capable of recording and playing back analog black and white video. Recording employed non-segmented helical scanning, with one wrap of the tape around the video hea ...
References
External links
Discussion and demonstration of 1 inch tape in outside broadcast use and comparison with 2 inch machines
Demonstration of use of 1 inch tape to create captions in OB production
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*
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Video editing and post-production: a professional guide, page 45, By Gary H. Anderson
montreuxsounds.com Sony "C"
{{Sony Corp
Products introduced in 1976
Composite video formats
History of television
Television terminology
Videotape