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U-matic
3⁄4-inch Type E Helical Scan or SMPTE E is an analog recording videocassette format marketed by Sony Electronics Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic) and Victor Co. of Japan (JVC). It was initially developed by Sony and shown as a prototype in October 1969, refined and standardized among the three manufacturers in March 1970, and introduced commercially in September 1971 by Sony. The format was branded U-matic by Sony, U-Vision by Panasonic and U-VCR by JVC, referring to the U-shaped tape path as it threads around the video drum.
The format was among the earliest video formats to house videotape inside a cassette, replacing the reel-to-reel systems common at the time. The format uses 3⁄4-inch-wide (19 mm) tape, earning it the nickname "three-quarter-inch" or simply "three-quarter," in contrast to larger open-reel formats like 1 in (25 mm) Type C videotape and 2 in (51 mm) quadruplex videotape.
The first generation of U-matic VCRs are large devices, approximately 30 in (76 cm) wide, 24 in (61 cm) deep, and 12 in (30 cm) high, requiring special shelving, and had mechanical controls limited to Record, Play, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Stop and Pause (with muted video on early models). Later models sported improvements such as chassis sized for EIA 19-inch rack mounting, with sliding rack rails for compressed storage in broadcast environments, solenoid control mechanics, jog-shuttle knob, remote controls, Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC), longitudinal time code, internal cuts-only editing controls, "Slo-Mo" slow-motion playback, and Dolby audio noise reduction.
U-matic was named after the shape of the tape path when it was threaded around the helical-scan video head drum, which resembles the letter U. Betamax uses a similar type of "B-load" as well. Recording time is limited to one hour. It initially had a resolution of 240 lines. Signals are recorded onto the tape using Frequency modulation (FM modulation).
U-matic tape moves at 3.75 inches per second, and has a tape writing speed of 8.54 meters per second for PAL or 10.26 for NTSC. This means that the heads on the drums of U-matic VCRs move across the tape at one of those speeds. The drum has two heads, both of which are used for recording video. The drum spins at 1500 rpm for PAL or 1800 rpm for NTSC.
Some of the standards that define the format, are:
U-matic saw two revisions to improve its image quality. In 1976, Sony introduced the semi backwards-compatible High-band or Hi-band revision, with the original version becoming known as Low-band or Lo-band. It increased the FM carrier frequencies, increasing the available bandwidth on the tape, hence increasing image quality and the number of resolution lines. U-matic Hi-band recordings will play in black and white in U-matic Lo-band machines.
PAL U-matic Hi-band increased the FM carrier frequency to 4.8-6.4 MHz. When recording it had a sync tip frequency of 4.8 MHz, a peak white frequency of 6.4 MHz, and a color carrier frequency of 983.803 kHz.
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U-matic
3⁄4-inch Type E Helical Scan or SMPTE E is an analog recording videocassette format marketed by Sony Electronics Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic) and Victor Co. of Japan (JVC). It was initially developed by Sony and shown as a prototype in October 1969, refined and standardized among the three manufacturers in March 1970, and introduced commercially in September 1971 by Sony. The format was branded U-matic by Sony, U-Vision by Panasonic and U-VCR by JVC, referring to the U-shaped tape path as it threads around the video drum.
The format was among the earliest video formats to house videotape inside a cassette, replacing the reel-to-reel systems common at the time. The format uses 3⁄4-inch-wide (19 mm) tape, earning it the nickname "three-quarter-inch" or simply "three-quarter," in contrast to larger open-reel formats like 1 in (25 mm) Type C videotape and 2 in (51 mm) quadruplex videotape.
The first generation of U-matic VCRs are large devices, approximately 30 in (76 cm) wide, 24 in (61 cm) deep, and 12 in (30 cm) high, requiring special shelving, and had mechanical controls limited to Record, Play, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Stop and Pause (with muted video on early models). Later models sported improvements such as chassis sized for EIA 19-inch rack mounting, with sliding rack rails for compressed storage in broadcast environments, solenoid control mechanics, jog-shuttle knob, remote controls, Vertical Interval Time Code (VITC), longitudinal time code, internal cuts-only editing controls, "Slo-Mo" slow-motion playback, and Dolby audio noise reduction.
U-matic was named after the shape of the tape path when it was threaded around the helical-scan video head drum, which resembles the letter U. Betamax uses a similar type of "B-load" as well. Recording time is limited to one hour. It initially had a resolution of 240 lines. Signals are recorded onto the tape using Frequency modulation (FM modulation).
U-matic tape moves at 3.75 inches per second, and has a tape writing speed of 8.54 meters per second for PAL or 10.26 for NTSC. This means that the heads on the drums of U-matic VCRs move across the tape at one of those speeds. The drum has two heads, both of which are used for recording video. The drum spins at 1500 rpm for PAL or 1800 rpm for NTSC.
Some of the standards that define the format, are:
U-matic saw two revisions to improve its image quality. In 1976, Sony introduced the semi backwards-compatible High-band or Hi-band revision, with the original version becoming known as Low-band or Lo-band. It increased the FM carrier frequencies, increasing the available bandwidth on the tape, hence increasing image quality and the number of resolution lines. U-matic Hi-band recordings will play in black and white in U-matic Lo-band machines.
PAL U-matic Hi-band increased the FM carrier frequency to 4.8-6.4 MHz. When recording it had a sync tip frequency of 4.8 MHz, a peak white frequency of 6.4 MHz, and a color carrier frequency of 983.803 kHz.