Editing Videotape

{{short description|Magnetic tape used for storing video and sound simultaneously}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}

[[File:Assorted video tapes.JPG|thumb|300px|An assortment of video tapes]]

'''Videotape''' is [[magnetic tape]] used for storing [[video]] and usually [[Sound recording and reproduction|sound]] in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an [[analog signal|analog]] or [[Digital signal (signal processing)|digital signal]]. Videotape is used in both [[video tape recorder]]s (VTRs) and, more commonly, [[videocassette recorder]]s (VCRs) and [[camcorder]]s. Videotapes have also been used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an [[electrocardiogram]].

Because video signals have a very high [[Bandwidth (signal processing)|bandwidth]], and [[Tape head|stationary heads]] would require extremely high tape speeds, in most cases, a [[helical scan|helical-scan]] video head rotates against the moving tape to record the data in two dimensions.

Tape is a [[Linear motion|linear]] method of storing information and thus imposes delays to access a portion of the tape that is not already against the heads. The early 2000s saw the introduction and rise to prominence of high-quality random-access video recording media such as [[hard disk]]s and [[flash memory]]. Since then, videotape has been increasingly relegated to archival and similar uses.

== Early formats ==
The electronics division of entertainer [[Bing Crosby]]'s production company, Bing Crosby Enterprises (BCE), gave the world's first demonstration of a videotape recording in Los Angeles on November 11, 1951. In development by [[John T. Mullin]] and Wayne R. Johnson since 1950, the device gave what were described as "blurred and indistinct" images using a modified [[Ampex]] 200 tape recorder and standard quarter-inch (0.635&nbsp;cm) [[audiotape]] moving at {{convert|360|inches|m}} per second.<ref>"Tape Recording Used by Filmless 'Camera'{{-"}}, ''The New York Times'', Nov. 12, 1951, p. 21.</ref><ref>Eric D. Daniel, C. Denis Mee, and Mark H. Clark (eds.), ''Magnetic Recording: The First 100 Years'', IEEE Press, 1998, p. 141. {{ISBN|0-07-041275-8}}</ref> A year later, an improved version using one-inch (2.54&nbsp;cm) magnetic tape was shown to the press, who reportedly expressed amazement at the quality of the images although they had a "persistent grainy quality that looked like a worn motion picture." Overall the picture quality was still considered inferior to the best [[kinescope]] recordings on film.<ref>"Tape-Recorded TV Nears Perfection", ''The New York Times'', Dec. 31, 1952, p. 10.</ref> Bing Crosby Enterprises hoped to have a commercial version available in 1954 but none came forth.<ref>"New Deal on TV Seen at Parley", ''The New York Times'', May 1, 1953, p. 30.</ref>

The [[BBC]] experimented from 1952 to 1958 with a high-speed linear videotape system called [[Vision Electronic Recording Apparatus]] (VERA), but this was ultimately dropped in favor of [[quadruplex videotape]]. VERA used half-inch metallized (1.27&nbsp;cm) tape on 20-inch reels traveling at {{convert|200|inches/s|m/s}}.

[[RCA]] demonstrated the magnetic tape recording of both black-and-white and [[color television]] programs at its [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] laboratories on December 1, 1953.<ref>"Magnetic Tape Used By RCA to Photograph Television Program", ''The Wall Street Journal'', Dec. 2, 1953, p. 1.</ref><ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=Nd8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA157 Color TV on Tape]", ''Popular Mechanics'', April 1954, p. 157.</ref> The high-speed longitudinal tape system, called Simplex, in development since 1951, could record and play back only a few minutes of a [[television program]]. The color system used half-inch (1.27&nbsp;cm) tape on 10½ inch reels to record five tracks, one each for red, blue, green, synchronization, and audio. The black-and-white system used quarter-inch (0.635&nbsp;cm) tape also on 10½ inch reels with two tracks, one for video and one for audio. Both systems ran at {{convert|360|inches/s|m/s}} with {{convert|2500|feet|m}} per reel yielding an 83-second capacity.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Stewart Wolpin |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1994/2/1994_2_52.shtml |title=The Race to Video |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404045940/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1994/2/1994_2_52.shtml |archive-date=2011-04-04  |magazine=Invention & Technology |date=Autumn 1994}}</ref> RCA-owned [[NBC]] first used it on ''The Jonathan Winters Show'' on October 23, 1956, when a prerecorded song sequence by [[Dorothy Collins]] in color was included in the otherwise [[live television]] program.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA238 |title=TV Goes to Tape |magazine=Popular Science |date=February 1960 |page=238}}</ref><ref>{{citation |author=Ed Reitan |url=http://novia.net/~ereitan/rca-nbc_firsts.html |title=RCA-NBC Firsts in Color Television (commented) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219060637/http://novia.net/~ereitan/rca-nbc_firsts.html |archive-date=2008-12-19}}.</ref>

In 1953, Norikazu Sawazaki developed a prototype [[helical scan]] video tape recorder.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PL0eAQAAMAAJ ''SMPTE Journal: Publication of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers'', Volume 96, Issues 1-6; Volume 96], page 256, [[Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers]]</ref>

BCE demonstrated a color system in February 1955 using a [[Longitudinal Video Recording|longitudinal recording]] on half-inch (1.27&nbsp;cm) tape. [[CBS]], RCA's competitor, was about to order BCE machines when [[Ampex]] introduced the superior [[Quadruplex videotape|Quadruplex system]].<ref>Daniel et al., p. 148.</ref> BCE was acquired by [[3M]] Company in 1956.

In 1959, [[Toshiba]] released the first commercial helical scan video tape recorder.<ref>[http://toshiba-mirai-kagakukan.jp/en/learn/history/ichigoki/1959vtr/index.htm World's First Helical Scan Video Tape Recorder], [[Toshiba]]</ref>

== Broadcast video ==

=== Quad ===
[[File:2-inch Quad Tape Reel with miniDV cassette.jpg|thumb|A 14-inch reel of 2-inch quad videotape compared with a modern-day [[MiniDV]] videocassette. Both media store one hour of color video.]]

The first commercial professional [[broadcast quality]] videotape machines capable of replacing [[kinescope]]s were the two-inch [[quadruplex videotape]] (Quad) machines introduced by [[Ampex]] on April 14, 1956, at the [[National Association of Broadcasters]] convention in [[Chicago]]. Quad employed a transverse (scanning the tape across its width) four-head system on a two-inch (5.08&nbsp;cm) tape and stationary heads for the soundtrack.

[[CBS Television]] first used the Ampex VRX-1000<ref name="nasginsburg" /> Mark IV at its Television City studios in Hollywood on November 30, 1956, to play a delayed broadcast of ''[[Douglas Edwards and the News]]'' from [[New York City]] to the [[Pacific Time Zone]].<ref name="nasginsburg" /><ref>Ampex Corporation, [http://www.ampex.com/03corp/03corp.html Ampex Chronology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703164729/http://www.ampex.com/03corp/03corp.html |date=2007-07-03}}.</ref> On January 22, 1957, the [[NBC Television]] game show ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'', produced in Hollywood, became the first program to be broadcast in all time zones from a prerecorded videotape.<ref>"Daily N.B.C. Show Will Be on Tape", ''The New York Times'', Jan. 18, 1957, p. 31.</ref> 

Ampex introduced a color videotape recorder in 1958 in a cross-licensing agreement with RCA, whose engineers had developed it from an Ampex black-and-white recorder.<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=ICkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 Industry Agrees to Standardize Tape Recording on Ampex Lines]", ''Billboard'', Oct. 28, 1957, p. 3.</ref>  NBC's special, ''[[An Evening With Fred Astaire]]'' (1958), is the oldest surviving [[television network]] color videotape, and has been restored by the [[UCLA Film and Television Archive]].

On December 7, 1963, [[instant replay]], originally a videotape-based system, was used for the first time during the live transmission of the [[Army–Navy Game]] by its inventor, director [[Tony Verna]].<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/01/20/378570541/he-invented-instant-replay-the-tv-trick-we-now-take-for-granted |title=He Invented Instant Replay, The TV Trick We Now Take For Granted |date=January 20, 2015 |publisher=[[NPR]] |work=Morning Edition}}</ref>

Although Quad became the industry standard for approximately thirty years, it has drawbacks such as an inability to freeze pictures, and no picture search.{{efn|In fact, the quadruplex format can only reproduce recognizable pictures when the tape is playing at normal speed.<ref>[http://winkhackman.com/blog/gone-quite-forgotten/ Wink Hackman; Expert training for Sony MVS users worldwide] Retrieved September 19, 2015</ref>}} Also, in early machines, a tape could reliably be played back using only the same set of hand-made tape heads, which wore out very quickly.{{efn|Later machines had longer life and used [[Analog delay line|delay lines]] to compensate for the differences in the four heads.}} Despite these problems, Quad is capable of producing excellent images. Subsequent videotape systems have used helical scan, where the video heads record diagonal tracks (of complete fields) onto the tape.

[[List of lost television broadcasts|Many early videotape recordings were not preserved]]. While much less expensive (if repeatedly recycled) and more convenient than kinescope, the high cost of [[3M]] Scotch 179<ref name="nasginsburg">"[http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4779&page=84 Charles P. Ginsburg]". ''Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering'', Vol. 7. 1994: The National Academies Press, Washington DC.</ref> and other early videotapes ($300 per one-hour reel)<ref name="bfi">Elen, Richard G. "[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/technology/technology10.html TV Technology]". BFI Screenonline.</ref> meant that most broadcasters [[Lost television broadcast|erased and reused]] them, and (in the United States) regarded videotape as simply a better and more cost-effective means of time-delaying broadcasts than kinescopes. It was the four time zones of the continental United States which had made the system very desirable in the first place.

Some early broadcast videotapes have survived, including ''[[The Edsel Show]]'', broadcast live on October 13, 1957 and ''[[An Evening With Fred Astaire]]'' which aired on October 18, 1958 and was the oldest color videotape of an entertainment program known to exist until the discovery of the October 8, 1958 episode of the ''[[Kraft Music Hall (TV series)|Kraft Music Hall]]'' hosted by [[Milton Berle]]. The oldest color videotape known to survive is the May 1958 dedication of the [[WRC-TV]] studios in [[Washington, D.C.]]). In 1976, [[NBC]]'s 50th-anniversary special included an excerpt from a 1957 color special starring [[Donald O'Connor]]; despite some obvious technical problems, the color tape was remarkably good. Some classic television programs recorded on studio videotape have been made available on DVD – among them NBC's ''[[Peter Pan (1954 musical)|Peter Pan]]'' (first telecast in 1960) with [[Mary Martin]] as Peter, several episodes of [[The Dinah Shore Chevy Show]] (late 1950s/early 60s), the final [[Howdy Doody Show]] (1960), the television version of [[Hal Holbrook]]'s one-man show ''[[Mark Twain Tonight]]'' (first telecast in 1967), and [[Mikhail Baryshnikov]]'s classic production of the ballet ''[[The Nutcracker]]'' (first telecast in 1977).

=== Types C and B ===
The next format to gain widespread usage was 1 inch (2.54 cm) [[Type C videotape]] introduced in 1976. This format introduced features such as shuttling, various-speed playback (including slow-motion), and still framing. Although 1" Type C's quality was still quite high, the sound and picture reproduction attainable on the format were of slightly lower quality than Quad. However, compared to Quad, 1" Type C machines required much less maintenance, took up less space, and consumed much less electrical power.

In Europe, a similar tape format was developed, called 1 inch [[Type B videotape]]. Type B machines use the same 1" tape as Type C but they lacked C's shuttle and slow-motion options. The picture quality is slightly better, though. Type B was the broadcast norm in continental Europe for most of the 1980s.

=== Professional cassette formats ===
[[File:U-matic.jpg|thumb|[[U-matic]] tape]]
A '''videocassette''' is a case containing videotape. In 1969, [[Sony]] introduced a prototype for the first widespread video cassette, the ¾ʺ (1.905&nbsp;cm) [[composite video|composite]] [[U-matic]] system, which Sony introduced commercially in September 1971 after working out industry standards with other manufacturers. Sony later refined it to ''Broadcast Video U-matic'' (BVU). Sony continued its hold on the professional market with its ever-expanding ½ʺ (1.27&nbsp;cm) [[component video]] [[Betacam]] family introduced in 1982. This tape form factor would go on to be used for leading professional digital video formats. [[Panasonic]] had some limited success with its [[Panasonic MII|MII]] system, but never could compare to Betacam in terms of market share.

The next step was the [[Digital data|digital]] revolution. Sony's [[D-1 (Sony)|D-1]] was introduced in 1986 and featured uncompressed digital component recording. Because D-1 was extremely expensive, the composite [[D-2 (video)|D-2]] (Sony, 1988) and [[D-3 (video)|D-3]] (Panasonic, 1991) were introduced soon after. Ampex introduced the first compressed component recording with its [[DCT (videocassette format)|DCT]] series in 1992. Panasonic's [[D5 HD|D-5]] format was introduced in 1994. Like D-1, it is uncompressed, but much more affordable.

The [[DV (video format)|DV]] standard, which debuted in 1995, and was widely used both in its native form as [[MiniDV]] and in more robust professional variants.

In digital camcorders, Sony adapted the Betacam system with its [[Digital Betacam]] format in 1993, and in 1996 following it up with the cheaper [[Betacam SX]] and the 2000 [[MPEG IMX]] format,<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews/5163/sony_unveils_latest_products_at_ibc |title=Sony Unveils Latest Products at IBC |access-date=2023-05-22}}</ref> The semiprofessional DV-based [[DVCAM]] system was introduced in 1996. Panasonic used its DV variant DVCPRO for all professional cameras, with the higher-end format [[DVCPRO50]] being a direct descendant. [[JVC]] developed the competing [[Digital-S|D9/Digital-S]] format, which compresses video data in a way similar to DVCPRO but uses a cassette similar to [[S-VHS]] media. Many helical scan cassette formats such as VHS and Betacam use a head drum with heads that use [[azimuth recording]], in which the heads in the head drum have a gap that is tilted at an angle, and opposing heads have their gaps tilted so as to oppose each other.<ref name="poptronics">{{Cite magazine |last=Goldwasser |first=Sam |date=January 2000 |title=VCRs |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=2782584&site=eds-live&scope=site |magazine=[[Poptronics]] |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=77–79 |issn=1526-3681}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8YDOAwAAQBAJ&dq=dv+9000+rpm&pg=PA473|title=Broadcast Engineer's Reference Book|first=E. P. J.|last=Tozer|date=November 12, 2012|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781136024184 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== High definition ===
The introduction of [[HDTV]] [[video production]] necessitated a medium for storing [[high-definition video]]. In 1997, Sony supplemented its Betacam family with the HD-capable [[HDCAM]] standard and its higher-end cousin [[HDCAM SR]] in 2003. Panasonic's competing HD format for its camcorders was based on DVCPRO and called [[DVCPRO HD]]. For VTR and archive use, Panasonic expanded the D-5 specification to store compressed HD streams and called it [[D-5 HD]].

== Home video ==
[[File:Video 8, VHS and MiniDV.jpg|thumb|[[Video 8]] (left), [[VHS]] (right) and [[MiniDV]] (bottom)]]

=== Videocassette recorders ===
The first consumer [[videocassette recorder]]s (VCRs) used Sony [[U-matic]] technology and were launched in 1971. [[Philips]] entered the domestic market the following year with the [[N1500]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rewindmuseum.com/philips.htm |title=Philips N1500, N1700 and V2000 systems |website=Rewind Museum |publisher=Vision International |date=2011 |access-date=January 19, 2015}}</ref> Sony's [[Betamax]] (1975) and JVC's [[VHS]] (1976) created a mass-market for VCRs and the two competing systems battled the [[videotape format war]], which VHS ultimately won. In Europe, Philips had developed the [[Video 2000]] format, which did not find favor with the TV rental companies in the UK and lost out to VHS.

At first VCRs and videocassettes were very expensive, but by the late 1980s the price had come down enough to make them affordable to a mainstream audience. Videocassettes finally made it possible for consumers to buy or rent a complete film and watch it at home whenever they wished, rather than going to a movie theater or having to wait until it was telecast. It gave birth to video rental stores, [[Blockbuster LLC|Blockbuster]] the largest chain, which lasted from 1985 to 2005. It also made it possible for a VCR owner to begin [[time shifting]] their viewing of films and other [[television program]]s. This caused an enormous change in viewing practices, as one no longer had to wait for a repeat of a program that had been missed. The shift to home viewing also changed the movie industry's revenue streams, because home renting created an additional window of time in which a film could make money. In some cases, films that did only modestly in their theater releases went on to have strong performances in the rental market (e.g., [[cult films]]).

VHS became the leading consumer tape format for [[home movies]] after the [[videotape format war]], though its follow-ups [[S-VHS]], [[W-VHS]] and [[D-VHS]] never caught up in popularity. In the early 2000s in the prerecorded video market, VHS began to be displaced by [[DVD]]. The DVD format has several advantages over VHS tape. A DVD is much better able to take repeated viewings than VHS tape. Whereas a VHS tape can be erased though [[degaussing]], DVDs and other optical discs are not affected by magnetic fields. DVDs can still be damaged by scratches. DVDs are smaller and take less space to store. DVDs can support both standard 4x3 and widescreen 16x9 screen aspect ratios and DVDs can provide twice the video resolution of VHS. DVD supports [[random access]] while a VHS tape is restricted to [[sequential access]] and must be rewound. DVDs can have interactive menus, multiple language tracks, audio commentaries, [[closed captioning]] and subtitling (with the option of turning the subtitles on or off, or selecting subtitles in several languages). Moreover, a DVD can be played on a computer.

Due to these advantages, by the mid-2000s, DVDs were the dominant form of prerecorded video movies. Through the late 1990s and early 2000s consumers continued to use VCRs to record over-the-air TV shows, because consumers could not make home recordings onto DVDs. This last barrier to DVD domination was broken in the late 2000s with the advent of inexpensive [[DVD recorder]]s and [[digital video recorder]]s (DVRs). In July 2016, the last known manufacturer of VCRs, [[Funai]], announced that it was ceasing VCR production.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/07/22/technology/vcr-funai-last/index.html|title=The last VCR will be manufactured this month|last1=Sun|first1=Yazhou|date=2016-07-22|work=CNNMoney|access-date=2018-01-22|last2=Yan|first2=Sophia}}</ref>

=== Consumer and prosumer camcorders ===
[[File:DV tape sizes 2.jpg|thumb|DV cassettes left to right: DVCAM-L, DVCPRO-M, DVC/MiniDV]]
Early consumer [[camcorders]] used full-size VHS or Betamax cassettes. Later models switched to more compact formats, designed explicitly for smaller camcorder use, like [[VHS-C]] and [[Video8]]. VHS-C is a downsized version of VHS, using the same recording method and the same tape, but in a smaller cassette. It is possible to play VHS-C tapes in a regular VHS tape recorder by using an adapter. After the introduction of [[S-VHS]], a corresponding compact version, S-VHS-C, was released as well. Video8 is an indirect descendant of Betamax, using narrower tape and a smaller cassette. Because of its narrower tape and other technical differences, it is not possible to develop an adapter from Video8 to Betamax. Video8 was later developed into [[Hi8]], which provides better resolution similar to S-VHS.

The first consumer-level and lower-end professional ([[wikt:prosumer#Etymology 2|prosumer]]) digital video recording format, introduced in 1995, used a smaller Digital Video Cassette (DVC).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.videomaker.com/article/2381/|title=DVC Product Probe|date=November 1995}}</ref> The format was later renamed [[MiniDV#MiniDV|MiniDV]] to reflect the [[DV (video format)|DV]] encoding scheme, but the tapes are still marked ''DVC''. Some later formats like [[DV (video format)#DVCPRO|DVC&nbsp;Pro]] from Panasonic reflect the original name. The DVC or MiniDV format provides [[broadcast-quality]] video and sophisticated nonlinear editing capability on consumer and some professional equipment and has been used on feature films, including Danny Boyle's [[28 Days Later]] (2002, shot on a Canon XL1)<ref>{{cite news |first=Douglas |last=Bankston |url=http://www.theasc.com/magazine/july03/sub/index.html |title=Anthony Dod Mantle, DFF injects the apocalyptic 28 Days Later with a strain of digital video |work=TheASC.com |date=1 July 2003 |access-date=1 May 2007}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Ralph |date=2023-06-27 |title='28 Days Later': The Oral History of Danny Boyle's Genre-Redefining Zombie Masterpiece |url=https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/28-days-later-oral-history-danny-boyle-alex-garland |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=[[Inverse (website)|Inverse]] |language=en}}</ref> and David Lynch's [[Inland Empire (film)|Inland Empire]] (2006, shot on a Sony DSR-PD150).<ref name=Perez>{{cite web|url=https://theplaylist.net/inland-empire-restoration-trailer-david-lynch-april-20220324/|title='Inland Empire' Restoration Trailer: David Lynch's Surreal DV Nightmare Comes Back To Theaters In April|last=Perez|first=Rodrigo|website=ThePlaylist.net|date=March 24, 2022|access-date=April 1, 2022|language=en}}</ref>

In 1999 Sony backported the DV recording scheme to 8-mm systems, creating [[Digital8]]. By using the same cassettes as Hi8, many Digital8 camcorders were able to play analog Video8 or Hi8 recordings, preserving compatibility with already recorded [[analog video]] tapes.

Sony introduced another camcorder cassette format called [[MicroMV]] in 2001. Sony was the only electronics manufacturer to sell MicroMV cameras. In 2006, Sony stopped offering new MicroMV camcorder models.<ref name="derStandard">{{Cite web |url=http://derstandard.at/2000025414411/Sony-Das-Ende-von-Betamax-naht |title=Sony: Das Ende von Betamax naht |last=m.b.H. |first=STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft|lang=de |date=2015-11-10 |website=derStandard.at |access-date=2017-08-03 |quote=The last camcorder with MicroMV was discontinued in early 2006.}}</ref> In November 2015, Sony announced that shipment of MicroMV cassettes would be discontinued in March 2016.<ref name='tele'>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/sony/11986020/Sony-is-finally-killing-off-Betamax-video-tapes.html |first1=Sophie |last1=Curtis |quote="Sony will end the shipment of Betamax video cassettes and micro MV cassettes in March 2016," the company said in a Japanese-language statement on its website.|website=The Telegraph|date=2015-11-10|access-date=2015-11-15|title=Sony is finally killing off Betamax video tapes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110052125/http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/News/Press/201511/15-1110/index.html|url=http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/News/Press/201511/15-1110/index.html|language=ja|trans-title=Beta video cassette and micro MV cassette tape shipment end of announcement|quote=ソニーは2016年3月※をもって、ベータビデオカセットおよびマイクロMVカセットの出荷を終了いたします。 ("Sony with a ? March 2016, will end the shipment of beta video cassette and micro cassette MV.")|access-date=2015-11-15|archive-date=2015-11-10|date=2015-11-10|publisher=Sony Japan|title=ベータビデオカセットおよびマイクロMVカセットテープ出荷終了のお知らせ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = 40 years later, Sony finally kills Betamax|url = https://www.engadget.com/2015/11/10/40-years-later-sony-finally-kills-betamax/|website = Engadget| date=10 November 2015 |access-date = 2015-11-10|quote=[Sony is] also dropping its MicroMV camcorder tapes In a bid to... make space in the warehouse, we guess.}}</ref>

In the late 2000s, [[MiniDV]] and its high-definition cousin, [[HDV]], were the two most popular consumer or prosumer tape-based formats. The formats use different encoding methods, but the same cassette type.

== Future of tape ==
{{see also|Tapeless production}}

With advances in technology, videotape has moved past its original uses (original recording, editing, and broadcast playback) and is now primarily an archival medium. The death of tape for video recording was predicted as early as 1995 when the Avid nonlinear editing system was demonstrated storing video clips on hard disks. Yet videotape was still used extensively, especially by consumers, up until about 2004, when DVD-based camcorders became affordable and domestic computers had large enough hard drives to store an acceptable amount of video.

Consumer camcorders have switched from being tape-based to [[tapeless camcorder|tapeless]] machines that record video as computer files. Small hard disks and writable optical discs have been used, with solid-state memory such as [[SD cards]] being the current market leader. There are two primary advantages: First, copying a tape recording onto a computer or other video machine occurs in real time (e.g. a ten-minute video would take ten minutes to copy); since tapeless camcorders record video as computer-ready data files, the files can copied onto a computer significantly faster than real time. Second, tapeless camcorders, and those using solid-state memory in particular, are far simpler mechanically and so are more reliable.

Despite these conveniences, tape is still used extensively with filmmakers and television networks because of its longevity, low cost, and reliability. Master copies of visual content are often stored on tape for these reasons, particularly by users who cannot afford to move to tapeless machines. During the mid- to late 2000s, professional users such as broadcast television were still using tape heavily but tapeless formats like [[P2 (storage media)|P2]], [[XDCAM]] and [[AVCHD]] were gaining broader acceptance.

While live recording has migrated to solid state, optical disc (Sony's XDCAM) and hard disks, the high cost of solid state and the limited shelf life of hard-disk drives make them less desirable for archival use, for which tape is still used.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

== Notes ==
{{note list }}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Videotape}}
* {{web archive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991001151647/http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/abbey/an/an21/an21-7/an21-708.html |title=The Loss of Early Video Recordings}}
* {{web archive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603152849/http://www.tvhandbook.com/History/History_recording.htm |title=History of Recording Technology}}
* {{web archive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603153341/http://www.tvhandbook.com/History/History_tape.htm |title=History of Magnetic Tape}}
* [https://www.vtoldboys.com/tservice01.htm Tape Servicing]

{{Video storage formats}}

[[Category:Videotape| ]]
[[Category:American inventions]]
[[Category:History of television]]
[[Category:Home video]]
[[Category:Audiovisual introductions in 1950]]