Videocassette formats

Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog videocassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war against its primary rival, VHS. Betamax was introduced in Japan on May 10, 1975, and launched in the United States later that year.

format for storing digital video

video cassette format

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.

-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.

family of video recording formats for 8mm magnetic tape

Super VHS, commonly abbreviated as S-VHS, is an analog video cassette format introduced by JVC in 1987 as a more developed version of the VHS (Video Home System) format. S-VHS improved image quality by increasing the bandwidth of the luminance (brightness) signal, allowing for a resolution of approximately 400 horizontal lines, compared to the 240 lines typical of VHS. The format used the same physical cassette shell as VHS but required higher-grade magnetic tape and compatible recording and playback equipment.

VHS-C is a compact version of the VHS videocassette format, introduced by Victor Company of Japan (JVC) in 1982, and used primarily in consumer-grade analog recording camcorders. VHS-C uses the same magnetic tape as full-size VHS cassettes and can be played in a regular VHS VCR using an adapter. An improved version named S-VHS-C was also developed. VHS-C's main competitor was Sony's Video8 format, but both were eventually displaced in the consumer market by the digital MiniDV format, which offered a smaller form factor.

D-VHS (short for Digital VHS) is a digital video recording format developed by JVC in collaboration with Hitachi, Matsushita, and Philips. Introduced in December 1997, it was designed to record digital video, including high-definition content, using the same higher-grade tapes as S-VHS (Super VHS), which could accommodate the increased data rates required by the format.

thumb|Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta HDCAM camcorder

professional digital video format

thumb|A JVC KY D29 Digital-S pro camcorder Digital-S, later known as D-9, is a professional digital videocassette format created by JVC in 1995.

magnetic tape-based videocassette format

digital recording standard

thumb|Rear side of MicroMV cassette

compact video cassette format for camcorders

professional digital videocassette format