Home documentarians didn’t drift significantly from film to video until about 1981. There are many reasons for this switch, but the simple explanation is video technology had become easier and less expensive than film and film devices to use for both recording and playback. Other important factors contributed, but the focus of this history is on video formats used in the home to document family activities and adventures. I also give a brief overview of the chemical emulsion instabilities of video tape that may cause you to decide to make digital copies of your older home videos sooner rather than later.
Innovative improvements in video technology began happening after World War II. The first practical video tape recorder (VTR) was developed in 1951 and VTR technology become commercially feasible with Ampex introducing the Quadraplex using 2 inch tape reels in 1956. Sony began marketing the first reel-to-reel VTR designed specifically for home use in 1964, but only a few hundred were ever sold. In 1969 Sony introduced its 
Color Video player 
, which used a three-quarter inch videocassette tape and had a maximum playing time of 90 minutes. Successful home-use video recorders didn’t get introduced to consumers until 1975 and VTRs prior to 1969 were reel-to-reel devices lacking suitability for home use.
Before 1967 there was no such thing as man-portable out-of-studio video cameras. Home users who wanted to document their parties and special events had to use 8mm or Super8 film and most professional mobile and location work was done using 16mm film. Sony’s introduction of the Portapak in 1967 inaugurated the modern era of video. The Portapack was a bulky analog video camera connected to a VTR with battery power supply carried in a heavy and huge strapped-on backpack. Development of smaller, lighter weight video camera devices became possible when Sony introduced the 1/2-inch Betamax home-use videocassette recorder (VCR) in 1975 and JVC introduced the VHS VCR in 1976. Both the VHS and Betamax formats were small enough that "tote-able" battery operated recorders were practical.
Sony introduced the first prototype single-unit compact color video camera-cassette recorder system (Video Movie Camera) in 1980 and JVC and Sony concurrently ushered in the new era of small, lightweight camera/recorder devices (camcorders) to home documentarians in 1982. After 1982, video technology and devices changed from analog video to digital video and camcorder got smaller, cheaper, and much improved. The complete history of these changes and new technology is very muddling and includes several format battles. However, delving into this history is avoidable because the important result is image color and resolution capabilities have gotten much better. Newer digital video technology, unlike older analog video technology, means unlimited image editing and duplicating can happen with no loss of image quality or resolution. We are now at the point where technology can provide better sound and viewing than most people can detect.
Interest in developing of digital imaging began in the late 1960s and early 1970s primarily through NASA and the military. NASA needed a more reliable way of ending up with pictures being sent to Earth by automated unmanned spacecraft orbiting Mars Venus and other distant planets. It also needed away to send telemetry reliably to these unmanned probes to get them to execute course corrections and follow other instructions. The military also had needs of its own concerning its space platforms and being able to get pictures and video in real time. The primary need resulted from the need to do constant calibration and tuning to ensure analogous signals could be understood. With digital numbers there was less chance instructions would blend in with background noise and static or be corrupted by interferences as distances increased as long as the signal was received. The technology was also being pursued by commercial interests.
Solid state imaging technology was first demonstrated in 1965 with the public unveiling of the world’s first solid-state camera that became possible after solid state CMOS transistor image-sensor devices known as Passive-pixel sensors (PPS) were developed just a year or two prior. Ten years later, in December 1975 Eastman Kodak Company engineer Steven Sasson captured the first digital photograph on digital cassette tape with a camera he built using an analog-to-digital converter adapted from Motorola Inc. components, a Kodak movie-camera lens and 100x100 pixel CCD chips introduced by Fairchild Semiconductor in 1973. The picture was black and white and had a resolution of .01 megapixels. Digital imaging didn’t start becoming the consumer camera and camcorder of choice until about 1996 and 1997.
- 1969 The first Charged Couple Devise was created by George Smith and Willard Boyle at Bell labs
- 1972 The first device to digitize the video signal, the digital time base corrector (TBC) introduced by Consolidated Video Signals.
- 1973 The first imaging CCD was produced by Fairchild Electronics with a format of 100x100 pixels.
- 1974 The first microprocessor used in broadcast equipment, the 2/3-inch Plumbicon was introduced
- 1975 The first CCD flatbed scanner was introduced by Kurzweil Computer Products using the first CCD integrated chip, a 500 sensor linear array from Fairchild.
- 1984 RCA introduced CCD-1 solid state camera.
- 1988 Fuji unveiled the DS-1P, the first electronic still camera that recorded images digitally on a 16MB internal memory card developed with Toshiba.
- 1994 The first digital cameras for the US consumer market becoming easily available
- 1996 Flash card memory and mini DV tape first became available at this time too.
- 1997 - DV (Digital Video)/ miniDV standard introduced by Panasonic & Sony.
The format types of analog camcorders currently available are: Hi8, VHS, VHSC, and SVHSC. The format types of digital camcorders currently available are: Mini-DV, Digital8, DVD, and D-VHS. The following chart gives a bit more information concerning videotape formats and associated camcorders previously and currently used by Home documentarians.
| Type of TAPE Format | Historical Summary | Resolution, Tape Type, and Signal Type | Compatibility with VCR or DVD Player |
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Analog Video | Introduced in 1975 by Sony. Beta videotape was the first successful consumer videotape format. The first Betamovie camcorder hit stores in May 1983. Sony began phasing out support in 1988 and completely discontinued consumer Beta in 2002. Beta consumer VCRs and camcorders are no longer manufactured or marketed by any company. | Technically, Beta was considered superior to VHS, with higher head-to-tape writing speed (resulted in better image quality), but recording capacity less than VHS format. Horizontal Resolution: 300 lines. Tape Type: Oxide Signal Type: Component | Camcorders large, requires use of shoulder to support and balance while shooting. Tapes could be taken directly from camcorder and played directly in home beta VCR. Recorded Beta video can be converted to DVD-Video. |
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One of the world's most-available recording media. Analog Video | Introduced in 1976 by JVC. VHS camcorders make it possible for you to immediately watch the tape on your home VCR. In 1988 VHS had become the dominating video format. While Beta has been discontinued, VHS VCRs are still being manufactured and marketed by several companies. | Horizontal resolution: 250 lines. Tape type: Oxide Signal Type: Composite | Camcorders large, requires use of shoulder to support and balance while shooting. Tapes could be taken directly from camcorder and played directly in home VHS VCR. Recorded VHS video can be converted to DVD-Video. |
| 8mm Introduced 1984 Analog Video | Introduced in 1984 by Kodak. 8mm camcorders are more compact than VHS. The tapes are incompatible with home VCRs. | Horizontal resolution: 260-270- lines. Tape type: Oxide Signal Type: Composite | Connect the camcorder to TV or VCR for playback on TV |
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Analog Video | This camcorder uses VHS cassettes that are approximately ¼ the size of the VHS VCR tape, and can be played in your home VCR by putting it in an adapter. The maximum recording time is 40 minutes, and the resolution is the same as regular size VHS tapes at 250 lines. | Horizontal resolution: 250 lines. Tape type: Oxide Signal Type: Composite | Camcorder is handheld. VHSC cassettes require an adaptor to play cassette in VCR. Recorded VHSC video can be converted to DVD-Video. |
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Analog Video | S-VHS tapes can only be played by attaching the camcorder to your VCR or by using an S-VHS VCR, as they are not compatible with standard VCRs. The S stands for super, as the resolution jumps from the VHS standard of 250 horizontal lines 400 horizontal lines. | Horizontal resolution: 400 lines. Tape type: Oxide Signal Type: Y/C | Few SVHS camcorders currently available. Using an adapter, SVHS-C cassettes can be played in a full size SVHS VCR. With a couple of exceptions, however, SVHS-C recordings cannot be played back in standard VHS VCRs. Recorded SVHS video can be converted to DVD-Video. |
| HI-8 Introduced 1988 Analog/Digital Video | Hi-8 camcorders use 8mm tapes, and have to be played back by hooking up the camcorder to the television. | Horizontal resolution: Tape Type: Single Type: Y/C | Very few analog Hi8 cameras are made now, having fallen victim to the superior quality of digital video cameras. |
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Introduced 1995 Digital Video | These camcorders record images digitally, and use small tapes compared to VHS. Digital camcorders have the highest resolution of all the camcorders, starting at 530-800+ lines of horizontal resolution. Wide range of camera system quality. Most consumer models are 1CCD, 530+lines of horizontal. Professional /Broadcast models are 3CCD, 800+ lines of horizontal resolution. | Horizontal Resolution: +500 lines Tape Type: Metal Particle Signal Type: Digital | MiniDV-Connect the camcorder to TV for playback on TV or connect directly to computer to download for editing and burning to DVD-video. Digital Hi-Def Camcorder is the latest technology, able to record and play back 1280x720/30p digital high definition and 480p progressive wide images using Mini DV tape. |
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Digital Video | The digital8 format also records images digitally, and use regular 8MM cassettes. These tapes are incompatible with the standard VHS VCR and require you to play them through the camcorder onto your TV | Horizontal Resolution: 500 lines. Tape Type: Oxide Signal Type: Digital | |
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Digital Video | DVD-Video has become the format of choice for high quality movies, TV series and music videos. Currently, a DVD offers about 480 lines of resolution. Once HDTV gets going the DVD specs permit an upgrade (with newer players) to 720 lines of resolution. | Horizontal Resolution: 500 lines. The creation of HD DVDs is not yet possible. When HD-DVD burners become available in the future, they will open the doors to low-cost HD production Tape Type: n/a Signal Type: Digital | DVD camcorder technology – The Hi8 and MiniDV video cameras record a clearer picture and generally are much smaller. |
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High Definition Digital Video | | Horizontal Resolution: | High Definition camcorders are marketed |
| NOTE 1: Video tape or any medium storing an image will have its own resolution. But the maximum capture resolution depends upon the total system being used to shoot the video. The better quality of the video bandwidth of the electronic components and the better quality the lens and apertures the better recorded image resolution you will see. | |||
| NOTE 2: Digital forms of storage are capable of copying any resolution of analog video you want to copy. The quality of the digitally captured copy depends on: Speed and compression capabilities of the video capture board; Speed of the computer's hard drive; Speed of the computer's s central processing unit (CPU); Data processing load on the CPU; Speed of the computer's data bus; and, Available RAM if capturing to memory. The quality of the captured video will never exceed the quality of the source video, so you should use the highest quality source possible. | |||
Good quality tape when stored properly can have an expected lifetime of anywhere from 10 years to beyond 30 years. It is possible for the effective life of videotape to shorten because of wear and damage caused by repeated use, but the probability wear through use is linked more to how well the playback devices are maintained and the quality of the specific tape rather than how often the tape is used. The most common causes of damage are improper handling and extremes or fluctuations in heat and humidity. Dust and debris that get trapped between the layers of wound tape or accumulate in the equipment can also result in damage, i.e. scratching and equipment contamination. Magnetic fields (from televisions, speakers, magnets, vacuum cleaners, etc.) are a problem only if they are strong and close to the tape. If you’re comfortable, chances are your tape is comfortable, too. Stay within 59° to 77° F and 40% to 60% relative humidity. Because tape can expand or contract, stay away from sudden temperature changes, even within the recommended range.
The binder, the glue adhering the magnetic recording particles to the base film, is the weak point of most videotape. Videotapes absorb water when stored in humid environments and eventually this can create a process of hydrolysis that cause the chemical components of the binder to disintegrate. The binder becomes tacky, creating an adhesive build-up that makes the tape almost impossible to play. This condition is known as ‘sticky shed syndrome’ and the magnetic media literally sheds off the from the tape base and what's more, if you are playing an afflicted tape it sticks like glue to the heads and tape guides. Even though binder formulations have improved over the years, new formulations have not eliminated instabilities, particularly instabilities relevant to the videotape absorbing moisture.
Manufactures provide recommend storage and care guidance in order to retain high quality, trouble free recordings. Some of these suggestions include:
- Always put your cassette back in its protective sleeve when not in use. Dust and dirt will damage your tape and contaminate your VCR or camcorder.
- Don't store your tapes near strong magnetic fields (near your power panel or high current users like electric dryers or stoves, air conditioners, or stereo speakers, etc.) The recorded information could be erased over time if you do.
- Don't store your tapes in areas of high humidity (basements). This environment provides the condition that allow mold and mildew to grow and will damage tapes and sleeves. Storing tapes at 70 degrees F (40-percent RH or lower) can keep them healthy for 30 years or more.
- Don't leave cassettes in direct sunlight. The sun can heat a black shell to well above the temperature necessary to permanently warp the shell.
- Take proper care of your VCR and camcorder. See that it gets cleaned and lubricated to keep it in top condition. Video heads only need to be cleaned if there is a degradation in video signal, but the tape path and capstan pinch roller need cleaning more frequently especially in dusty environments or in situations where tapes have been left out without their protective sleeves. A dirty tape path can cause physical damage to the tape especially the rubber pinch roller. When it gets dirty and/or dried out, it will not drive the tape correctly. Instead it will cause the tape to wander up or down, damaging the edges of the tape against the guides. If you open the door of the cassette and see wrinkled upper or lower edges on the tape, it is almost certain to have been caused by a capstan pinch roller that needs to be either cleaned or replaced.
- Rewind the tape before storing it. This keeps the beginning of the tape from being creased by the end of the leader or the clamp. The best position for storage is to stand the cassette on its end with the heavy end down. Don't lay them flat (especially upside down).
- Don't use rewind equipment to rewind tapes after playing. Your VCR will do a much better and safer job rewinding that precious tape. VCR rewind mechanisms almost never fail because of over use; they fail because of time and elevated temperatures whether used or not.
- Look at the pack of wound tape. If there’s "stepping" or other signs of uneven winding, the whole tape should be rewound. Where possible, rewind at slower speeds. Be sure to rewind tapes completely after each use to maintain high performance.
- You don’t want tape layers to start sticking together. So "exercise" tapes at least once every three years.
In general, video tapes will retain acceptable captured image quality for years, but at some point after 15 or 30 years image quality degradation becomes noticeable as the tape slowly demagnetizes and physically degrades. CY Technical and Professional Services is ready and capable of giving you the keepsake digital memories you expect. We can copy your old videos to digital tape or DVD.
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