Betacam SX
Betacam SX is a professional grade digital video format that records component signals along with four audio signals onto a 1/2 "metal particle tape.
General
Betacam SX is the first professional video format that uses a data reduction factor of 10: 1 according to MPEG-2 to compress the component signals sampled in a ratio of 4: 2: 2 and an 8-bit resolution. The MPEG-2 data reduction is carried out according to the Professional Profile @ MainLevel (4: 2: 2P @ ML). The total data rate is 44 Mbit / s, of which around 18 Mbit / s are accounted for by the video signal and 3 Mbit / s by the four audio channels, which are recorded with 16 bit and 48 kHz without data reduction. The remaining data bandwidth is used for error protection or for error correction.
The format is a further development of Betacam SP . The mechanical properties of the Betacam SX cassette are identical to those of a Betacam SP cassette, but have almost twice the recording time because they are only recorded or played back at half the speed (5.96 cm / s). This system remains fully compatible with Betacam SP and can also play these cassettes. The maximum playing time of a Betacam SX cassette is 184 minutes. Although Betacam SX is behind IMX and far behind Digital Betacam in terms of image quality , it is still superior to Digital Video (DV). The format has found widespread use in current electronic reporting in Asia, but also worldwide. The reasons are the mechanical robustness of the system, the relatively small amount of data in the generally accepted MPEG format (practical for digital online editing systems) and the possibility of being able to edit the material immediately on site on small, lightweight laptop editing devices with built-in players and recorders . So you often meet camera teams with Betacam SX in war and crisis regions. Betacam SX cassettes can be distinguished by their yellow color from the mechanically almost identical Betacam , Betacam SP, Digital Betacam, IMX and HDCAM cassettes.