U-matic
U-matic is a Japanese video format for electromagnetic recording and playback of images and sound. It was the first cassette format .
U-matic was originally developed for the consumer market in 1968, but was then used by institutions and in the professional sector, where it was largely replaced by the Betacam SP format around 20 years later . The U-matic format was initially intended as a training system. It was mainly used by banks and large companies. On the tape there was the audio track on the left audio channel, on the right the data stream for the computer, which then stopped the tape to answer questions about the current educational film segment, for example, before the device went back to play mode. But then it was increasingly used in electronic reporting (EB), which has since been further developed into the U-matic high-band format . Using U-matic, for the first time filmless, broadcast vehicle and network-independent reporting for television with a hand-held camera and the recorder (usually by the camera assistant) was carried out.
Tape material
This format uses a 19 mm ( 3 / 4 inch ) wide magnetic tape in two different sized cassette cases: For portable devices, there is a compact cassette with a maximum of 20 minutes running time, the so-called U-matic S (of English. Small , small ') and a standard cassette for stationary devices with a running time of up to 60, in rare cases even 75 minutes.
With both cassette sizes, the spools are next to each other at the same axial distance. As a result, the stationary playback devices and recorders can easily process both sizes; an adapter is not required.
S-cassettes with a running time of 20 minutes were widespread. Running times of ten and five minutes were also offered, for example for use in commercials and pre-edited television programs. The large cassettes were available in stages of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 60 minutes running time.
application
The U-matic format and its technical advancements U-matic Highband and U-matic SP were mainly used in broadcasters for electronic reporting (in English Electronic News Gathering, ENG for short), whereby it largely replaced the 16 mm film technology .
U-matic recorders were also used in agencies for documenting television programs. For demonstrations at trade fairs and conferences, U-matic players have long been the devices of choice because of their robustness and reliability.
Up until the year 2000, U-matic MAZs were mainly to be found in advertising agencies, in many archives and in synchronous sound processing .
U-matic devices were used in conjunction with PCM audio processors for CD production and mastering . There were special editor machines for this purpose. These systems were in use in recording studios at the beginning of the digital era. Soon, however, U-matic was supplanted by other processes in the field of sound recording, such as digital tape machines and the digital DAT cassette system .
Technology and standards
The image resolution specified by the design of the cassette, the tape / head relative speed and other technical parameters does not allow the U-matic to record the color directly, which is 4.43 MHz in the PAL process. The color signal is therefore separated and reduced. U-matic uses a color subcarrier on 685 kHz (low band) or 924 kHz (high band + SP), similar to VHS . The transmission bandwidth for the luminance signal has also been expanded on SP devices . A distinction is only made between low-band, hi-band and SP bands.
U-matic was introduced in Europe around 1972 (resolution: around 250 lines) and competed with the Grundig and Philips VCR system that had been introduced there since 1971 . U-matic offered a better quality than the later VHS or Betamax formats intended for pure home use . An improved variant with better color resolution (high band) was introduced in Europe in 1978 (resolution about 260 lines). As a result, the video format previously known as U-matic became the so-called U-Matic low band. Frame code recording is only provided as standard with high-band and SP. The frame code is not the same as the SMPTE timecode . In the USA, therefore, no high-band utilities are used, only low-band devices. The U-matic high band and later the SP format were used exclusively in the broadcast area at television stations for electronic reporting, and it was actually possible to replace the 16 mm film.
A copy of the first record within the standard is only slightly inferior in quality.
With the U-matic SP standard introduced by Sony in 1986, which also means “Superior Performance” like Betacam SP, the sound and image quality has been considerably improved compared to its predecessor (resolution: more than 330 lines). Due to the lower recording density (i.e. the signal can expand on the tape), the image quality is significantly better than with S-VHS, which according to the manufacturer can resolve 400 lines (see Betacam SP:> 600 lines). The color-under recording of color lags behind that of Betacam with its component recording.
The tape feed speed is much higher compared to S-VHS (9.53 cm / s) and the track is much wider and longer. In addition, in contrast to the S-VHS format, no overlapping recording is used, i.e. H. Between the individual video tracks of a field there is still some space (so-called lawn), which prevents the tracks from crosstalking with one another. This means that complex signal processing to restore the original signal is not necessary.
Recordings on U-matic SP can only be played back optimally in SP devices. In low-band devices, the recordings are only played back in black and white. In Hi-Band devices, you only get Hi-Band resolution at the output and, if Dolby was used during the recording, a distorted audio signal as well.
The SP standard uses Dolby C noise reduction for better sound quality . It can be activated when recording; it is automatically recognized during playback and the Dolby network is switched on.
Only the last generation of Sony-U-matic-SP devices is able to play low-band material as standard (playback only). The only exception is a special recorder (Sony VO-9600P), which can record and play back in all three U-matic standards (Low, High and SP).
In contrast to low- and high-band devices, the U-matic-SP standard requires special tapes, which are labeled SP (e.g. KSP-20). If SP devices are operated with normal bands, only the high band mode is active. Switching takes place via a hole on the underside of the cassette, which is scanned by the recorder. The U-Matic-SP standard was exclusively available from Sony. U-Matic devices, both low and high band, were made by Sony and Matsushita (brand names JVC and Panasonic), as well as several other Japanese manufacturers. Some European manufacturers such as Siemens and Grundig (electronic division) sold U-matic devices that were identical or identical to the Japanese developments under their own brand names.
Since 2000, the variety of types of empty cassettes that was once offered has been reduced due to lack of demand.