III.

History of Video Recording

A.

Professional Recording

Professional video recording for television was done with analog magnetic tape formats from the 1950s into the 1990s. The first widely used system was called quadruplex, which used 5-cm (2-in) wide tape and four record/playback tape heads. The tape was on large open reels and was sometimes reused so that recordings of some early television broadcasts were not preserved.

In the 1980s Sony’s Betacam cassette tape was widely adopted for television video recording—Betacam SP remained an industry standard into the 1990s. Digital videotape entered the market in the 1990s, replacing analog tape as digital recording technology was adopted. Since 2000, digital video recording onto hard drives instead of tape has become more common, especially as use of the HDTV format increases.

B.

Home Recording

Home video recording became possible in the late 1970s with the introduction of the videocassette recorder (VCR). The device could record video signals from an antenna, a coaxial cable, another VCR, or a video camera. Like the audiocassette introduced in the 1960s, the videocassette contained two rotating spools that allowed a standard length of plastic tape to be played, recorded on, stopped and started, and rewound. Unlike an audiocassette, a videocassette only played and recorded on one side of the tape. The plastic tape had a magnetic metal coating on the side that recorded. A videocassette tape could be played or recorded over many times, but could also wear out or break with excess use. Consumers could buy blank videocassettes for home recording and videocassettes with prerecorded content such as motion pictures. Different recording speeds allowed up to eight hours to be recorded on a videocassette.

Two incompatible formats of analog videotape were originally available: Sony’s Betamax and Victor Company of Japan’s (JVC) Video Home System (VHS). The VHS format eventually became standard for the home video market, in part because VHS tapes were the first to allow two-hour recordings and could hold a full motion picture. Although Betamax failed in the home market, the format (especially as Betacam SP) was widely used for professional video recording. The VHS format remained popular for home video viewing and recording into the 1990s. A major market developed for prerecorded videocassettes of motion pictures and other video entertainment, often rented rather than purchased. Users could program a VCR to record television programs at the time they were broadcast for later playback and viewing, a practice called “time shifting.” Home video cameras (camcorders) were introduced in the 1980s. A number of incompatible formats were developed with different size tapes.

A small market developed in the 1980s and 1990s for high-quality video on a format called laserdisc (LD) or videodisc. A laserdisc was a double-sided disc about the size of a 12-in vinyl record. In this system the original video signals were encoded as tiny elliptical depressions in the surface of the disc. The information was arranged in a single long spiral that was read with a laser. The electronic signals were played back using analog technology. Laserdiscs could only play content created by the manufacturer and could not be used to record new material. However, laserdiscs could contain extra material such as commentary and foreign language sound tracks as well as easy access to particular scenes.

The introduction of the DVD or digital versatile disc (originally called a digital video disc) in 1997 allowed consumers to enjoy high quality video and sound along with the extra features possible with laserdiscs, but on a disc the size of an audio compact disc (CD). Like laserdiscs, DVDs are read by a laser, but technology such as digital compression and double layers of recorded data allows DVDs to hold large amounts of information in less space. Importantly, recordable DVD technology permitted consumers to easily make high-quality video recordings or copies. The popularity of the DVD format helped bring down the price of players and recorders. High-definition DVDs designed for viewing with HDTV equipment were developed in the early 2000s. However, players, recorders, and discs for the high-definition format were more expensive than those for standard DVDs.

The digital video recorder (DVR) was introduced in 1999 and allowed television broadcasts (typically from cable or satellite television) to be recorded onto a hard drive. The hard drive could hold more hours of programming than a VCR or DVD recorder. DVR subscription services connected to the Internet such as TiVo let viewers more easily record large numbers of television programs for later viewing. In addition, DVRs permitted viewers to automatically skip commercials and to pause or rewind live TV broadcasts. DVRs are now provided by some cable or satellite television services. Combined DVRs and DVD recorders allow users to easily make copies of programs recorded on the hard drive.