IVC videotape format
Encyclopedia
IVC 2 inch Helical scan was a high end broadcast quality
helical scan
analog recording
VTR format developed by International Video Corporation
(IVC), and introduced in 1975. Previously, IVC had made a number of 1 inch Helical VTRs. IVC saw a chance to make a VTR that would have the quality of the then-standard 2 inch Quadruplex videotape
format but with the advantages of helical scan. They then developed a VTR using this technology, the IVC Model 9000.
The Helical scanner used a tape wrap of 188.57 degrees around a drum of 3.170 inches in diameter, with two play/record heads. In the NTSC version of the format, it had 5 helical tracks (segments) per field and 6 in the PAL version, each with 57 lines per segment. The VTR was equipped with a color video monitor
, a waveform monitor
scope, and vectorscope
.
The 9000 was one of the first analog video
recorders utilized for electronic film production using analog high-resolution wideband video standards (such as the 655/48 standard mentioned previously), predating IT
-based DI (digital intermediate
) film production systems in use today.
The 9000-W-M was, for all intents and purposes, a custom pre-HDTV video system. The 655 line system was also used for 24 frame playback on TVs and monitors used on movie studio
sets. Thus the TVs had no flicker
when shot on film, due to the different (and thus compatible to motion picture film's) frame rate
. The 9000-W-M was used for some "JAWS 3D's" composite special effects.
The picture quality was excellent, but unfortunately, the IVC-9000 did not have many sales (only 65 units were sold by IVC). Shortly after it came out, both the 1" Type B
and 1" Type C
formats of VTR came out. Both used less costly tape, and made just about as good of a picture.
Broadcast quality
Broadcast Quality is an term stemming from quad videotape to denote the quality achieved by professional video cameras and time base correctors used for broadcast television, usually in standard definition...
helical scan
Helical scan
Helical scan is a method of recording high bandwidth signals onto magnetic tape. It is used in reel-to-reel video tape recorders, video cassette recorders, digital audio tape recorders, and some computer tape drives....
analog recording
Analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.Analog recording methods store signals as a continual wave in or on the media...
VTR format developed by International Video Corporation
International Video Corporation
International Video Corporation, or IVC, was a California company that manufactured several models of low to middle-end videotape recorders, or VTRs, for industrial and professional use. Their products were quite popular in the industrial and institutional markets.- IVC 800 series 1 Inch VTR :IVC...
(IVC), and introduced in 1975. Previously, IVC had made a number of 1 inch Helical VTRs. IVC saw a chance to make a VTR that would have the quality of the then-standard 2 inch Quadruplex videotape
2 inch Quadruplex videotape
2-inch quadruplex videotape was the first practical and commercially successful analog recording videotape format. It was developed and released for the broadcast television industry in 1956 by Ampex, an American company based in Redwood City, California...
format but with the advantages of helical scan. They then developed a VTR using this technology, the IVC Model 9000.
- IVC made the Model 9000 in five versions:
- IVC 9000 (NTSCNTSCNTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
and PALPALPAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
unit, could record for 2 hours on one 10.5 inch reel) - IVC 9000-4 (4 ips tape speed, Long Play, could record and play back 4 hours on one 10.5 inch reel
- IVC 9000-W (8 MHz record and playback for super bandwidth)
- IVC 9000-M (could record and playback video in the 655-line/48 field per second (24 frame/s) video standardProgressive segmented frameProgressive segmented Frame is a scheme designed to acquire, store, modify, and distribute progressive-scan video using interlaced equipment and media....
) - IVC 9000-W-M (An IVC 9000-M with options from the 9000-W added to it, enabling both 8 MHz wideband video recording and 655/48 capability)
- IVC 9000 (NTSC
The Helical scanner used a tape wrap of 188.57 degrees around a drum of 3.170 inches in diameter, with two play/record heads. In the NTSC version of the format, it had 5 helical tracks (segments) per field and 6 in the PAL version, each with 57 lines per segment. The VTR was equipped with a color video monitor
Video monitor
A video monitor also called a broadcast monitor, broadcast reference monitor or just reference monitor, is a display device similar to a television set, used to monitor the output of a video-generating device, such as playout from a video server, IRD, video camera, VCR, or DVD player. It may or...
, a waveform monitor
Waveform monitor
A waveform monitor is a special type of oscilloscope used in television production applications. It is typically used to measure and display the level, or voltage, of a video signal with respect to time....
scope, and vectorscope
Vectorscope
A vectorscope is a special type of oscilloscope used in both audio and video applications. Whereas an oscilloscope or waveform monitor normally displays a plot of signal vs. time, a vectorscope displays an X-Y plot of two signals, which can reveal details about the relationship between these two...
.
- All models had:
- Two analog audio channels
- One cue track
- One control trackControl trackA control track is a track that runs along an outside edge of a standard analog videotape . The control track encodes a series of pulses, each pulse corresponding to the beginning of each frame. This allows the video tape player to synchronize its scan speed and tape speed to the speed of the...
- Time codeTime codeA timecode is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing system.- Video and film timecode :...
track - Capstan-driven tape speed of 8 inches per second (10.5 inch reels)
- Analog color timebase corrector (TBC)
- Dropout compensation (a system that replaced snowy video spots (dropouts) where the FM signal on the Video tape is missing momentarily, caused by a defect in the tape)
- Other Spec:
- Vacuum tape tension columns
- Vacuum grip capstan
- Weight of 1300 pounds (600 kg)
- Power feed of 230 V at 3000 watts
- One second lock up time, stop to play
- a 1500 hour head warranty (for the 9000-4 models, a 3000 hour warranty)
- Signal-to-noise ratioSignal-to-noise ratioSignal-to-noise ratio is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power. A ratio higher than 1:1 indicates more signal than noise...
-S/N >48 dB
The 9000 was one of the first analog video
Analog video
Analog video is a video signal transferred by an analog signal. An analog color video signal contains luminance, brightness and chrominance of an analog television image...
recorders utilized for electronic film production using analog high-resolution wideband video standards (such as the 655/48 standard mentioned previously), predating IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
-based DI (digital intermediate
Digital intermediate
Digital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
) film production systems in use today.
The 9000-W-M was, for all intents and purposes, a custom pre-HDTV video system. The 655 line system was also used for 24 frame playback on TVs and monitors used on movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
sets. Thus the TVs had no flicker
Flicker
Flicker may refer to any of the following:* Flickers, woodpeckers of the subgenus Colaptes* Flicker , a fading between frames that occurs on a cathode-ray screen at low refresh rates...
when shot on film, due to the different (and thus compatible to motion picture film's) frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
. The 9000-W-M was used for some "JAWS 3D's" composite special effects.
The picture quality was excellent, but unfortunately, the IVC-9000 did not have many sales (only 65 units were sold by IVC). Shortly after it came out, both the 1" Type B
1 inch type B videotape
1 inch type B VTR is a reel-to-reel analog recording video tape format developed by the Bosch Fernseh division of Bosch in Germany in 1976...
and 1" Type C
1 inch type C videotape
1 inch Type C is a professional reel-to-reel analog recording helical scan videotape format co-developed and introduced by Ampex and Sony in 1976...
formats of VTR came out. Both used less costly tape, and made just about as good of a picture.
- AmpexAmpexAmpex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
in 1961 made a 2 inch helical scan VTR for a short time, the VR-8000. They also produced another 2" helical VTR, the VR-660, in 1963. - SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
also made a 2 inch Helical scan VTR, but it was non-segmented and they sold even fewer of them (in the early 1970s).
IVC 800 series 1 Inch VTR
IVC 800 series 1 Inch VTR was very popular. 800 series are reel-to-reel helical 'mid band' color portable TVR using 1 inch/25mm tape running at 17.2 cm per second/6.77 inches/second.See also
- 1 inch type B videotape1 inch type B videotape1 inch type B VTR is a reel-to-reel analog recording video tape format developed by the Bosch Fernseh division of Bosch in Germany in 1976...
- 1 inch type C videotape1 inch type C videotape1 inch Type C is a professional reel-to-reel analog recording helical scan videotape format co-developed and introduced by Ampex and Sony in 1976...
- VTR
- VideotapeVideotapeA videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
- Helical scanHelical scanHelical scan is a method of recording high bandwidth signals onto magnetic tape. It is used in reel-to-reel video tape recorders, video cassette recorders, digital audio tape recorders, and some computer tape drives....
- 2 inch Quadruplex videotape2 inch Quadruplex videotape2-inch quadruplex videotape was the first practical and commercially successful analog recording videotape format. It was developed and released for the broadcast television industry in 1956 by Ampex, an American company based in Redwood City, California...
