In 1982 Sony introduced the revolutionary Betacam component Analogue format for electronic news gathering applications. Five years later, the availability of Metal particle tape and developments in recording head technology made possible a significant increase in video bandwidth and signal to noise ratio.
These improvements led to the Betacam format being upgraded to Betacam SP (Superior Performance). The development of the Serial Digital interface (SDI) demanded a cost effective format that could record component Digital signals.
Sony Digital Betacam Camcorders
The Digital Betacam Format was introduced in 1993 and records 10-bit 4:2:2 component digital video, based on the ITU-R BT.601Standard, together with four, 20-bit 48khz digital audio tracks which can be edited independently. A time code track, audio cue track and control track signals are recorded longitudinally.
Digital Betacam uses a very mild intrafield data compression of about 2:1, ensuring outstanding multi-generation performance. Still an industry workhorse, Digital Betacam is used in production and post production houses worldwide.