S-VHS
Encyclopedia
S-VHS (スーパー・ヴィエイチエス Sūpāvieichiesu) is an improved version of the VHS
standard for consumer-level analog recording
videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC
in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards.
Alesis
Digital Audio Tape or ADAT
is a tape format used for multitrack recording
of digital audio
at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape
.
scheme. S-VHS improves luminance
resolution by boosting the luminance carrier
from 3 MHz to 5.4 MHz. This produces a 60% improvement in (luminance) picture detail, or a horizontal resolution of 420--lines per picture height versus VHS's 240 -lines. The often quoted horizontal resolution of "over 400" means S-VHS captures greater picture detail than even NTSC
analog cable and broadcast TV, which is limited to about 330 -lines. In practice, when time shifting
TV programs on S-VHS equipment, the improvement over VHS is quite noticeable. Yet, the trained eye can easily spot the difference between live television
and a S-VHS recording of it. This is explained by S-VHS's failure to improve other key aspects of the video signal, especially the chroma signal. In VHS, the chroma carrier is both severely bandlimited
and rather noisy, a limitation that S-VHS does not address. Poor color resolution was a deficiency shared by S-VHS's contemporaries (Hi8, ED-Beta), all of which were limited to 0.4 megahertz or 30 -lines resolution.
In terms of audio recording, S-VHS retains VHS's conventional linear (baseband
) and Hi-Fi
(AFM
) soundtracks. Some professional S-VHS decks can record a PCM
digital audio
track (stereo 48 kHz), along with the normal video and Hi-Fi analog audio.
As an added bonus, due to the increased bandwidth of S-VHS, Teletext
(PAL
) signals are generally recorded along with the normal video signal. As a result these are also played back (although not on standard VHS machines) meaning that a suitably Teletext equipped receiver (TV, PC card, etc.) will display the Teletext information recorded at the time as if it was being viewed live.
camcorder
tapes.
Later model S-VHS VCRs offer a recording option called S-VHS ET. S-VHS ET is a further modification of the VHS standards to permit near S-VHS quality recordings on the more common and inexpensive VHS tapes. The S-VHS ET recordings can be viewed in most VHS SQPB VCRs and S-VHS VCRs.
To get the most benefit from S-VHS, a direct video connection to the monitor or TV is required, ideally via an S-Video connection.
, which has a different oxide media formulation for higher magnetic coercivity. S-VHS video cassettes are sensed by the recorder via a hole in the underside of the cassette body.
of tape stock in the cassette (as mentioned earlier), in order to effectively record the higher video bandwidth offered by S-VHS.
In attempts to record S-VHS content to a VHS tape, picture quality is somewhat better, however, after several months the quality drops dramatically to a point of severe graininess or video noise in dark areas in the images. This is due to the standard VHS tape's lack of required coercivity required by the S-VHS format, causing the stronger magnetization of the tape provided by a S-VHS deck's recording heads to not be fully retained by the magnetic oxide particles of the VHS tape over time, resulting in a weaker signal read from the tape upon playback.
Eventually, the recording becomes unwatchable, but however can be re-recorded without problems in VHS format as the oxide media is still undamaged, as well as obviously being compatible coercivity-wise with a VHS recorder. Although re-recording to a VHS tape in S-VHS format will eventually encounter the same problems as before.
Digital:
; for various reasons, consumers were not interested in paying more for an improved picture. Likewise, S-VHS rentals and movie sales did very poorly. A few prerecorded movies were released to S-VHS, but poor market acceptance prompted studios to transition their high-end product from S-VHS to Laserdisc
.
In the camcorder role, the smaller form (S-VHS-C) camcorder
did enjoy limited success among home video users. It was more popular for the amateur video industry, as it allowed for at least second generation copies (necessary for editing) to be made at reasonable quality. JVC, Panasonic and Sony have sold industrial S-VHS decks for amateur and semi-professional production use. Public-access television
stations and other low-budget cable TV venues have made extensive use of the S-VHS format, both for acquisition and subsequent studio editing, but the network studios largely avoided S-VHS, as descendants of the more expensive Betacam
format had already become a de facto
industry standard. S-VHS-C competed directly with Hi8, the latter offering smaller cassettes and longer running time and ultimately selling much better.
, consumer S-VHS VCRs are still available, but difficult to find in retail outlets. The largest VCR manufacturers, such as Matsushita
(Panasonic
) and Mitsubishi
, are gradually moving toward DVD recorders and hard-disk based DVRs. DVD/VCR combo units rarely offer S-VHS, only VHS. In the mainstream consumer camcorder market, DV and DVD camcorders have largely eliminated S-VHS-C camcorders from the mainstream, confining the format to a small niche on the very low end of the market. The digital camcorder generally outperforms S-VHS-C units in most technical aspects: audio/video quality, recording time, lossless duplication, and form-factor. The videotapes themselves are available, mostly by mail order or online, but are vanishingly rare in retail channels, and substantially more expensive than high-quality standard VHS media.
(ED-Beta). S-VHS was JVC's next generation video format designed to dominate the competing SuperBeta format (which already offered better-than-VHS quality). Not to be outdone, Sony developed ED-Beta as their next generation competitor to S-VHS.
In terms of video performance, ED-Beta offered even greater luminance bandwidth than S-VHS: 500 -lines of horizontal resolution per picture height versus S-VHS's or Laserdisc's 420 -lines, putting ED-Beta nearly on par with professional digital video formats (520 -lines). However, chroma performance was far less spectacular, as neither S-VHS nor ED-Beta exceeded 0.4 megahertz or ~30 -lines maximum, whereas NTSC broadcast has a chroma resolution of ~120 -lines, and DVD has a chroma resolution of ~240 -lines. S-VHS was used in some TV stations for inexpensive "on the spot" camcorder capture of breaking news, however it was not suitable for multi-generational (studio) use.
In terms of audio performance, both VHS and Beta had offered analog Hi-Fi stereo of outstanding quality. Rather than re-invent the wheel, both S-VHS and ED-Beta re-used the AFM schemes of their predecessors without change. Professional S-VHS decks did offer digital PCM audio, a feature not matched by ED-Beta decks.
In the U.S. market, the mainstream consumer market had largely ignored the release of S-VHS. With the Betamax market already in sharp decline, a "format war" for the next generation of video simply did not materialize. Sony discontinued the ED-Beta product line in the U.S. market after less than two years, handing S-VHS a victory by default, if it can even be called that. (VHS decks continued to outsell S-VHS decks until the end of the VCR product life cycle.)
There is anecdotal evidence that some TV stations purchased ED-Beta equipment as a low-cost alternative to professional Betacam equipment, prompting speculation that Sony's management took steps to prevent its consumer (ED-Beta) division from cannibalizing the sales of its more lucrative professional video division. Nevertheless, it is clear to all that by the time of ED-Beta's introduction, VHS had already won a decisive victory, and no amount of fair competition on behalf of ED-Beta could possibly have regained the home video market.
connection. However, older television set
s tend to lack S-Video or even any AV inputs. Nevertheless, viewing an S-VHS recording through a VCR's built-in RF modulator
yields a discernible perceived quality improvement over VHS.
It is not unusual to see the term S-VHS incorrectly used to refer to S-Video
connectors (also called "Y/C connectors"), even in printed material. This may be due to S-VHS being one of the more common consumer video products equipped with the s-video connector; however, s-video connectors are now common on many video devices other than video tape recorders: DVD players and recorders, MiniDV camcorders, cable/satellite set-top boxes, "TV Out" outputs on computers, video game consoles, and TV sets themselves. Where the "S-" in "S-VHS" means "super", the "S-" in "S-Video" refers to the "separated" luminance and chrominance signals.
introduced ADAT
, an eight-track digital audio recording system using S-VHS as media. An ADAT machine would record eight tracks of uncompressed audio material in 16-bit (later 20-bit) resolution. The recording time is one-third of the cassette's nominal playing time. That is a 120 min S-VHS cassette would hold 40 minutes of ADAT audio recording.
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
standard for consumer-level 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...
videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards.
Alesis
Alesis is a company based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machines, professional audio and electronic percussion products...
Digital Audio Tape or ADAT
ADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
is a tape format used for multitrack recording
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
of digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
.
Technical information
Like VHS, the S-VHS format uses a "color under" modulationModulation
In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal which typically contains information to be transmitted...
scheme. S-VHS improves luminance
Luma (video)
In video, luma, sometimes called luminance, represents the brightness in an image . Luma is typically paired with chrominance. Luma represents the achromatic image without any color, while the chroma components represent the color information...
resolution by boosting the luminance carrier
Carrier wave
In telecommunications, a carrier wave or carrier is a waveform that is modulated with an input signal for the purpose of conveying information. This carrier wave is usually a much higher frequency than the input signal...
from 3 MHz to 5.4 MHz. This produces a 60% improvement in (luminance) picture detail, or a horizontal resolution of 420--lines per picture height versus VHS's 240 -lines. The often quoted horizontal resolution of "over 400" means S-VHS captures greater picture detail than even NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, 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...
analog cable and broadcast TV, which is limited to about 330 -lines. In practice, when time shifting
Time shifting
Time shifting is the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to at a time more convenient to the consumer. Typically, this refers to TV programming but can also refer to radio shows via podcasts....
TV programs on S-VHS equipment, the improvement over VHS is quite noticeable. Yet, the trained eye can easily spot the difference between live television
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
and a S-VHS recording of it. This is explained by S-VHS's failure to improve other key aspects of the video signal, especially the chroma signal. In VHS, the chroma carrier is both severely bandlimited
Bandlimited
Bandlimiting is the limiting of a deterministic or stochastic signal's Fourier transform or power spectral density to zero above a certain finite frequency...
and rather noisy, a limitation that S-VHS does not address. Poor color resolution was a deficiency shared by S-VHS's contemporaries (Hi8, ED-Beta), all of which were limited to 0.4 megahertz or 30 -lines resolution.
In terms of audio recording, S-VHS retains VHS's conventional linear (baseband
Baseband
In telecommunications and signal processing, baseband is an adjective that describes signals and systems whose range of frequencies is measured from close to 0 hertz to a cut-off frequency, a maximum bandwidth or highest signal frequency; it is sometimes used as a noun for a band of frequencies...
) and Hi-Fi
High fidelity
High fidelity—or hi-fi—reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images, to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment...
(AFM
Audio Frequency Modulation
Audio Frequency Modulation is an audio recording standard used by VHS Hi-Fi stereo, 8mm and Hi8 video systems. AFM is mono on 8mm systems and stereo on Hi8....
) soundtracks. Some professional S-VHS decks can record a PCM
Pulse-code modulation
Pulse-code modulation is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form for digital audio in computers and various Blu-ray, Compact Disc and DVD formats, as well as other uses such as digital telephone systems...
digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
track (stereo 48 kHz), along with the normal video and Hi-Fi analog audio.
As an added bonus, due to the increased bandwidth of S-VHS, Teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
(PAL
PAL
PAL, 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...
) signals are generally recorded along with the normal video signal. As a result these are also played back (although not on standard VHS machines) meaning that a suitably Teletext equipped receiver (TV, PC card, etc.) will display the Teletext information recorded at the time as if it was being viewed live.
Hardware
S-VHS VCRs and cassette tapes are nearly identical in appearance and operation but backward compatible with VHS tapes and recordings. Older VHS VCRs cannot play back S-VHS recordings at all but can record to an S-VHS tape in the VHS format. Many newer VHS VCRs offer a feature called S-VHS quasi-playback or "Super Quasi-Play Back"; (SQPB). SQPB allows VHS players to view (but not record) S-VHS recordings, though reduced to VHS-quality. This feature is useful for viewing S-VHS-CVHS-C
VHS-C is the compact VHS videocassette format introduced in 1982 and used primarily for consumer-grade compact analog recording camcorders. The format is based on the same video tape as is used in VHS, and can be played back in a standard VHS VCR with an adapter...
camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
tapes.
Later model S-VHS VCRs offer a recording option called S-VHS ET. S-VHS ET is a further modification of the VHS standards to permit near S-VHS quality recordings on the more common and inexpensive VHS tapes. The S-VHS ET recordings can be viewed in most VHS SQPB VCRs and S-VHS VCRs.
To get the most benefit from S-VHS, a direct video connection to the monitor or TV is required, ideally via an S-Video connection.
Media
For the best recordings and playback, an S-VHS VCR requires S-VHS videotapeVideotape
A 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...
, which has a different oxide media formulation for higher magnetic coercivity. S-VHS video cassettes are sensed by the recorder via a hole in the underside of the cassette body.
Modifying VHS cassettes for S-VHS recordings
Videophiles were the first to theorize that since the only distinguishing feature of an S-VHS tape is a small 3mm hole in the cassette, it should be possible to use more common and inexpensive VHS tapes by duplicating that hole. However, S-VHS cassettes also differ as well by also being loaded with a higher grade and coercivityCoercivity
In materials science, the coercivity, also called the coercive field or coercive force, of a ferromagnetic material is the intensity of the applied magnetic field required to reduce the magnetization of that material to zero after the magnetization of the sample has been driven to saturation...
of tape stock in the cassette (as mentioned earlier), in order to effectively record the higher video bandwidth offered by S-VHS.
In attempts to record S-VHS content to a VHS tape, picture quality is somewhat better, however, after several months the quality drops dramatically to a point of severe graininess or video noise in dark areas in the images. This is due to the standard VHS tape's lack of required coercivity required by the S-VHS format, causing the stronger magnetization of the tape provided by a S-VHS deck's recording heads to not be fully retained by the magnetic oxide particles of the VHS tape over time, resulting in a weaker signal read from the tape upon playback.
Eventually, the recording becomes unwatchable, but however can be re-recorded without problems in VHS format as the oxide media is still undamaged, as well as obviously being compatible coercivity-wise with a VHS recorder. Although re-recording to a VHS tape in S-VHS format will eventually encounter the same problems as before.
Comparison to other media
Here is a list of modern-day, digital-type measurements (and traditional, analog horizontal resolutions) for various media. The list only includes popular formats, not rare formats, and all values are approximate (rounded to the nearest 10), since the actual quality can vary machine-to-machine or tape-to-tape. For ease-of-comparison all values are for the NTSC system, and listed in ascending order from lowest quality to highest quality. "-lines" means horizontal resolution in vertical -lines per picture height.- 330×480 (250 -lines): Umatic, BetamaxBetamaxBetamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
, VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, Video8, CED - 400×480 (300 -lines): Super Betamax, Betacam (professional)
- 440×480 (330 -lines): analog broadcast, BetacamSP
- 560×480 (420 -lines): LaserDiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
, S-VHS, Hi8 - 670×480 (500 -lines): Enhanced Definition Betamax
Digital:
- 352×240 (250 -lines): Video CDVideo CDBefore the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD became the first format for distributing films on standard 120 mm optical discs. The format is a standard digital format for storing video on a Compact Disc...
- 720×480 (480 -lines): DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, miniDV, Digital8Digital8Digital8 is a consumer digital recording videocassette for camcorders based on the 8 mm video format developed by Sony, and introduced in 1999.The Digital8 format is a combination of the older Hi8 tape transport with the DV codec...
, DVCAM (professional), DVCPRO (professional), DVCPRO 50 (professional) - 720×486 (486 -lines): Digital Betacam (professional), Betacam SX (professional)
- 960×720 (720 -lines): DVCPRO HD (professional)
- 1280×720 (720 -lines): HD DVDHD DVDHD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
, Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, HDVHDVHDV is a format for recording of high-definition video on DV cassette tape. The format was originally developed by JVC and supported by Sony, Canon and Sharp...
(miniDV tape), D-VHSD-VHSD-VHS is a digital recording format developed by JVC, in collaboration with Hitachi, Matsushita, and Philips. The "D" in D-VHS originally stood for Data VHS, but with the expansion of the format from standard definition to high definition capability, JVC renamed it Digital VHS and uses that...
, HDCAMHDCAMHDCAM, introduced in 1997, is an High-definition video digital recording videocassette version of Digital Betacam, using an 8-bit DCT compressed 3:1:1 recording, in 1080i-compatible downsampled resolution of 1440×1080, and adding 24p and 23.976 PsF modes to later models...
(professional), HDCAM SR (professional) - 1280×1080 (1080 -lines): DVCPRO HD (professional)
- 1440×1080 (1080 -lines): HD DVDHD DVDHD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
, Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, HDVHDVHDV is a format for recording of high-definition video on DV cassette tape. The format was originally developed by JVC and supported by Sony, Canon and Sharp...
(miniDV tape), HDCAMHDCAMHDCAM, introduced in 1997, is an High-definition video digital recording videocassette version of Digital Betacam, using an 8-bit DCT compressed 3:1:1 recording, in 1080i-compatible downsampled resolution of 1440×1080, and adding 24p and 23.976 PsF modes to later models...
(professional) - 1920×1080 (1080 -lines): AVCHDAVCHDAVCHD is a file-based format for the digital recording and playback of high-definition video....
, HD DVDHD DVDHD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
, Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, D-VHSD-VHSD-VHS is a digital recording format developed by JVC, in collaboration with Hitachi, Matsushita, and Philips. The "D" in D-VHS originally stood for Data VHS, but with the expansion of the format from standard definition to high definition capability, JVC renamed it Digital VHS and uses that...
, HDCAM SR (professional)
Shadow of VHS
Despite its designation as the logical successor to VHS, S-VHS did not come close to replacing VHS. In the home market, S-VHS failed to gain significant market shareMarket share
Market share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
; for various reasons, consumers were not interested in paying more for an improved picture. Likewise, S-VHS rentals and movie sales did very poorly. A few prerecorded movies were released to S-VHS, but poor market acceptance prompted studios to transition their high-end product from S-VHS to Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
.
In the camcorder role, the smaller form (S-VHS-C) camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
did enjoy limited success among home video users. It was more popular for the amateur video industry, as it allowed for at least second generation copies (necessary for editing) to be made at reasonable quality. JVC, Panasonic and Sony have sold industrial S-VHS decks for amateur and semi-professional production use. Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
stations and other low-budget cable TV venues have made extensive use of the S-VHS format, both for acquisition and subsequent studio editing, but the network studios largely avoided S-VHS, as descendants of the more expensive Betacam
Betacam
Betacam is family of half-inch professional videocassette products developed by Sony in 1982. In colloquial use, "Betacam" singly is often used to refer to a Betacam camcorder, a Betacam tape, a Betacam video recorder or the format itself....
format had already become a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
industry standard. S-VHS-C competed directly with Hi8, the latter offering smaller cassettes and longer running time and ultimately selling much better.
, consumer S-VHS VCRs are still available, but difficult to find in retail outlets. The largest VCR manufacturers, such as Matsushita
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
, formerly known as , is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics corporation headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. Its main business is in electronics manufacturing....
(Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
) and Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Electric
is a multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group....
, are gradually moving toward DVD recorders and hard-disk based DVRs. DVD/VCR combo units rarely offer S-VHS, only VHS. In the mainstream consumer camcorder market, DV and DVD camcorders have largely eliminated S-VHS-C camcorders from the mainstream, confining the format to a small niche on the very low end of the market. The digital camcorder generally outperforms S-VHS-C units in most technical aspects: audio/video quality, recording time, lossless duplication, and form-factor. The videotapes themselves are available, mostly by mail order or online, but are vanishingly rare in retail channels, and substantially more expensive than high-quality standard VHS media.
S-VHS vs ED-Beta
Shortly after the announcement of S-VHS, Sony responded with an announcement of Extended Definition BetamaxBetamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
(ED-Beta). S-VHS was JVC's next generation video format designed to dominate the competing SuperBeta format (which already offered better-than-VHS quality). Not to be outdone, Sony developed ED-Beta as their next generation competitor to S-VHS.
In terms of video performance, ED-Beta offered even greater luminance bandwidth than S-VHS: 500 -lines of horizontal resolution per picture height versus S-VHS's or Laserdisc's 420 -lines, putting ED-Beta nearly on par with professional digital video formats (520 -lines). However, chroma performance was far less spectacular, as neither S-VHS nor ED-Beta exceeded 0.4 megahertz or ~30 -lines maximum, whereas NTSC broadcast has a chroma resolution of ~120 -lines, and DVD has a chroma resolution of ~240 -lines. S-VHS was used in some TV stations for inexpensive "on the spot" camcorder capture of breaking news, however it was not suitable for multi-generational (studio) use.
In terms of audio performance, both VHS and Beta had offered analog Hi-Fi stereo of outstanding quality. Rather than re-invent the wheel, both S-VHS and ED-Beta re-used the AFM schemes of their predecessors without change. Professional S-VHS decks did offer digital PCM audio, a feature not matched by ED-Beta decks.
In the U.S. market, the mainstream consumer market had largely ignored the release of S-VHS. With the Betamax market already in sharp decline, a "format war" for the next generation of video simply did not materialize. Sony discontinued the ED-Beta product line in the U.S. market after less than two years, handing S-VHS a victory by default, if it can even be called that. (VHS decks continued to outsell S-VHS decks until the end of the VCR product life cycle.)
There is anecdotal evidence that some TV stations purchased ED-Beta equipment as a low-cost alternative to professional Betacam equipment, prompting speculation that Sony's management took steps to prevent its consumer (ED-Beta) division from cannibalizing the sales of its more lucrative professional video division. Nevertheless, it is clear to all that by the time of ED-Beta's introduction, VHS had already won a decisive victory, and no amount of fair competition on behalf of ED-Beta could possibly have regained the home video market.
Home use
To get the most benefit from S-VHS, a direct video connection to the monitor is required, ideally via an S-VideoS-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
connection. However, older television set
Television set
A television set is a device that combines a tuner, display, and speakers for the purpose of viewing television. Television sets became a popular consumer product after the Second World War, using vacuum tubes and cathode ray tube displays...
s tend to lack S-Video or even any AV inputs. Nevertheless, viewing an S-VHS recording through a VCR's built-in RF modulator
RF modulator
An RF modulator is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal....
yields a discernible perceived quality improvement over VHS.
It is not unusual to see the term S-VHS incorrectly used to refer to S-Video
S-Video
Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
connectors (also called "Y/C connectors"), even in printed material. This may be due to S-VHS being one of the more common consumer video products equipped with the s-video connector; however, s-video connectors are now common on many video devices other than video tape recorders: DVD players and recorders, MiniDV camcorders, cable/satellite set-top boxes, "TV Out" outputs on computers, video game consoles, and TV sets themselves. Where the "S-" in "S-VHS" means "super", the "S-" in "S-Video" refers to the "separated" luminance and chrominance signals.
Use for digital audio
In 1991 AlesisAlesis
Alesis is a company based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machines, professional audio and electronic percussion products...
introduced ADAT
ADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
, an eight-track digital audio recording system using S-VHS as media. An ADAT machine would record eight tracks of uncompressed audio material in 16-bit (later 20-bit) resolution. The recording time is one-third of the cassette's nominal playing time. That is a 120 min S-VHS cassette would hold 40 minutes of ADAT audio recording.
See also
- S-VideoS-VideoSeparate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...
- VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
- D-VHSD-VHSD-VHS is a digital recording format developed by JVC, in collaboration with Hitachi, Matsushita, and Philips. The "D" in D-VHS originally stood for Data VHS, but with the expansion of the format from standard definition to high definition capability, JVC renamed it Digital VHS and uses that...
- W-VHSW-VHSW-VHS is a HDTV analog recording videocassette format created by JVC. The format was originally introduced in 1994 for use with Japan's Hi-Vision, an early analog high-definition television system named MUSE....
- BetamaxBetamaxBetamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
- Video 2000Video 2000Video 2000 was a consumer videocassette recorder system and analog recording videocassette standard developed by Philips and Grundig to compete with JVC's VHS and Sony's Betamax video technologies...
- A-DAT
- Hi-8