We convert and transfer Betacam video tapes to DVD and also transfer the Beta tapes to a computer Hard Drive. 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. The small cassettes use the same form factor as Betamax which was used typically by consumers while the Beta was used professionally.
All Betacam variants from (plain) analog recording Betacam to Betacam SP and digital recording Digital Betacam (and additionally, HDCAM & HDCAM SR), use the same shape videocassettes, meaning vaults and other storage facilities do not have to be changed when upgrading to a new format. The cassettes are available in two sizes: S and L. The Betacam camcorder can only load S magnetic tapes, while television studio sized video tape recorders (VTR) designed for video editing can play both S and L tapes. The cassette shell and case for each Betacam cassette is colored differently depending on the format, allowing for easy visual identification. There is also a mechanical key that allows a video tape recorder to identify which format has been inserted.
The original Betacam format records on cassettes loaded with oxide-formulated tape, which are theoretically the same as used by its consumer market-oriented predecessor Betamax, introduced 7 years earlier by Sony in 1975. A blank Betamax-branded tape will work on a Betacam deck, and a Betacam-branded tape can be used to record in a Betamax deck. However, in later years Sony discouraged this practice, suggesting that the internal tape transport of a domestic Betamax cassette was not well suited to the faster tape transport of Betacam. In particular, the guide rollers tend to be noisy.
Although there is a superficial similarity between Betamax and Betacam in that they use the same tape cassette, they are really quite different formats. Betamax records relatively low resolution composite video using a heterodyne color recording system and only two recording heads, while Betacam uses four heads to record in component format, at a much higher linear tape speed, resulting in much higher video and audio quality. A typical L-750 length Betamax cassette that yielded about 3 hours of recording time on a Betamax VCR at its B-II Speed (NTSC), or on PAL, only provided 30 minutes' record time on a Betacam VCR or camcorder. Another common point between Betamax and Betacam is the placement of the stereo linear audio tracks.
DigiBeta the common name for Digital Betacam went on to become the single most successful professional broadcast digital recording video tape format in history.
Betacam (L) and BetaMax (R) Tapes Are Interchangeable But Recordings Are Not
Betacam Professional Sony Betacam Video Recorder
NOTE: For more information about how video tapes and movies degrade over time and how to store your movies check our our "How to Store and Care for Video Tapes" by clicking here.
Many of our clients want to know if they can edit their own home movie once they are transferred to DVD. The answer is two fold! Like a rented movie you can not edit a DVD once it is created. However, for many of our clients we digitize their old video tapes to a "movie format" on a computer hard drive. With this process our clients can add titles, delete bad footage and add movie-like transitions to their home movies. Once completed these movies can be easily converted to the "DVD format" to be enjoyed on a TV or PC.
