Format

Length(in)

Width(in)

Height(in)

Length(cm)

Width(cm)

Height(cm)

Notes

VHS

7.38

4.00

1.00

18.73

10.16

2.54

The old consumer standby was widely used and decks are still available, but professional decks are getting harder to locate. VHS is relatively low quality.

Betamax

6.13

3.75

1.00

15.56

9.53

2.54

Very rare in today's market. This format was geared toward the consumer market, but VHS took over as the clear winner in their target market. Equipment is still available, but is hard to locate. If you have these tapes transfer as soon as possible.

U-Matic

8.63

5.50

1.25

21.91

13.97

3.18

Introduced in 1971. It was one of the first cassette based formats. U-Matic is also known as 3/4". Decks are still available, but haven't been manufactured in many years (approximately 10-years). Locating parts is also getting increasingly difficult. This format should be transferred as soon as possible. 3/4" was the de facto standard for many years in the broadcast industry, so a very large number of tapes exist in the market.

Digital Beta Large

10.00

5.75

1.00

25.40

14.61

2.54

Introduced in 1993. Widely used, high quality standard definition format. This format is still being manufactured and is widely available, although it is relatively expensive compared to other formats

Digital Beta Small

6.13

3.75

1.00

15.56

9.53

2.54

Two different cassette shell sizes exist. The formats are identical, and the size of the cassette was determined by the running time. Running times exist up to 124 minutes.

Betacam SP Large

10.00

5.75

1.00

25.40

14.61

2.54

Introduced in 1982. Early "oxide" betacam tapes tend to be difficult to play back. Later tapes, which used a metal recording surface, seem to hold up better. Equipment is still relatively widely available, but is no longer being manufactured.

Betacam SP Small

6.13

3.75

1.00

15.56

9.53

2.54

Two common sizes of tapes were available, a large cassette and small cassette. The format is the same, and the size of the cassette was determined by the running time. Running times exist up to 94 minutes.

DVCAM Large

5.00

3.00

0.56

12.70

7.62

1.43

The DV format was introduced in 1995. These formats are grouped together because they use the same type of compression to record the video signal on the tape (DV).

DVCAM Small

2.63

1.88

0.44

6.67

4.76

1.11

There are differences between these tapes and the tape decks (they may be, but aren't necessarily interchangeable).

DVC-Pro Large

3.88

2.50

0.56

9.84

6.35

1.43

These formats are widely used in high-end consumer, news broadcast and lower end professional applications.

Mini-DV

2.56

1.88

0.50

6.51

4.76

1.27

If your tapes are mini-DV, they should be transferred as soon as possible, as this is a fairly fragile format. Other DV formats should be transferred as part of your regular preservation schedule

Hi-8

3.75

2.44

0.56

9.53

6.19

1.43

Hi-8 was mostly a consumer format, and was relatively inexpensive, so it found its way into many archives. It is becoming a rare format because it was not available for that long and wasn't widely used in the professional market. Transfer as soon as possible

D-1

14.38

8.00

1.25

36.51

20.32

3.18

D-1 was an early component digital format. It stored the video as an uncompressed signal, so was very high quality. It was, however very expensive and was not widely used except for applications that required its high quality, such as graphics creation. This format is extinct and equipment is becoming increasingly rare. If you have this format in your archive, it should be transferred as soon as possible.

D-2

10.00

5.88

1.25

25.40

14.92

3.18

D-2 was another early digital format. It was uncompressed, like D-1, but it used a composite video signal rather than a component video signal. This means it wasn't as high quality as D-1. It was less expensive a format. Like D-1, the format is extinct and equipment is increasingly rare. If you have this format in your archive, it should be transferred as soon as possible.

CV

Round

Varies, 5" dia. Equals 30 min.

1/2" tape width

These tapes are similar in appearance to the EIAJ format, but they are not interchangeable (meaning these cannot be played on an EIAJ machine). CV is very rare and it would be very challenging to find a working machine to transfer the tapes. It might be too late to transfer these. If you can find a working deck, transfer as soon as possible.

EIAJ

Round

Varies, 5” dia. Equals 30 min.

1/2" tape width

This was an early "industrial" format developed by Sony and others. It tends to have a relatively low image quality and the tapes are usually difficult to play back because of degradation (most likely related to their age). Transfer as soon as possible.

One-Inch

Round

Varies

1" tape width

Note there are three types of 1" videotape, Type A, Type B and Type C. Type C was most commonly used in North America, so if you have 1" you may need to confirm that it is Type C. These tapes seem to hold up well if stored properly, but should be transferred as soon as possible because the equipment is becoming rare. They aren't in danger yet, but could be soon.

Two-inch

Round

Varies

2" tape width

Very rare to find working equipment. Some facilities specialize in this format, but it is getting increasingly rare and as a result, expensive to transfer. Two types of reels are shown here is a program reel and a spot reel. Spot reels held shorter programs (such as commercials). There were two common types of recording hi-band and low-band. Transfer as soon as possible.