Sony camcorder with HDVS logo on it
Sony camcorder with HDVS logo on it

Sony HDVS is a range of high-definition video equipment developed in the 1980s to support an early analog high-definition television system (used in multiple sub-Nyquist sampling encoding (MUSE) broadcasts)[1] thought to be the broadcast television systems that would be in use today. The line included professional video cameras, video monitors and linear video editing systems.

History

Sony first demonstrated a wideband analog video HDTV capable video camera, monitor and video tape recorder (VTR) in April 1981 at an international meeting of television engineers in Algiers, Algeria.

The HDVS range was launched in April 1984, with the HDC-100 camera, which was the world's first commercially available HDTV camera and HDV-1000 video recorder, with its companion HDT-1000 processor/TBC, and HDS-1000 video switcher all working in the 1125-line component video format with interlaced video and a 5:3 aspect ratio. The first system consisting of a monitor, camera and VTR was sold by Sony in 1985 for $1.5 million, and the first HDTV production studio, Captain Video, was opened in Paris.[2]

The helical scan VTR (the HDV-100) used magnetic tape similar to 1" type C videotape for analog recording. Sony in 1988[3][4] unveiled a new HDVS digital line, including a reel-to-reel digital recording VTR (the HDD-1000) that used digital signals between the machines for dubbing but the primary I/O remained analog signals. The Sony HDVS HDC-300 camera was also introduced. The large HDD-1000 unit was housed in a 1-inch reel-to-reel transport, and because of the high tape speed needed, had a limit of 1-hour per reel. By this time, the aspect ratio of the system had been changed to 16:9.[5] Sony, owner of Columbia Pictures/Tri-Star, would start to archive feature films on this format, requiring an average of two reels per movie. There was also a portable videocassette recorder (the HDV-10) for the HDVS system, using the "UniHi" format of videocassette using 1/2" wide tape.[6] The tape housing is similar in appearance to Sony's D1/D2 Standard Definition Digital VTRs, but recorded analog HD. The small cassette size limited recording time to about 63 min.

The price of the HDD-1000 and its required companion HDDP-1000 video processor in 1988 was US$600,000. The metal evaporate tape (tape whose magnetic material was evaporated and deposited onto the tape in a vacuum chamber using physical vapor deposition) cost US$2500.00 per hour of tape and each reel weighed nearly 10 pounds.[7] The high price of the system limited its adoption severely, selling just several dozen systems and making its adoption largely limited to medical, aerospace engineering, and animation applications. In 1986, HDVS systems cost $1.5 million, and 30-40 were sold until then. Sony HDVS systems made video with a total of 1125 (horizontal) lines, and 1035 active lines of resolution.[8][9][10]

Uses

The Sony HDVS system was used in the production of a 5-min feature film about Halley's Comet in 1986, titled "Arrival", and shown in US theatres later that year after being transferred to 35mm film.[11][12]

The first drama film shot using the HDVS professional video camera was RAI's Julia and Julia (Italian: Giulia e Giulia) in 1987, and the first HDTV television show was CBC's Chasing Rainbows, shot using the HDVS system in 1988. For the Genesis Invisible Touch Tour shows at Wembley Stadium in July 1987, the Sony HDVS system was used to film these shows, which were later released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1988 and DVD in 2003.

Montreux Jazz Festival in 1991 was recorded using the Sony HDVS video system. Four HDC-300 cameras in 1125-line format (1035i visible, close to 1080i today), 60 fps, and one Sony HDC-500 3 CCD prototype HDVS camera were used. The five cameras were connected to a 7-input HDS-1000T switcher and the live mix was recorded to an HDD-1000 Digital 1" VTR.[13]

World War II: When Lions Roared (also known as Then There Were Giants) is a 1994 TV movie, directed by Joseph Sargent, that stars John Lithgow, Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins as the three major Allied leaders. It was the first video production to be produced in the 1125-line high-definition television (HDTV) format.[14] It was converted to NTSC for broadcast in the United States.

The HDVS brand and logo was still used by Sony since 1997 as "Digital HDVS" on their digital high-definition HDCAM-format cameras such as the HDW-750, HDW-F900, HDC-1550, "Power HAD" camera Sony HSC-300 Series,[15] and XDCAM camera PDW-850,[16] PXW-X500.[17] By 2022, HDVS branded cameras have been discontinued and new camera models released don't have the HDVS logo.

Equipment

References

  1. ^ Cianci, Philip J. (January 10, 2014). High Definition Television: The Creation, Development and Implementation of HDTV Technology. McFarland. ISBN 9780786487974 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Cianci, Philip J. (January 10, 2014). High Definition Television: The Creation, Development and Implementation of HDTV Technology. McFarland. ISBN 9780786487974 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Connolly, W.G. (August 11, 1991). "High definition television studio equipment". IEEE Communications Magazine. 29 (8): 42–45. doi:10.1109/35.83973. S2CID 34842296 – via IEEE Xplore.
  4. ^ Engineers, Society of Motion Picture and Television (June 11, 1989). "SMPTE Journal: Publication of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers". The Society – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Cianci, Philip J. (10 January 2014). High Definition Television: The Creation, Development and Implementation of HDTV Technology. McFarland. ISBN 9780786487974.
  6. ^ Abramson, Albert (29 September 2007). The History of Television, 1942 to 2000 - Albert Abramson - Google Books. McFarland. ISBN 9780786432431.
  7. ^ "VIDEOTAPE FORMATS". www.tech-notes.tv. Archived from the original on 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
  8. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (August 23, 1986). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020 – via Google Books. ((cite web)): |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ Lewis, Geoffrey E. (May 12, 2014). Communication Services via Satellite: A Handbook for Design, Installation and Service Engineers. Elsevier. ISBN 9781483183756 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Lipton, Lenny (April 7, 2021). The Cinema in Flux: The Evolution of Motion Picture Technology from the Magic Lantern to the Digital Era. Springer Nature. ISBN 9781071609514 – via Google Books.
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  12. ^ Lovece, Frank (11 January 1986). "Fast Forward". Billboard. p. 44. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  13. ^ "Montreux festival in technology showcase" (PDF). Sonosax – Audio Equipment Manufacturer. October 1991.
  14. ^ "World War II: When Lions Roared". imdb. 18 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 February 2005. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  15. ^ "Sony HSC Series HD/SD System Camera HSC-300RF, HSC-100RF Optical Fiber Camera HSC-300R, HSC-100R Digital Triax Camera" (PDF). 2013.
  16. ^ "PDW-850 XDCAM Camcorder 3x 2/3" Power HAD FX CCD Sensors - Sony Pro". pro.sony. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  17. ^ "Sony PXW-X500 XDCAM XAVC Memory Camcorder" (PDF). 2014.
  18. ^ "Sony HDVS High Definition Video System. Sony Corporation".
  19. ^ "Sony HDVS High Definition Video System General Catalogue 1991. Sony Corporation".
  20. ^ Cianci, Philip J. (January 10, 2014). High Definition Television: The Creation, Development and Implementation of HDTV Technology. McFarland. ISBN 9780786487974 – via Google Books.
  21. ^ "ONR Far East Scientific Bulletin". Office of Naval Research, Liaison Office, Far East. April 11, 1987. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ "Scientific Bulletin". The Office. April 11, 1987. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ "Archived copy". www.picclickimg.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ "HDV-1000 (HD Video Tape Recorder) / Gallery / Sony Design / Sony". Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  25. ^ "Specifications; High Picture And Sound Qualities; High Reliability; Alarm Functions - Sony BVH-2000 Operation And Maintenance Manual [Page 12]". ManualsLib.
  26. ^ "Professional Video and Audio Equipment - Verkauf/Sales, Auktion/Auction, Vermietung/Rental - Neu und gebraucht! New and used! - www.mmt.de". Archived from the original on 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  27. ^ "Professional Video and Audio Equipment - Verkauf/Sales, Auktion/Auction, Vermietung/Rental - Neu und gebraucht! New and used! - www.mmt.de". Archived from the original on 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  28. ^ MICHAEL ROBIN (February 1, 2004). "Component video basics". TVTechnology.
  29. ^ Watkinson, John (September 10, 2012). Introduction to Digital Video. CRC Press. ISBN 9781136027628 – via Google Books.
  30. ^ https://www.telestream.net/pdfs/technical/Guide-to-Standard-HD-Digital-Video-Measurements-25W147006.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  31. ^ a b "Professional Video and Audio Equipment - Verkauf/Sales, Auktion/Auction, Vermietung/Rental - Neu und gebraucht! New and used! - www.mmt.de". Archived from the original on 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  32. ^ "Professional Video and Audio Equipment - Verkauf/Sales, Auktion/Auction, Vermietung/Rental - Neu und gebraucht! New and used! - www.mmt.de". Archived from the original on 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2020-12-20.

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