Module 46

Updated: 12/26/2008

Video Recording

Media

Although the concept of "live" may have exciting connotations, recording a production has many advantages.

• the length of a program or segment can be shortened or lengthened during editing
   
• mistakes on the part of the talent or crew can be corrected, either by restarting the show, or to some degree during postproduction
   
• program segments can be reorganized and rearranged for optimum pacing and dramatic effect
   
• program content can be embellished through the use of a wide array of special effect and editing techniques
   
• production costs can be saved by scheduling production talent, crew, and production facilities for optimum efficiency, and  
   
• once recorded, programs can be time-shifted or played back to meet the needs of time zones and the programming preferences of local stations

With the exception of some prime-time dramatic productions that are still done on film, most of today's television programming is recorded on videotape or computer hard disks. Even when productions are produced on film, they are  routinely converted to a video recording before broadcast.  
 

The Videotape Recording Process

Although videotape is being replaced by various configurations of solid-state memory, it's still widely used and, generally speaking, it still represents the highest quality recording and playback medium.

Videotape resembles audiotape in its makeup.  It consists of a strip of plastic backing coated with a permanent layer of microscopic metal particles embedded in a resin base. These particles are capable of holding a magnetic charge.

 The videotape recording process was first demonstrated in 1953, and the first machines went into service in 1956.

Video recording revolutionized TV production.

Two-inch wide videotape (pictured at the left) was the first practical video recording medium and one that was used for several decades. Because it used four video heads to scan a complete video picture on two-inch wide tape, this system was referred to as the 2-inch quad system.

At the other end of the size spectrum is this Hi8 camcorder (right) that uses videotape that's only 8mm wide.

All videotape formats use video heads that travel across the surface of the tape and leave magnetic traces in the tape's coating.

To be able to record the very high frequencies associated with video, not only must the tape be moving, but also the heads, themselves, must spin over the surface of the tape. This ends up being a little like walking along a moving sidewalk; the two speeds are added together. 

A top view of a headwheel with six record and playback heads is shown at the left. In a VCR this spins at a high rate of speed while the videotape (wrapped around the side) moves across the spinning surface.

This whole scanning process is reversed when videotape is played back. 

The magnetic imprints left in the surface of the tape induce magnetic changes in the video heads, which are then converted into minute voltages. These are amplified millions of times before being passed on to various pieces of video equipment.
 

   Disk-Based Recording

DVD

In 1997, the DVD was introduced. (The initials stand for both digital versatile disk and digital videodisk.)

Although DVDs resemble audio CDs, they are capable of holding much more information -- typically up to 17GB of data.

To achieve capacities up to this level some innovations were added to the standard audio CD approach.

First, it is possible to recorded at two disk surface levels on the same side of the disk. (Note Blu-ray in the chart below.) For even greater a storage capacity both sides of the disk can be used.

Red light lasers were originally used, but the recording-playback density of data advanced in the early 2000s with the introduction of lasers using a shorter wavelength blue light -- hence, Blu-ray.

The chart below compares standard audio CDs with several versions of DVDs.
 

Data compression is used in almost all audio and video digital formats.  Data compression is a little like freeze-dried instant coffee; elements are removed that can be later restored without appreciably affecting the final result.

In the same way that instant coffee is almost as good as the real thing, compressed video is almost as good as the original video signal.

Even though an engineer with a sharp eye can (or ear) tell the difference (just as coffee connoisseurs can tell the difference between instant and freshly brewed coffee), by "dehydrating" video signals, not only can far more data be recorded in the same space, but it can also be transmitted much faster.

Since the spiral tracks on the DVD disk surface are microscopic in size, it means that DVD equipment requires a high level of mechanical precision.

DVDs are now cheaper to manufacture than VHS tapes.  DVDs also allow for random-access, while VHS tapes are totally linear in nature.  This means that with a DVD you can almost instantly jump to any point in a recording. No lengthy fast-forward or rewind process is involved.

The high data capacity of DVDs means that a production can include a number of "extras."  Depending on the length of the original film, these extra options may include ▲out-takes, narration from the director, and 4:3 and 16:9 screen formats.

The narration from the director can be of particular value to people in production because it often adds significant insight into music selection, production problems, acting issues, and why particular scenes were deleted.

The 50GB capacity of Blu-ray goes considerably beyond standard DVDs. More than nine hours of HD video will fit on a disk, or about 23 hours of standard definition video.

DVDs are typically backwards compatible with standard audio CDs, which means that you can play an audio CD on a DVD player.

Although initial DVD machines didn't allow for recording, more recently DVD-R (DVDs that could be recorded once) and DVD-RW (DVDs that could be used to record or rewrite multiple times) were introduced.

High-Definition DVDs

In 2006 we began to see "home theaters" centered around 5.1 sound from HDTV videodisks (and even 7.1 sound, with an option for two more speakers).

With images that rival or exceed those in theaters, many people — at least those who can afford home theaters — now find little reason leave their homes to see a movie.

At the end of 2007, there were two major competing and incompatible standards for DVDs in the high-definition. There was the HD-DVD format led by Toshiba consortium and Blu-ray backed by a Sony-led consortium. Note the capacity of these two recording formats in the chart above.

Having been burned in the VHS versus Betamax VCR war a couple decades earlier (when Betamax was phased out leaving only VHS) many people were hesitant to invest in either technology before a "winner" was decided. 

By early 2008, after several major motion picture studios backed away from HD-DVD, Toshiba conceded that Blu-ray had won the HD format competition. The public had also become aware of the picture quality advantage of Blu-ray, as shown in side-by-side comparisons of the various video formats.

Disk-Based Camcorders

In 1995, two companies introduced the first disk-based camcorders, primarily designed for ENG work.

After going through a few generations of improvement, a disk-based camcorder was introduced in 2002 with a three-hour capacity and the ability to simultaneously record on DVCAM videotape.

Once video and audio segments are recorded with the professional versions of disk-based camcorders, the segments can be played back almost instantly and in any order.

This means that basic editing can take place right in the camera (by programming the order and duration of segment playbacks) and the result can be broadcast right from the camcorder. This represents an obvious advantage in quickly getting news stories on the air.

Solid State Memory

We now have a growing percentage of camcorders -- amateur, prosumer, and professional -- that record on solid state-memory cards, sometimes called flash memory. The memory module shown in front of the credit card on the left can hold up to 90 minutes of consumer-grade video.

This approach provides faster camera-to-computer transfer speeds. Plus, since there are no moving parts, camcorder maintenance costs are reduced to a fraction of what they are with videotape, or even videodisc.

Consumer-grade camcorders were the first to use solid-state recording or flash memory.  In 2003, after quality and recording capacity had advanced sufficiently, this type of recording also moved to professional camcorders. As we noted earlier, there are currently many types of ▲ solid-state or flash memory.

Some camera memory cards can be slipped into a computer and quickly accessed by an editing program. A more common transfer approach is with high-speed, camera-to-computer cable, typically FireWire. 

File Servers

While we are talking about digital recording approaches we might as well venture into the editing domain for a moment and talk about file servers (previously called video servers and media servers).

Instead of videotape, file servers store audio and video information on high-capacity computer disks. Many broadcast and production facilities are now "tapeless," meaning that file servers are used almost exclusively. This trend that is expected to continue until production facilities completely phase out the use of videotape, except possibly as an archival storage medium.

A cutaway view of a high-capacity computer hard disk is shown here.

The file server is a kind of high-capacity depository of audio and video segments that can be accessed from workstations (computer editing stations) throughout a production facility.

A production facility may have numerous workstations that all tie into a single, high-capacity server. The concept in newsrooms, where it is most used, is referred to as file-based architecture. In its structure it's similar to a LAN (local area network) used in many institutions to tie desktop computers into the company's main computer.

Once material has been stored on a server, access time is virtually instantaneous -- in most cases, less than one millionth of a second.

This means during a live news broadcast, for example, a final edited product can be electronically assembled in real time directly from the original raw footage. The same original raw footage can then be used to prepare a different version of the story for a later newscast.

For long-term storage video on the server can be transferred to a videotape or a DVD.