Video 2000
Encyclopedia
Video 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. Distribution of Video 2000 products began in 1979 and ended in 1988; they were marketed exclusively in most European countries, Brazil and Argentina.
Philips named the videotape standard Video Compact Cassette (VCC) to complement their landmark Audio Compact Cassette format introduced in 1963, but the format itself was marketed under the trademark
Video 2000. Video 2000 succeeded Philips's earlier VCR
, VCR-LP and Grundig's SVR formats.
Thanks to DTF, V2000 was able to play both fields
of the image in still frame mode, providing full vertical resolution
whereas VHS and Betamax could only reproduce one field, giving only half of the normal vertical resolution. A real advantage of DTF on all but the very first V2000 models was the ability to provide picture search without noise bars across the screen, a feature domestic VHS or Betamax machines were only ever able to approach by introducing complex multi-head drums.
Although Philips and Grundig agreed on a common tape format, they came up with machines that were radically different mechanically. The Grundig machines featured a Betamax
-style loading ring to rotate the tape around the video heads, while Philips utilised an "M-wrap" similar to that used in VHS
machines.
Not long before the end of production Philips introduced a half-speed mode, the V2000 XL or eXtra Long, doubling capacity and making it possible to store 16 hours (eight hour
s per side) on one single tape. This was featured in Philips VR2840 and Grundig's Video 2x8 machines.
Though linear stereo
sound was available on some models, both VHS and Betamax were offering hifi stereo sound with near-CD quality by the mid 1980s.
s containing half-inch (12.5 mm) wide chrome dioxide magnetic tape
. The format utilized only a quarter-inch (6.25 mm) of the half-inch tape on a given side, and so it is occasionally referred to erroneously as a quarter-inch tape format despite its physical width.
While VHS and Beta tapes have a break-off tab to protect recordings from erasure (as in audio Compact Cassettes and, once broken, the cavity left by the missing tab must be covered or filled before the tape can be reused), VCCs employed a more elegant solution: a switch on the tape edge could be turned to red to protect the recordings, and back to black/brown (depending on the colour of the cassette housing) to re-record. The switch covered/uncovered a hole along the tape edge, which was detected by a sensor in the machine.
The tape edge featured six such holes along each side of the tape, detected by sensors on the cassette's underside. The left-hand cluster included the write-protection hole. The right-hand cluster of three was used (by various permutations of open/closed status) to tell the machine the total tape running time. This was employed in later machines such as Grundig's Video 2x4 Super to provide a real-time tape counter: upon insertion of the tape the machine would move the tape forward and then backward by a small amount and monitor the comparative angular speed of the reels. This was looked up in a data table for the known total tape length and the hours and minutes used were then displayed. A similar technique was later used on Video8, MiniDV and MicroMV
cassettes. Some later VHS machines also featured this ability, but with many non JVC machines, it did not work with the short VHS-C
cassettes.
NOTE: When Grundig began marketing VHS, its GV280 machine employed barcoded stickers attached to the tape edge, indicating the total tape length to the machine so that it could calculate the time used.
Video Mini Cassette was a compact version of the VCC (analogous to VHS-C
) that was playable in existing machines using a full-sized cassette adaptor. Published photos clearly show the nomenclature
VMC120, suggesting that 60 minutes per side were intended, but Philips retired Video 2000 before the development was ready for market.
Hifi sound was never marketed although rumours persisted shortly before the format's demise of a hifi machine which utilised the data track. This would have offered the format another trump over VHS/Beta as the hifi track would be independent of the visuals, and so could be re-recorded or dubbed as became possible later with Video8.
Rumours also circulated in the press of an auto-reverse machine shortly before the format was retired. Technically this would have been a major challenge since a single head drum would not have been able to scan both "sides" of the tape correctly.
Alongside the write-protect hole were two that were never used. One was slated to indicate the tape formulation as higher coercivity tapes were to be introduced for the "Super 2000" hi-band version of the format. The flexibility of this system also allowed for metal tape to be introduced for the digital version "Digital 2000", also in the early stages of development as the format was canceled. Internal documents suggested the cassette abbreviations VSC and VDC to be used, respectively, for the two developments.
released the first Video 2000 VCR, the VR2020, in the UK in 1979. Philips models were re-badged as Pye and even re-skinned as Bang & Olufsen
, whilst Grundig
models were re-badged as ITT. Both marques were subsequently re-badged by numerous companies throughout Europe. Manufacturing of Video 2000 ceased in 1988 and Betamax some time after, both having lost the videotape format war
to VHS
.
V2000's failure may be partially attributable to its late entrance to market (slowed by problems in the development of the DTF system). Also, although it was technologically superior to the competition in several ways, it could not compete with VHS and Betamax's key advantages:
A key intention of the V2000 format, particularly those sporting the DTF feature, was tape compatibility: A tape from any machine should play perfectly on any other machine. Unfortunately, when the first Philips
machine - the VR2020 - reached the shops, it was discovered that its audio head was 2.5 mm out of position compared to that on Grundig's 2x4 VCR, which had already been on sale for a year. This meant that the sound would be out of sync with the picture, when played back on the other type of machine. Subsequent models from both manufacturers moved the audio head 1.25 mm to a common position, but compatibility issues remained for recordings made on the first generation of machines. Furthermore, the required close tolerances and fragility of the DTF system resulted in significant inter-machine compatibility issues which were never fully resolved.
By the latter half of the 1980s, Philips
had already begun producing their own VHS
-compatible VCRs.
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
videocassette recorder
Videocassette recorder
The videocassette recorder , is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time...
system and 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...
videocassette standard
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
developed by Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
and Grundig
Grundig
Grundig AG is a German manufacturer of consumer electronics for home entertainment which transferred to Turkish control in 2004-2007. Established in 1945 in Nuremberg by Max Grundig, the company changed hands several times before becoming part of the Turkish Koç Holding group...
to compete with 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...
's VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's Betamax
Betamax
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...
video technologies. Distribution of Video 2000 products began in 1979 and ended in 1988; they were marketed exclusively in most European countries, Brazil and Argentina.
Philips named the videotape standard Video Compact Cassette (VCC) to complement their landmark Audio Compact Cassette format introduced in 1963, but the format itself was marketed under the trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
Video 2000. Video 2000 succeeded Philips's earlier VCR
Video Cassette Recording
Video Cassette Recording was an early domestic analog recording format designed by Philips. It was the first successful consumer-level home videocassette recorder system. Later variants included the VCR-LP and Super Video formats.The VCR format was introduced in 1972, just after the Sony...
, VCR-LP and Grundig's SVR formats.
Technological innovations
At the time of its launch Video 2000 offered several innovative features unmatched by the competing formats VHS and Betamax:- Only half of the magnetic tapeMagnetic tapeMagnetic 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...
is scanned by a helical scanHelical scanHelical scan is a method of recording high bandwidth signals onto magnetic tape. It is used in reel-to-reel video tape recorders, video cassette recorders, digital audio tape recorders, and some computer tape drives....
ner during each side pass. The cassette can then be flipped over to use the other half of the tape, thus doubling playing time. - The tape was totally enclosed when not in use. Unlike competing formats that had spaces for the tape loading mechanism to be inserted, thus exposing the delicate magnetic tape surface, VCCs had a retractable sheath that covered such space. The sheath was retracted as a tape is inserted into the machine and only then can the tape cover be raised to expose the tape.
- Because of its Dynamic Track Following (DTF) technology (involving an advanced, movable video head tip), V2000 did not require a video tracking control. However, some late models lacked DTF.
- All V2000 VCRs sported an auto-rewind function (later matched by VHS and Betamax)
- Dynamic Noise Suppression to reduce tape hissTape hissTape hiss is the high frequency noise present on analogue magnetic tape recordings caused by the size of the magnetic particles used to make the tape. Effectively it is the noise floor of the recording medium. It can be reduced by the use of finer magnetic particles or by increasing the amount of...
on the audio track. - Provision of a dataDataThe term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
track alongside the video track - channel selection and timer programming were undertaken by a 0-9 numeric keypad
Thanks to DTF, V2000 was able to play both fields
Field (video)
In video, a field is one of the many still images which are displayed sequentially to create the impression of motion on the screen. Two fields comprise one video frame...
of the image in still frame mode, providing full vertical resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
whereas VHS and Betamax could only reproduce one field, giving only half of the normal vertical resolution. A real advantage of DTF on all but the very first V2000 models was the ability to provide picture search without noise bars across the screen, a feature domestic VHS or Betamax machines were only ever able to approach by introducing complex multi-head drums.
Although Philips and Grundig agreed on a common tape format, they came up with machines that were radically different mechanically. The Grundig machines featured a Betamax
Betamax
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...
-style loading ring to rotate the tape around the video heads, while Philips utilised an "M-wrap" similar to that used in VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
machines.
Not long before the end of production Philips introduced a half-speed mode, the V2000 XL or eXtra Long, doubling capacity and making it possible to store 16 hours (eight hour
Hour
The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds...
s per side) on one single tape. This was featured in Philips VR2840 and Grundig's Video 2x8 machines.
Though linear stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
sound was available on some models, both VHS and Betamax were offering hifi stereo sound with near-CD quality by the mid 1980s.
Construction of the Video Compact Cassette
Despite the name, VCCs were marginally larger than VHS cassettes — 5 mm shorter, but a millimeter thicker and 6 mm deeper. They had two reelReel
A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...
s containing half-inch (12.5 mm) wide chrome dioxide 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...
. The format utilized only a quarter-inch (6.25 mm) of the half-inch tape on a given side, and so it is occasionally referred to erroneously as a quarter-inch tape format despite its physical width.
While VHS and Beta tapes have a break-off tab to protect recordings from erasure (as in audio Compact Cassettes and, once broken, the cavity left by the missing tab must be covered or filled before the tape can be reused), VCCs employed a more elegant solution: a switch on the tape edge could be turned to red to protect the recordings, and back to black/brown (depending on the colour of the cassette housing) to re-record. The switch covered/uncovered a hole along the tape edge, which was detected by a sensor in the machine.
The tape edge featured six such holes along each side of the tape, detected by sensors on the cassette's underside. The left-hand cluster included the write-protection hole. The right-hand cluster of three was used (by various permutations of open/closed status) to tell the machine the total tape running time. This was employed in later machines such as Grundig's Video 2x4 Super to provide a real-time tape counter: upon insertion of the tape the machine would move the tape forward and then backward by a small amount and monitor the comparative angular speed of the reels. This was looked up in a data table for the known total tape length and the hours and minutes used were then displayed. A similar technique was later used on Video8, MiniDV and MicroMV
MicroMV
MicroMV was a proprietary videotape format introduced in 2001 by Sony. This cassette is physically smaller than a Digital8 or DV cassette. In fact, MicroMV is the smallest videotape format — 70% smaller than MiniDV or about the size of two US quarter coins. Each cassette can hold up to 60 minutes...
cassettes. Some later VHS machines also featured this ability, but with many non JVC machines, it did not work with the short VHS-C
VHS-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...
cassettes.
NOTE: When Grundig began marketing VHS, its GV280 machine employed barcoded stickers attached to the tape edge, indicating the total tape length to the machine so that it could calculate the time used.
Machines
Recorders in the format were manufactured by Philips and Grundig and marketed additionally by Pye, Bang and Olufsen and ITT in the UK, with Radiola, Siera and Siemens in Europe).- Philips VR2020 basic recorder (also Pye 20VR20, Siera 20VR20, B&O Beocord 8800)
- Philips VR2021 as VR2020 with minor cosmetic changes to bring into line with VR2022, and incorporating several of that machine’s upgraded componentry (also Pye 20VR21)
- Philips VR2022 as VR2021 with added noiseless Picture Search at 7x forwards and 5x reverse (Pye 20VR22, B&O Beocord 8802)
- Philips VR2023 redesigned fascia and remote control as standard
- Philips VR2024 as VR2023 with added linear stereo
- Philips VR2025 rebranded Grundig Video 2x4 Super
- Philips VR2220/VR2120 two-part (recorder/tuner-timer) portable machine (also Pye and Radiola 22VR20)
- Philips VR2324 basic series II compact machine (Pye 23VR24, Siera 23VR24)
- Philips VR2334 as VR2324 with added remote control and trick play
- Philips VR2340 as VR2334 with added linear stereo
- Philips VR2350 front-loading MatchLine model as VR2340
- Philips VR2840 as VR2340 with added 16-hour XL recording mode
- Philips VR2414 basic series III compact machine
- Grundig Video 2x4 basic recorder 700 (also ITT 480, Siemens FM204)
- Grundig Video 2x4 plus 770 – as 2x4 with added trick play
- Grundig Video 2x4 Super 800 – series II machine with noiseless Picture Search at 7x forwards and 5x reverse (also Philips VR2025, Siemens FM404)
- Grundig Video 2x4 850 – as 2x4 Super
- Grundig Video 2x4 Stereo 880 – as 2x4 Super with added linear stereo
- Grundig Video 2x4 1600 – basic series III machine, the only V2000 not to feature DTF
- Grundig Video 2x4 2000 – series III machine
- Grundig Video 2x4 2000a - as 2000 redesigned electronics; Display changed
- Grundig Video 2x4 2200 – series III machine with added linear stereo
- Grundig Video 2x4/2x8 2080 – series III machine featuring 16-hour XL recording mode
- Grundig Video 2x4/2x8 2280 - as 2080 with added linear stereo
- Grundig Video 2x4/2x8 2280a - as 2280 completely redesigned; Link to VS2XX
Format developments
As with so many Philips developments, Video 2000 was ahead of its time. It aimed to correct the failings of the VHS and Betamax formats whilst providing the potential for exciting developments. The prototypePrototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
Video Mini Cassette was a compact version of the VCC (analogous to VHS-C
VHS-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...
) that was playable in existing machines using a full-sized cassette adaptor. Published photos clearly show the nomenclature
Nomenclature
Nomenclature is a term that applies to either a list of names or terms, or to the system of principles, procedures and terms related to naming - which is the assigning of a word or phrase to a particular object or property...
VMC120, suggesting that 60 minutes per side were intended, but Philips retired Video 2000 before the development was ready for market.
Hifi sound was never marketed although rumours persisted shortly before the format's demise of a hifi machine which utilised the data track. This would have offered the format another trump over VHS/Beta as the hifi track would be independent of the visuals, and so could be re-recorded or dubbed as became possible later with Video8.
Rumours also circulated in the press of an auto-reverse machine shortly before the format was retired. Technically this would have been a major challenge since a single head drum would not have been able to scan both "sides" of the tape correctly.
Alongside the write-protect hole were two that were never used. One was slated to indicate the tape formulation as higher coercivity tapes were to be introduced for the "Super 2000" hi-band version of the format. The flexibility of this system also allowed for metal tape to be introduced for the digital version "Digital 2000", also in the early stages of development as the format was canceled. Internal documents suggested the cassette abbreviations VSC and VDC to be used, respectively, for the two developments.
Video 2000 and the videotape format war
PhilipsPhilips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
released the first Video 2000 VCR, the VR2020, in the UK in 1979. Philips models were re-badged as Pye and even re-skinned as Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen is a Danish company that designs and manufactures audio products, television sets and telephones. It was founded in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, whose first significant product was a radio that worked with alternating current, when most radios were run from batteries...
, whilst Grundig
Grundig
Grundig AG is a German manufacturer of consumer electronics for home entertainment which transferred to Turkish control in 2004-2007. Established in 1945 in Nuremberg by Max Grundig, the company changed hands several times before becoming part of the Turkish Koç Holding group...
models were re-badged as ITT. Both marques were subsequently re-badged by numerous companies throughout Europe. Manufacturing of Video 2000 ceased in 1988 and Betamax some time after, both having lost the videotape format war
Videotape format war
The videotape format war was a period of intense competition or "format war" of incompatible models of consumer-level analog video videocassette and video cassette recorders in the late 1970s and the 1980s.- Overview :...
to VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
.
- VHS and Betamax already had established market shareMarket shareMarket 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...
and ample prerecorded video libraries - Betamax camcorderCamcorderA 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...
s arrived at market first - VHS and Betamax enjoyed worldwide distribution
A key intention of the V2000 format, particularly those sporting the DTF feature, was tape compatibility: A tape from any machine should play perfectly on any other machine. Unfortunately, when the first Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
machine - the VR2020 - reached the shops, it was discovered that its audio head was 2.5 mm out of position compared to that on Grundig's 2x4 VCR, which had already been on sale for a year. This meant that the sound would be out of sync with the picture, when played back on the other type of machine. Subsequent models from both manufacturers moved the audio head 1.25 mm to a common position, but compatibility issues remained for recordings made on the first generation of machines. Furthermore, the required close tolerances and fragility of the DTF system resulted in significant inter-machine compatibility issues which were never fully resolved.
By the latter half of the 1980s, Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
had already begun producing their own VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
-compatible VCRs.
External links
- Mikey's Vintage VTR Page - Video 2000
- Video 2000 page at Total Rewind - The Virtual Museum of Vintage VCRs
- V2000 PALsite - Information about the V2000 video format