View Full Version : Betacam playback in a Betacam SP deck?


Andrew Smith
May 23rd, 2019, 08:35 AM
Just wondering if it is possible. Have a Sony PVW2800 unit.

Andrew

Paul R Johnson
May 23rd, 2019, 02:22 PM
Beta SP recorders will play Betacam tapes, and oddly, the Betacam original machines will usually play back SP tapes. The difference being they cannot record on an SP tape because the formulation needs very different bias and EQ. SP took over after quite a short run for the original, so backwards compatibility was pretty important.

Andrew Smith
May 23rd, 2019, 04:30 PM
Had a feeling it was likely to be something like that. Many thanks for the info.

Andrew

Brian Drysdale
August 22nd, 2019, 12:58 AM
In the end, Betacam was only used for shooting news, it was being used by the BBC for this work into the 1990s, with the road tapes being reused (unless it was a major news event). The Betacam SP was used for other productions.

Paul R Johnson
August 22nd, 2019, 01:15 AM
Still got my 300 Brian! A few boxes of brand new tapes too!

Brian Drysdale
August 22nd, 2019, 09:07 AM
I know people who used Betacam tapes in their Betamax VCR.

I've still got a box of Digital Betacam tapes in my kit store room.