Betacam playback in a Betacam SP deck?
 

Just wondering if it is possible. Have a Sony PVW2800 unit.

Andrew

Re: Betacam playback in a Betacam SP deck?
 

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.

Re: Betacam playback in a Betacam SP deck?
 

Had a feeling it was likely to be something like that. Many thanks for the info.

Andrew

Re: Betacam playback in a Betacam SP deck?
 

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.

Re: Betacam playback in a Betacam SP deck?
 

Still got my 300 Brian! A few boxes of brand new tapes too!

Re: Betacam playback in a Betacam SP deck?
 

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.