D-1

Sony VTR D1 DVR-2000

BTS D1 VTR DCR500

SMPTE digital VTR video standard, also a Sony and Bosch - BTS product D-1 format was the first major professional digital video format, introduced in 1986 through efforts by SMPTE engineering committees.

D-1 stored uncompressed digitized component video, encoded at Y'CbCr 4:2:2 using the CCIR 601 raster format, along with PCM audio tracks as well as timecode on a 19 mm (3/4") cassette tape. Uncompressed component video used enormous bandwidth for its time, and the composite D-2 system soon followed. The maximum record time on a D-1 tape is 94 minutes.

D-1 was notoriously expensive and the equipment required very large infrastructure changes in facilities which upgraded to this format. Early D-1 operations were plagued with difficulties, though the format quickly stabilized and is still renowned for its superb image quality (standard definition).

D-1 is still in some usage as of 2003, and many of the technologies introduced with this format are still common to more recent digital videotape formats.

Panasonic's D-5 format has similar specifications, but was introduced much later.

D-1 resolution is 720 × 486 for NTSC systems and 720 × 576 for PAL systems.

Models

• Sony:
  • DVR-1000
  • DVR-2000
  • DVR-2100

• BTS:
  • DCR-100
  • DCR-300
  • DCR-500

References

Grotticelli, Michael, ed. (2001). American Cinematographer Video Manual. The ASC Press, Hollywood, CA. ISBN 0-935578-14-5

Ext. Link

• Sony History: The Beginning of the Digital Age