S-VHS

Like VHS, the S-VHS format uses a color under a modulation scheme.[4] S-VHS improves luminance (luma) resolution by increasing luminance bandwidth.[4] Increased bandwidth is possible because of the increased luminance carrier from 3.4 megahertz (MHz) to 5.4 MHz.[4] The luminance modulator bandwidth also is increased: in contrast to standard VHS's frequencies of 3.8 MHz (synch tip) to 4.8 MHz (peak white), S-VHS uses 5.4 MHz synch tip and 7.4 MHz peak white. Increased luminance bandwidth produces a 60% improvement in luminance picture detail—a horizontal resolution of 420 vertical lines per picture height, versus VHS's 240 lines. The often quoted horizontal resolution of "over 400" means S-VHS captures greater picture detail than even NTSC[4] analog cable and broadcast TV, which is limited to about 330 television lines (TVL). In practice, when time-shifting TV programs on S-VHS equipment, the improvement over VHS is noticeable. Yet, the trained eye can easily spot the difference between live television and an S-VHS recording of it. This is because S-VHS does not improve other key aspects of the video signal, particularly the chrominance (chroma) signal. In VHS, the chroma carrier is both severely bandlimited and noisy, a limitation that S-VHS does not address. Lack of color resolution was a deficiency shared by S-VHS's contemporaries, such as Hi8 and ED-Beta – all of which were limited to 0.4 megahertz or 30 TVL resolution.[5]

In audio recording, S-VHS retains VHS's conventional linear (baseband) and high fidelity (Hi-Fi) – Audio Frequency Modulation (AFM) soundtracks. Some professional S-VHS decks can record a pulse-code modulation (PCM) digital audio track (stereo 48 kHz), along with normal video and Hi-Fi stereo and mono analog audio.

The bandwidth of S-VHS allows PAL recordings to contain Teletext data along with the normal video signal, which then can be displayed as an overlay of the conventional TV picture (though not on standard VHS machines). A suitably Teletext-equipped receiver/decoder (TV, PC card, etc.) displays the recorded Teletext data information as if the video were a television transmission being received at that moment.

Despite its designation as the logical successor to VHS, S-VHS did not come close to replacing VHS. Likewise, S-VHS rentals and movie sales did very poorly. A few pre-recorded movies were released to S-VHS, but poor market acceptance prompted studios to transition their high-end product from S-VHS to Laserdisc, and then onto DVD.

As of 2007, consumer S-VHS VCRs were still available, but difficult to find in retail outlets. The largest VCR manufacturers, such as Matsushita and Mitsubishi, gradually moved to DVD recorders, and hard-disk based digital video recorders (DVRs). Combination DVD/VCR units rarely offered S-VHS format standard, only VHS. In the mainstream consumer camcorder market, miniDV, DVD, and—eventually—solid state memory-based camcorders replaced S-VHS-C camcorders. Digital camcorders generally outperform S-VHS-C units in most technical aspects: audio/video quality, recording time, lossless duplication, and form-factor. The videotapes themselves are available, mostly by mail order or online, but are vanishingly rare in retail channels, and substantially more expensive than high-quality standard VHS media.

In the camcorder role, the smaller form S-VHS-C enjoyed limited success among home video users, competing with Hi8.

Full-size S-VHS was more popular in the amateur video industry, as it allowed for at least second-generation copies at reasonable quality, which was necessary for editing. JVC, Panasonic, and Sony had sold industrial S-VHS decks for amateur and semi-professional production use.

A number of colleges and universities used S-VHS as a teaching tool for students, as the tapes cost less and offered more recording time than Betacam SP tapes, and yet students could still be trained on professional-level equipment. In the US a number of local access TV stations, and in Canada local cable channels used S-VHS in the 1990s to record and playback local programs, such as city councils and Christmas parades. For most of these stations, while the 3/4 inch (19 mm) U-Matics that they had been using were being phased out, but the digital video was still years away, S-VHS was used to record from the composite setups that were still in place for U-Matic production.

Some television stations used the S-VHS format, both for acquisition and subsequent studio editing, but the network studios largely avoided S-VHS, as descendants of the more expensive Betacam format had already become a de facto industry standard.

Shortly after the announcement of S-VHS, Sony responded with an announcement of Extended Definition Betamax (ED-Beta). S-VHS was JVC's next-generation video format designed to dominate the competing Super Betamax format (which already offered better-than-VHS quality). Not to be outdone, Sony developed ED-Beta as their next-generation competitor to S-VHS.

In terms of video performance, ED-Beta offered even greater luminance bandwidth than S-VHS – 500 television lines (TVL) of horizontal resolution per picture height, versus S-VHS's or Laserdisc's 420 TVL; putting ED-Beta nearly on par with professional digital video formats (520 TVL). However, chroma performance was far less spectacular, as neither S-VHS nor ED-Beta exceeded 0.4 megahertz or ~30 TVL maximum, whereas NTSC broadcast has a chroma resolution of ~120 TVL, and DVD has a chroma resolution of ~240 TVL. S-VHS was used in some TV stations for inexpensive "on the spot" camcorder capture of breaking news, however, it was not suitable for multi-generational (studio) use.

In terms of audio performance, both VHS and Beta offered analog Hi-Fi stereos of outstanding quality. Rather than reinvent the wheel, both S-VHS and ED-Beta re-used the AFM schemes of their predecessors without change. Professional S-VHS decks did offer digital PCM audio, a feature not matched by ED-Beta decks. In PAL markets, depth multiplexed audio was used for both formats.

In the U.S. market, the mainstream consumer market had largely ignored the release of S-VHS. With the Betamax market already in sharp decline, a "format war" for the next generation of video simply did not materialize. Sony discontinued the ED-Beta product line in the U.S. market after less than two years, handing S-VHS a victory by default, if it can even be called that. (VHS decks continued to outsell S-VHS decks until the end of the VCR product life cycle.)

There is anecdotal evidence that some TV stations purchased ED-Beta equipment as a low-cost alternative to professional Betacam equipment, prompting speculation that Sony's management took steps to prevent its consumer (ED-Beta) division from cannibalizing the sales of its more lucrative professional video division. Nevertheless, by the time of ED-Beta's introduction, VHS had already won a decisive victory, and no amount of competition on behalf of ED-Beta could regain the home video market.

An Alesis ADAT XT 8-channel digital audio recorder

In 1991, Alesis introduced ADAT, an eight-track digital audio recording system that used S-VHS cassettes. An ADAT machine recorded eight tracks of uncompressed audio material in 16-bit (later 20-bit) resolution. The recording time was one-third of the cassette's nominal playing time, e.g., a 120 min S-VHS cassette held 40 minutes of eight-track audio.

Studer produced the V-Eight (manufactured and sold by Alesis as the M20) [8] and the V-Twenty-Four digital multitrack recorders. These used S-VHS cassettes for 8-track and 24-track digital audio recording, at a significantly lower cost than their DASH reel-to-reel digital recorders. The videotape transports were made for Studer by Matsushita.

• D-VHS
• W-VHS
• Video 2000

Wikimedia Commons has media related to S-VHS.

• Tape loading mechanism S-VHS VTR Telefunken A1200 — YouTube.com video
• Tape loading mechanism S-VHS VTR Panasonic AG-4700 — YouTube.com video
• Tape loading mechanism / dynamic drum S-VHS VTR JVC HR-S9500 — YouTube.com video
• Formats — High-TechProductions.com
• TVR Formats — LabGuysWorld.com