Talk:Video 2000

Accuracy of statement on V2000 XL

Can someone confirm or deny the accuracy of the following statement from this article: "VHS and Betamax sported slightly better display resolution" I'm not certain this is true, particularly of VHS which has a 240-line vertical resolution.

Has anyone got evidence for this yet? I'm in agreement with the above poster (Colin99?) - any comparison with standard VHS was, in my opinion, always in the favour of the V2000. Indeed, I only upgraded to VHS when the ability to record stereo and Super VHS became available (at a reasonable price!)... C2r 23:19, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Re. "Philips introduced a long-play cassette, the V2000 XL, with a capacity of eight hours per side." I think this is factually wrong, wasn't it the eXtended Play (XP) mode which provided eight hours per side, not the cassette itself? Comments please on both of the above. Colin99 21:19, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

This comment looks factually wrong:"Distribution of Video 2000 products began in 1979 and ended in 1998". Would that be 1988 perhaps? Colin99 20:41, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Flipping the tape

Intuitively, I'm sure that competitors to the Video 2000 must have presented the need to flip the tape as a disadvantage, rather then an advantage. VHS and Beta could utilize the entire tape area without flipping, so why limit the recorder to only be able to record on one half of the tape at a time? This serves no purpose other then to mimic a quirk of LPs and Audio Compact Cassettes, and it would reduce picture quality compared to utilizing the whole tape at once. Algr 19:03, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

It did of course mean you didn't have to re-wind the tape - you could just flip it over to the other side to watch something else! C2r 23:19, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Philips were aware of a user perception, that the inability to flip the cassette represented a waste of recording time. At the time, the man in the street was well used to turning his medium over (be it a 78, a 33 or an audio cassette), to double the playing time. Philips reckoned that this ability to turn the cassette would pander to that perception and used it as a merketing tool. In spite of claims to the contrary, V2000 did give a noticeable improvement in video quality. Unfortunately there were two things that let the format down. One was the poor audio quality (though this could have been improved). The other was the lack of a portable, battery operated recorder for use with a camera (again something that could have been fixed). The real problem was that VHS had become so entrenched in the market place, that it had become almost impossible to dislodge.

My father had a "portable" V2000. It was a Philips machine, bought in 1982/1983 (I can remember which year exactly). It was "cutted in half", with one half having the tuner part and the other being the magnetoscope itself. My father bought a camera too, which had to be connected to the magnetoscope half part in order to be able to record something. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.168.3.246 (talk) 19:49, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Me too! THIS is exactly what we had: http://laurent.deschamps.free.fr/v2000/The_V2000_Gallery_fichiers/philips_vr2220.jpg

True I reckon. V2000 used very fine video tracks to achieve the high density required. If instead, these tracks had used the full tape width then the linear speed could have been halved, and so the same running time arrived at on a single-sided tape. This might have had an unfortunate effect on linear audio quality though. Colin99 15:55, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

It's important to remember that VCC debuted with 4 hours per side before the VHS E-240 was introduced, although a comparison of blank tapes costs by Which? magazine in March 1981 showed there wasn't much in it hour-for-hour:

	Beta	VHS	VCC
tapes available and target prices	L125 30min £4.90 L250 1hr 5min £5.50 L370 1hr 30min £6 L500 2hr 15min £6.30 L750 3hr 15min £8.30	E30 30min £5 E60 1hr £6.20 E90 1hr 30min £6 [rare] E120 2hr £7.30 E180 3hr £8.50 E240 4h available shortly	VCC120 2x1hr £7.25 VCC240 2x2hr £11 VCC360 2x3hr £16 VCC480 2x4hr £21.50
cost per hour for longest tape	£2.55	£2.85	£2.70
cost per hour for 2-hour tape (or nearest)	£2.80	£3.65	£3.65

I've omitted the appropriate columns for VCR and SVR formats for the sake of clarity, and of course this was at a point when Beta was already "losing" and so prices were cheaper than VHS, but nevertheless it does demonstrate that VCC blank tape prices per hour were comparable to VHS. Of course, the £8.50 for an E-180 is the equivalent of around £22 today! Nick Cooper 15:17, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

I note that the readily available L-830 Beta tape (3 hours and 35 minutes =215 min) is missing from the table. Presumably unavailable in 1981 but must have been shortly thereafter. Colin99 15:55, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

No, it wasn't included in the table. Presumably it was a follow-on from the development of the E-240, that used a thinner tape than everything upto an E-180. Nick Cooper 19:58, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Not so much a developement from the E-240 as a simultaneous development with the E-240 we could assume. The table implies that the E240 is 5h, which must be an error. Colin99 20:29, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, my transcription error r.e. "5h" - I've corrected it. Nick Cooper 21:53, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Just noticed a comment here, that Beta was losing in 1981. Is that so? Losing as in not going to survive? Beta had its best year in 1983 (the top selling UK machine of 1983 of any format was the Sanyo VTC5000). What does the magazine say? Colin99 20:37, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you're right - that was just me prematurely burying the system. The magazine basically says that it's too early to call on either of the three systems, although it notes that prerecorded V2000 tapes are rarer, while the older Philips VCR and Grundig SVR machines could be bought cheaply, but were effectively obsolete. Nick Cooper 21:53, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Dimensions

Regarding this edit; was the original size given in metric or inches? The change might be okay if the metric figure is meant to be an approximate conversion from inches (phoney accuracy in conversions is a bad thing).

OTOH if the original figure (and actual) figure was metric and the inches one is an approximate conversion, then it shouldn't be changed unless it was wrong. And also, the mm should be the main figure given.

Fourohfour 11:00, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Video Tracking

The link goes to the wrong page! It should go to the subsection of the VHS page describing what video tracking in the sense of the video head following the track. 67.180.29.122 06:44, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Non-neutral claim

I think that the opening sentence in section "Format developments" does not feel really neutral in its claim: "As with so many Philips developments, Video 2000 was ahead of its time."

Shouldn't this be changed?

Mutant_Fred Mutant Fred (talk) 09:26, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Scanning both fields in still frame mode?

The article says:

"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."

Can anyone confirm this? Both VHS and Betamax have always had two video heads on the drum, which scan alternate fields when in still-frame mode, so display both fields. Early VHS machines also displayed the tell-tale "flicker" mentioned in the article. I'm not convinced V2000 was any better/worse than VHS or Betamax in this respect. 86.132.57.137 (talk) 11:06, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Well, that was the problem. The heads don't scan correctly down the recorded tracks, because when the tape is stationary, the tracks don't follow the heads. The heads scan across more than one tracks. Ordinarily, the machine would not display a satisfactory stationary picture (bearing in mind that neither head can reproduce the video from the 'wrong' track). As you note: early machines just presented whatever the heads recovered. Various tricks were employed to overcome the deficiency, the main one being to store the last correctly reproduced picture in a frame store and present that to the viewer (more usually only the odd or even field). Also multiple heads were employed and plenty of other tricks besides. With V2000, when the tape was stationary, the DTF mechanism allowed both video heads to move to follow the track on the tape and give a clean picture made up of both fields. 86.182.66.217 (talk) 17:08, 22 May 2010 (UTC)

I can deny this, actually. My first VHS recorder was a 2 head model. In EP mode it's freeze frame was quite clear, but did jitter when motion existed within the frame. This is not a fault of the deck, but in the nature of any interlaced video. (Even modern digital systems have a version of this called "mouse tooth".) The two fields are recorded separately at different times, so motion will occur. The SOLUTION to this was to add extra video heads to allow only one field to be seen at a time. The loss of sharpness was trivial compared to the benefit of removing the motion jitter. It sounds to me like the article is simply trying to spin another limitation of the Video 2000 format as being a strength - Any two head VCR will behave like this in still mode. Algr (talk) 05:39, 21 July 2015 (UTC)

You don't need to add extra heads to only scan one field at a time. The solution is simply to discard one of them. And I've had a couple of VHS machines after the V2000 we had at home and it NEVER behave like that, nor I've EVER seen a VHS machine able to show two fields at a time in pause mode. It was useful, too, when viewing film material, with both fields belonging to the same frame. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.151.13.8 (talk) 21:31, 11 November 2015 (UTC)

Offcourse! What's the use of perfect tracking if you're recording interlaced signal with two completely different fields (unless it's film content with "In-phase" fields and it's usually is not), that content can't be "clean" unless you discard one field. Why was that not corrected in the article? 93.143.32.30 (talk) 02:42, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

Audio dubbing

"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 advantage 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" Sorry but we have a "portable" Philips machine from the early eighties and it had a button for "dubbing" audio while keeping the video track intact. You could use whatever was being displayed in its TV tuner, or from the SCART audio pins. I've never seen a domestic VHS machine with that advanced feature. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.151.13.8 (talk) 21:26, 11 November 2015 (UTC)

Plenty of early VHS machines had audio dub for re-recording the linear audio track, and it was still found on many high-end decks in the 1990s. Most of the latter also had insert edit, which is essentially "video dub" - it overlays new video without disturbing the linear audio (although you could do both together). Nick Cooper (talk) 09:36, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Marketed in Australia

Video 2000 must also been marketed in Australia as well as Europe, South Africa and Argentina, as a PAL market. My brother told me he saw a videorecorder on sale that could record on both sides of a videotape Eligius (talk) 00:33, 18 May 2017 (UTC)

Uncited material in need of citations

I am moving the following uncited material here until it can be properly supported with inline citations of reliable, secondary sources, per WP:V, WP:NOR, WP:CS, WP:NOR, WP:IRS, WP:PSTS, et al. This diff shows where it was in the article. Nightscream (talk) 20:02, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

Extended content

LEDE SECTION Video 2000 was presented at the International Radio Exhibition in Berlin in 1979 and succeeded Philips's earlier Video Cassette Recording (VCR) format and its derivatives (VCR-LP and Grundig's SVR). The Video Compact Cassette The tape is totally enclosed when not in use. Unlike competing formats that have spaces in the cassette for the tape-loading mechanism to be inserted, thus exposing the delicate magnetic-tape surface, VCCs have a retractable sheath that covers such space. The sheath is retracted as a tape is inserted into the machine, and only then can the tape cover be raised to fully expose the tape. 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 employ a reversible solution: a switch on the tape edge can be turned to red/orange to protect the recordings and back to black/brown (depending on the color of the cassette housing) to re-record. The switch covers/uncovers a hole along the tape edge, which is detected by a sensor in the machine. The tape edge features six such holes along each side of the tape, detected by sensors on the cassette's underside. The left-hand cluster includes the write-protection hole. The right-hand cluster of three is used (by various permutations of open/closed status) to tell the machine the total tape running time. This was employed in second-generation machines such as Grundig's Video 2×4 Super to provide a real-time tape counter: upon insertion of the tape the machine moves the tape forward and then backward by a small amount and monitors the comparative angular speed of the reels. This is looked up in a data table for the known total tape length, and the hours and minutes used are then displayed. A similar technique was later used on Video8, MiniDV and MicroMV cassettes. Some later VHS machines also featured this ability, although it did not work with VHS-C cassettes. (When Grundig began marketing VHS recorders, its VS2XX series machines employed a similar system, whereby barcoded stickers attached to the tape edge indicated the total tape length to the machine so that it could calculate the time used.) A hole between the two spools enables a pin in the VCR to pass right through the cassette. This pin releases ratchets within the cassette that prevent the tape accidentally becoming slack in transit. The VCR's eject function includes a tape tensioning action prior to the cassette being ejected. Format and features ...(however, Grundig's model 1600 lacked DTF). During record, a sequence of four pilot frequencies (one for each head in the drum) is recorded with the video signal. During playback, if a video head reads an adjacent track, it will also read the corresponding pilot frequency; the control circuitry will generate a voltage of up to ±150 volts, which is applied to the piezo-electric material on which the video heads are mounted, thus pushing them up or down as needed to accurately follow the correct track. This system guarantees that each head will read exclusively their track (i.e., no noisebars) at up to seven times normal speed forwards and five times in reverse. V2000 is 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 is the ability to provide picture search without noise bars across the screen, a feature that domestic VHS or Betamax machines were only ever able to approach by introducing complex multi-head drums. VHS developers JVC later introduced a so-called "Dynamic Drum" in a few top-of-the-range devices. At the time of its launch, Video 2000 also offered several innovative features unmatched by the competing formats VHS and Betamax: All V2000 VCRs sport an auto-rewind function (later matched by VHS and Betamax). Dynamic noise suppression to reduce tape hiss on the audio track (similar to Dolby on VHS machines). Provision of a data track alongside the video track. Channel selection and timer programming via a 0–9 numeric keypad. While other formats used transparent leader to detect tape end, in a Video Compact Cassette a metal strip on the back of the tape is detected optically by reflection to trigger auto-stop. Multiple motors meant that the mechanism was direct drive—each spool having its own motor and electric brake. Direct control of any function, so that, with a cassette inserted, one could just press play without switching the machine on first; machines would switch off after a short period of inactivity. If record was pressed when the machine was empty or had a write-protected cassette in it, the machine would open the cassette carriage. Automatically winding the tape to a tape counter value input on the keypad ("go to"). 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 (8 hours per side) on one single tape. This was featured in Philips VR2840 and Grundig's Video 2x8 machines. Linear stereo sound was available on some models, though both VHS and Betamax were offering hi-fi stereo sound with near-CD quality by the mid 1980s. Launch After displaying their VR2000 prototype at trade shows and to the media Philips released the first Video 2000 VCR, the VR2020, in the United Kingdom in 1979. Philips models were re-badged as Pye and ITT, amongst others, and even re-skinned as Bang & Olufsen, whilst Grundig models were re-badged as Siemens. Furthermore, the required close tolerances and fragility of the DTF system resulted in significant inter-machine compatibility issues which were never fully resolved. Although Philips and Grundig agreed on a common tape format, they came up with machines that were radically different mechanically. Building on its experience with VCR, Grundig machines featured a Betamax-style loading ring to gently pull the tape around the video heads in a "U-wrap" over all three generations of their recorders, which was effective, simple and economical. Philips, however, used an "M-wrap" similar to that in VHS machines. Cables pulled pins along tracks in order to pull the tape into the transport path. This drive was large, heavy and very complex to produce, although having the head drum, capstan, audio/erase heads and the respective drive motors all mounted on a common base plate meant it was produced to high tolerances. Philips referred to this assembly as the "microworld". Second and third generation Philips drives replaced the cable-pulled pins with a reliable lever mechanism. In addition, first and second generation Grundig recorders had a high failure rate due to thin-walled plastic connectors between the drive and the motor connection board. Second-generation improvements The Philips VR2340 is a second-generation Philips Video 2000 recorder. This particular model features IR remote control, trick play and linear stereo. Compared to VHS, production costs were a big problem with Video 2000. For their second-generation series, Philips developed a completely new drive, with the tape pulled against the heads by pins on lever arms. This drive was very compact, with very high quality and (compared to VHS) very fast response times, but still had five direct-drive motors (head drum, capstan, two tape drives and a threading/cassette compartment). Due to their compact nature, these last Philips drives were quite expensive to service but defects in the mechanism are quite rare, except for the rubber pressure roller which is easy to change. Other improvements include reduced outer dimensions and weight and addition of a SCART audio/video connector. Planned developments Philips and Grundig intended Video 2000 to improve on the perceived failings of the VHS and Betamax formats whilst providing the potential for further developments. However, the format was withdrawn before many of these possibilities appeared on the market. The prototype 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 possible (compared to 20 minutes total initially for VHS-C), but Philips retired Video 2000 before the development was ready for market. The 108 × 72 × 21 mm Video Mini Cassette was somewhat larger than VHS-C's (92 × 59 × 23 mm). However, the cassette—as well as the adaptor—left the tape noticeably exposed to mishandling. Hi-fi sound was never marketed although photos of the Philips VR2870 were published in 1985, shortly before the format's demise. This would have recorded pulse-code modulated (PCM) audio in the data track, offering the format another advantage over VHS/Beta as the hi-fi 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 to enable a single head drum to scan both 'sides' of the tape at the correct angle. 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. Format’s demise Although Video 2000 was technologically superior to the competition in several ways, it could not compete with VHS and Betamax's key advantages: By the time it reached the market, VHS and Betamax had established market share and considerable prerecorded video libraries. JVC offered other manufacturers free licenses to produce VHS devices. VHS and Betamax recorders have been credited with greater reliability. VHS and Betamax both had hi-fi stereo sound. Betamax camcorders arrived at market first. VHS and Betamax enjoyed worldwide distribution. Additionally, Video 2000 never achieved the picture quality (optimally adjusted devices) of the predecessor systems VCR, VCR-LP or SVR because of the video writing speed. In 1985 Grundig started development and production of VHS recorders alongside V2000, and in 1989 Philips announced that it would discontinue the manufacturing of Video 2000 recorders, focusing instead on VHS exclusively. Their first home-grown VHS recorder—VR6560—was virtually a clone of the VR2324, using the VHS format tapes and the usual VHS M-wrap. Curiously, when Philips launched its second-generation home-grown VHS recorders (VR6467, VR6760, etc.) they pioneered the VHS 'U-wrap' (known colloquially as the "Charly" deck) and this was used in many Philips-built machines well into the first half of the 1990s. Grundig also used U-wrap in its own VHS decks for a short while before using Panasonic-manufactured decks. Machines Recorders in the format were manufactured by Philips and Grundig and marketed additionally by Pye, ITT, Bang and Olufsen, Aristona, Erres, Radiola, Siera and Siemens. First generation Philips VR2020 basic recorder (also Pye 20VR20, Siera 20VR20, B&O Beocord 8800, ITT 482) 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, ITT 483) Philips VR2022 - as VR2021 with added noiseless Picture Search at 7x forwards and 5x reverse (Pye 20VR22, B&O Beocord 8802, ITT 580) Philips VR2022S - as VR2022 but with half-speed slow motion Philips VR2023 redesigned fascia and remote control as standard Philips VR2024 - as VR2023 with added linear stereo (also as VR2099 in dark grey casing) Grundig Video 2×4 basic recorder 700 (also ITT 480, Siemens FM204) Grundig Video 2×4 plus 770 — as 2×4 with added trick play Second generation Philips VR2025 rebranded Grundig Video 2×4 Super (PAL/SECAM tuner—recorded SECAM as PAL) Philips VR2220/VR2120 two-part (recorder/tuner-timer) portable machine (also Pye and Radiola 22VR20, Tesla VM2220 PAL/SECAM, Seleco ST900/901) Philips VR2324 basic compact machine (Pye 23VR24, Siera 23VR24) Philips VR2330 - as VR2324 with linear stereo 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 (features as for VR2340) Philips VR2840 - as VR2340 with added 16-hour XL recording mode Philips VR2870 - as VR2340 with PCM hi-fi stereo (only seen in photos, so perhaps just a development machine that wasn't released?) Grundig Video 2×4 Super 800: with noiseless Picture Search at 7x forwards and 5x reverse, real-time tape counter (also Philips VR2025, Siemens FM402) Grundig Video 2×4 850 — as 2×4 Super Grundig Video 2×4 Stereo 880 — as 2×4 Super with added linear stereo (Siemens FM404) Third generation Philips VR2414 basic compact machine Philips VR2424 slightly redesigned VR2414 Grundig Video 2×4 1600 — basic machine, the only V2000 not to feature DTF Grundig Video 2×4 2000 Grundig Video 2×4 2000a — as 2000 but with redesigned electronics and updated display (also Siemens FM324) Grundig Video 2×4 2200 — as 2000 with added linear stereo Grundig Video 2×8 2080 — as 2000 but with 16-hour XL recording mode (also Siemens FM328, FM328-9 PAL/SECAM) Grundig Video 2×8 2280 — as 2080 with added linear stereo (also Siemens FM428, FM429, FM429-9 PAL/SECAM) Grundig Video 2×8 2280a — as 2280 but completely redesigned to align with the VS2nn VHS models Technical specifications TV system: 625/50 black and color PAL and SECAM Tape: 1⁄2 inch (two 1⁄4 inch tracks) Head drum diameter: 65 mm Head drum speed: 1500 rpm Video spread width: SP 22.5μ m / LP 11.25 μm Video head gap width: 0.28 μm Azimuth angle of the two heads: +/− 15° Fitting Position: Rear Axle: 2° 38′ 51″ Tape speed: SP 2.442 cm/s, LP 1.221 cm/s Relative speed: SP 5.08 m/s, LP 5.09 m/s Video track length: 102 mm Control track: not required due to DTF, but design included a 0.3 mm cue track for later applications Cassette dimension (L × W × H): VCC 183 × 110.5 × 26 mm, VMC 108 × 72 × 21 mm Video resolution luminance: 3 MHz = 240 lines (later, e.g. Philips VR 2840: 3.1 MHz = 250 lines) Video resolution Chroma (color): approx. 0.5 MHz; Reduced color with auxiliary support at 625 kHz Sound: Longitudinal track (stereo) with DNS (Dynamic Noise Suppression) Audio track width: mono 0.6mm, stereo 2 × 0.25 mm (track pitch: 0.15 mm)

Was there a NTSC version?

Wikipedia article is only stating it was PAL. Plus SECAM to an extent. If that is the case then that is technically commercial suicide from a North American and Japanese point of view. Without a NTSC version that was an own goal for the format. Seemed Video 2000 had the best of VHS and Betamax combined. 81.159.28.10 (talk) 20:12, 6 April 2023 (UTC)