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As I mentioned in the article "A BRIEF HISTORY OF VIDEO TAPE" the Beta format was loosely structured around one that Sony already was selling to the broadcast industry. (To check out the "History" click here). Above we see the top and bottom of the U-matic cassette. It used a three quarter tape traveling at a much faster speed than our Beta machines and the cassette came in two sizes, what you see above is the smaller one. Click on the picture and information will appear to identify the various external parts. You'll notice that it has two locating holes like the Beta cassette. The recording lock out plug was removed to prevent accidental erase. The front lid flipped up when loaded to expose the tape for threading. It is locked in place internally by a lever which is indexed from the front. The entrance guide or groove was to guide the cassette into proper position when inserted into the machine, necessary with the machines that accepted both size cassettes. In the upper left you'll notice the reels are one sided, this is because they are nest together inside the cassette. You'll see this better in photos coming up. Click on the photo to see it with the arrows removed. Next let's look at how the tape path of the beta and U-matic compare. Click on the photo and you can see the three systems side by side. Even though the tape travel is in opposite direction you can see the similarity, especially between the later design Beta and the U-matic. The pinch roller is solid black in each diagram. Click on the photo and you can see the interior of the shell. The design is simpler than the Beta having no locks for the reels and only one friction tab. The leader was clear and end detection was LED and photocell. Notice once again how the reels nested together to conserve space. To see the photo less the arrows, click again. Now to move on into the strange and different. To continue on to the next stop on our travels through the video formats click here. To go back to the page on the Beta Cassette click here. |