 | |
 HDCAM small videotape | |
| Media type | Magnetic tape, ½-inch |
|---|---|
| Usage | Video production |
| Released | 1997; 28 years ago (1997) |
HDCAM is ahigh-definition videodigital recordingvideocassette version ofDigital Betacam introduced in 1997 that uses an 8-bitdiscrete cosine transform (DCT)compressed3:1:1 recording, in1080i-compatible down-sampled resolution of1440 × 1080, and adding24p and 23.976progressive segmented frame (PsF) modes to later models. The HDCAM codec uses rectangular pixels and as such the recorded1440 × 1080 content is upsampled to1920 × 1080 on playback. The recorded video bit rate is144 Mbit/s. Audio is also similar, with four channels ofAES3 20-bit,48 kHzdigital audio. Like Betacam, HDCAM tapes were produced in small and large cassette sizes; the small cassette uses the same form factor as the originalBetamax. The main competitor to HDCAM was theDVCPRO HD format offered by Panasonic, which uses a similar compression scheme and bit rates ranging from 40 to100 Mbit/s depending on frame rate.
HDCAM is standardized asSMPTE 367M, also known asSMPTE D-11. Like most videotape formats, HDCAM is no longer in widespread use, having been superseded by memory cards, disk-based recording formats, and SSDs. Despite its decline in usage, Sony still manufactures new HDCAM tape stock as of 2025.[1]
SMPTE 367M, also known as SMPTE D-11, is theSMPTE standard for HDCAM. The standard specifiescompression ofhigh-definition digital video. D11 source picture rates can be 24, 24/1.001, 25 or 30/1.001 frames per secondprogressive scan, or 50 or 60/1.001 fields per secondinterlaced; compression yields output bit rates ranging from 112 to140 Mbit/s. Each D11 source frame is composed of aluminance channel at1920 × 1080 pixels and achrominance channel at960 × 1080 pixels. During compression, each frame's luminance channel is subsampled at1440 × 1080, while the chrominance channel is subsampled at480 × 1080, meaning 3:1:1 chroma subsampling.[2][3] HDCAM supports recording at 24 FPS for film production applications, but it can be configured for television production. Similar to MPEG IMX, the helical scan head drum is80 mm in diameter. The helical tracks read by the video heads in the drum, are22 μm wide. The video heads have a 15.25°azimuth. Audio is also recorded on the helical tracks.[4]
HDCAM SR was introduced in 2003 and standardised inSMPTE 409M-2005.[5] It uses a higher particle density tape and is capable of recording in 10 bits 4:2:2 or 4:4:4RGB with a video bit rate of440 Mbit/s, and a total data rate of approximately600 Mbit/s.[6] The increased bit rate (over HDCAM) allows HDCAM SR to capture much more of the full bandwidth of theHD-SDI signal (1920 × 1080). Some HDCAM SR VTRs can also use a 2× mode with an even higher video bit rate of990 Mbit/s, allowing for a single 4:4:4 stream at a lower compression or two 4:2:2 video streams simultaneously.[6] HDCAM SR usesMPEG-4 Part 2 Simple Studio Profile[5] for compression, and expands the number of audio channels up to 12 at 24-bit,48 kHz. Each channel is capable of recording AES3 non-audio data.
HDCAM SR was used commonly for HDTV television production. In the mid-2000s, many prime-time network television shows used HDCAM SR as a master recording medium,[7] but it is no longer in widespread use. HDCAM SR storage media production was paused for five months after the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami damaged the only Sony factory producing it,[8][9] which triggered some migration away from the format. Production of HDCAM SR media ceased in 2023.[10]
Some HDCAM VTRs play back older Betacam variants, for example the Sony SRW-5500 HDCAM SR recorder plays back and records HDCAM and HDCAM SR tapes, and with optional hardware also plays and upconverts Digital Betacam tapes to HD format. Tape lengths are the same as for Digital Betacam, up to 40 minutes for S and 124 minutes for L tapes. In 24p mode the runtime increases to 50 and 155 minutes, respectively.
HDCAM tapes are black with an orange lid, and HDCAM SR tapes black with a cyan lid.
440 Mbit/s mode is known asSQ, and880 Mbit/s mode is known asHQ.
Sony also announced a higher compression mode called SR Lite.[11][12] As with the 440 and 880 mode, SR Lite utilizes the MPEG-4 Part 2 Simple Studio Profile but decreases the bit rate to 220 Mbit/s for 60i and183 Mbit/s for 50i. SR Lite is locked at 4:2:2 color sampling but still maintains 10 bit pixel depth. It also allows for 50 and 60p at the cost of a doubled data rate (440 Mbit/s for 60p).
The Sony SRW-5800 HDCAM SR VTR has the ability to record both the left eye and right eye of3D content to a single tape. It syncs the two eyes together and takes up twice as much space on the tape as a normal recording. Other HDSR decks also support 3D such as the SRW-1 HDCAM SR Portable VTR and the SRW-5500/5000 which can play back either channel A or channel B of the Dual Stream 4:2:2 recording.[13]