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 A Video 2000 videocassette | |
| Media type | Magnetic cassette tape |
|---|---|
| Encoding | PAL |
| Standard | 625 lines |
| Developed by | Philips Grundig |
| Usage | Home movies |
| Released | 1979; 46 years ago (1979) |
| Discontinued | 1988; 37 years ago (1988) |
Video 2000 (also known asV2000, with the tape standardVideo Compact Cassette, orVCC) is aconsumervideocassette system andanalogue recordingstandard developed byPhilips andGrundig to compete withJVC'sVHS andSony'sBetamax video technologies.[1] It was designed for thePAL color television standard, but some models additionally handledSECAM. Distribution of Video 2000 products began in 1979 exclusively in Europe, South Africa and Argentina and ended in 1988.[2]
Although some initial models and advertising featured a mirror-image "VCR" badge based on the logo of Philips's earlierVideo Cassette Recording (VCR) system, Video 2000 was an entirely new (and incompatible) format, which incorporated many technical innovations.[3] Despite this, the format was not a major success and was eventually discontinued, having lost out to the rival VHS system in thevideotape format war.
Philips named the videotape standard Video Compact Cassette (VCC) to complement its landmark audioCompact Cassette format introduced in 1963, but the format itself was marketed under thetrademark Video 2000.[4]
Despite the name, VCCs are marginally larger than VHS cassettes—shorter, but thicker and deeper.[5][6] They have two co-planarreels containing half-inch (12.5 mm) widechromium dioxidemagnetic tape. The format used only half (6.25 mm) of the half-inch tape on a given "side", and so it is occasionally referred to erroneously as a quarter-inch tape format, despite its physical tape width. The cassette can then be flipped over to use the other half of the tape, thus doubling playing time.[7] Additionally, the cassettes can be recorded onto using an “XL” recording mode (similar to VHS’s LP and Betamax’s βII modes), which doubles the playing time again.
| Tape label | Tape length | Recording time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ft | m | Normal | XL | |
| VCC 120 | 295 | 90 | 2 × 60 minutes (=2 h) | 2 × 120 minutes (=4 h) |
| VCC 240 | 590 | 180 | 2 × 120 minutes (=4 h) | 2 × 240 minutes (=8 h) |
| VCC 360 | 879 | 268 | 2 × 180 minutes (=6 h) | 2 × 360 minutes (=12 h) |
| VCC 480 | 1168 | 356 | 2 × 240 minutes (=8 h) | 2 × 480 minutes (=16 h) |
| VCC 540 | 1312 | 400 | 2 × 270 minutes (=9 h) | 2 × 540 minutes (=18 h) |
Dynamic Track Following (DTF) eliminated the need for a separate control track and enabled the video heads to accurately follow the recorded tracks on the tape during playback. Therefore, by design V2000 machines do not require a video tracking control.[8]
A key intention of the V2000 format, thanks to DTF, was tape compatibility. A tape from any machine should play perfectly on any other machine. However, when the VR2020 reached the shops it was discovered that its audio head was 2.5 mm out of position compared to that on Grundig's Video 2×4 (Grundig V1600). This meant that the sound would be out of sync with the picture when played back on the other type of machine. Both manufacturers' hastily moved the audio head 1.25 mm to a common position, but compatibility issues remained for recordings made on the first generation of machines.[9]
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