U-matic
Sony U-matic cassette | |
| Media type | Magnetic cassette tape, ¾-inch |
|---|---|
| Encoding | NTSC, PAL, SECAM |
| Read mechanism | Helical scan drum |
| Write mechanism | Helical scan drum |
| Developed by | Sony |
| Usage | Video production |
| Released | September 1971 |
| Discontinued | June 2000 Technical support: 2016 |
3⁄4-inch Type E Helical Scan or SMPTE E is an analog recording videocassette format marketed by Sony Electronics Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic) and Victor Co. of Japan (JVC). It was initially developed by Sony and shown as a prototype in October 1969, refined and standardized among the three manufacturers in March 1970, and introduced commercially in September 1971 by Sony. The format was branded U-matic by Sony, U-Vision by Panasonic and U-VCR by JVC, referring to the U-shaped tape path as it threads around the video drum.
The format was among the earliest video formats to house videotape inside a cassette, replacing the reel-to-reel systems common at the time. The format uses 3⁄4-inch-wide (19 mm) tape, earning it the nickname "three-quarter-inch" or simply "three-quarter," in contrast to larger open-reel formats like 1 in (25 mm) Type C videotape and 2 in (51 mm) quadruplex videotape.