Professional video recording: Its perspectives in Russia

By Lavrentiy Lishin

In review published two years ago (“625”, 2000, № 6, Jury Michailovsjiy, “Videocassette recorders”), parameters and classifications of many types of analogous and digital videocassette recorders used in TV centers of the world of that time were described in detail. Now production of analogous videocassette recorders by leading companies had almost stopped. There was a report, that the Sony Company had closed the production of videocassette recorders of the most spread professional format Betacam SP. At the same time each year the new digital recording formats and corresponding to them equipment lines that satisfy most refined requirements of production of standard TV movies and TV programs with formats of shot 4:3 and 16:9 and production of programs by different High-definition television standards are born.

Usual interior of a modern editing facility: less video equipment, more computers

In our country also the active switch from analogous technology of programs production to digital had started, and it happens not only on large TV centers of wealthy regions, but also in not big, relatively poor TV companies. For Russia the following figures are usual: earlier the part of most inexpensive videocassette recorders of S-VHS format used in small companies was 80…85%, now it is less than 50%. In small companies active purchasing of video cameras of DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO formats is happening. Assembly of editing projection booths had also changes significantly: earlier usual editing projection booths were equipped with mixer and 2:3 videocassette recorders, and now many small TV companies prefer to equip editing projection booths with nonlinear systems and one videocassette recorder of digital format corresponding to video camera format. Possibly, in these companies had accounted exploitation costs for videocassette recorders and nonlinear systems and started to refuse from recording to the tape. Considering the continuous growth of PC operation speed, fast access to required during editing program material, appearing of multi-channeled nonlinear systems with entry and outlet digital interfaces operating in real time scale and other new opportunities it is easy to assume, that in some period of time videocassette recorders will totally disappear from editing projection booths.

Large TV companies in Russia also intensively switch from analogous videocassette recorders of Betacam SP format to digital, and the choice of digital recording format happens according to desire of technical management with consideration of financial opportunities. For example, TVC had chosen DVCPRO50 format for recording of artistic telecast and DVCPRO for recording of news and sports programs; TV-6 had chosen Digital Betacam, “Culture” had chosen MPEG IMX, STS had chosen Digital Betacam, DVCAM, etc. However wide application of systems of nonlinear editing and servers also puts up a question about gradual switch to tapeless technologies. Of course, for some time recorded cassettes are going to stay the main document of finished work (recorded and edited program), but also the same document can become the DVD disc or other new optical disc medium. In this case the sale of finished programs will be done with the help of discs, and magnetic video recording as complicated and expensive multi-functional videocassette recorders will got to the past.

So where in the nearest future, according to my opinion, will save tape cassettes? Hard positions remain at video cameras, operating with cassettes based on the tape of 6.3 mm width. Such video cameras are used in small and in big companies. For them small sizes and weight, economy video transport, high quality of recorded digital signals and opportunity of comfortable transportation of finished products as recorded videocassettes is usual. These advantages allow hoping at the long existence of magnetic video recording in the spheres of news collection and recording of programs, especially in extreme conditions (during vibration, work in wide interval of temperature, recording of sports competitions, etc). The range of such equipment of highly wide. Besides the Sony Company had already presented the compact disc facility DSR-DU1, which contains hard 2.5" disc with memory volume of 40 GB, which allows performing the recording of 3 h length, with buffer memory of 8 sec, which leads an opportunity of delay of recording of unexpected event. Besides concurrent recording on the tape for increase of general time up to 6 h is also foreseen. For sure, this is one of the first steps of transfer to tapeless technology in the sphere of reportage, which will be followed by the others.

In spite of that videocassette recorders mainly are going to leave editing projection booths, in small amount they will be applied for loading of nonlinear editing systems and other digital equipment. The most difficult situation is in spheres of monitoring and archives. In last years we saw hoe fast archives with rolls, on which the tape with records of programs of Q, B, C formats is stored were getting old. Soon there will be nothing to reproduce these rolls on. Attempts to re-record archives to analogous cassettes of Betacam SP format are also doomed, as videocassette recorders of this format and for recording of SECAM signals are not produced any more. Materials in analogous format S-VHS turn out to be in low quality. It is obvious that application of this format for archiving in many small TV companies is provided by budget thoughts and is not perspective one.

Separate interest is presented by monitoring (recording) questions of broadcasted programs. According to the law, it has to be conducted by all TV companies, saving records of transmitted on the air programs for three months. That allows to solve all arguable questions with advertising broadcasting, copyright and pleadings. In the majority of Russian companies monitoring is done by recording of TV programs on domestic videocassette recorders VHS, and personnel has to deal with marking of cassette, their storage and search of required plots. If programs are broadcasted by several channels that provokes some difficulties. In last years there appeared automated monitoring systems, based on tapeless technologies. In them digitalized TV signals are recorded in hardly condensed form, so operative memory of PC is quite enough to provide recording of programs for three months. All broadcasted TV programs can be in put in archives automatically or by hand. In this case developed for PC program automatically equips TV programs with address-temporary code and digitalizes archived files. That allows easily finding of required programs in archives and re-record them to CD-ROM discs at the same computer. As a result exploitation costs at tapeless monitoring become lower than at recording to the tape on domestic videocassette recorders.

The question of choice of digital format of video recording for archiving requires separate analysis and detailed processing. Some foreign companies offer different variants of automated archives with use of video recording of TV programs on cassettes, PC hard discs, and optic discs. At that many leading companies think that it is necessary to build automated archives of broadcasting quality (with digital flow of 50 Mbit/sec) and any additional grip is going to lead to inadmissible distortions. At present few tape transport, automatic manipulator, set of cassettes can create such archives and servers and that can afford only big company. It is important only that all programs were digitalized and use for video recording usual type of digital formats. For such an archive there should be considered a technology of entry of new data in it there should be constructed the system of object description of metadata and foreseen an opportunity of examination of creative personnel with simplified description of objects (or fragments of programs). New standards of metadata for contemporary large archives are also necessary as choice of format of digital cassette for video recording. At that it is necessary to take into consideration that any archive with videocassettes has to have an opportunity to operate synchronous with video archive of low resolution, that can add it at any moment.

Appearance of automated archives for compact digital television signals, based on tapeless technology, presentation for creative search to producers of questioner programs or hardly compact digital data is advanced direction, comfortable for preparing of news programs and short plots.

Laser disk JVC MC 7000 library

Most close to it is standing automated archive, performed as robotized DVD-system (for example, on props MC-8000 of the JVC Company), together with server. Volume of information in such props can achieve 5.4 TB. At presence at them of return facility gives an opportunity to record on one DVD disc of up to 9.4 GB of material. Together with coders for preliminary compression of recorded digital flows up to 6 Mbit/sec such an archive can provide all needs of contemporary regional company. At that very fast access to information will be limited only by the amount of creative workers, who operate with archive at the same time. That is why friendly interface for clients is the most important element of any archive.

For storage of serious programs, re-recording of television movies and TV serials are offered videocassette recorders HDW-F500 of HDCAM format of the Sony Company, AJ-HD150 of DVCPRO HD format and Varicam AJ-HDC27FE video cameras of the Panasonic Company, operating in high definition television formats and providing very high quality of image. In that sphere of programs recording high speed digital flows are required while inaccessible for recording on optic discs that for some time store digital recording to magnetic tape.