THE PAST QUARTER-CENTURY AND THE NEXT DECADE OF VIDEOTAPE RECORDING

Since the first commercially successful videotape recorder (VTR) was introduced in 1956, many VTRs have been developed and put on the market. If the picture quality is almost the same, the tape consumption per hour (TCH) of a commercially successful VTR in its sales year will decrease according to a trend line of one-tenth per ten years. In other words, the recording density will be increased by a rule relating to the trend line. If the picture quality is improved, the trend line will move toward a higher TCH position on a parallel line. The future specifications of the VTR as a function of TCH can be predicted from such a trend chart. The miniaturization of the recording pitch and wavelength is a motivating force of VTR development. A high-utility, high-performance, but low-cost VTR was developed and continues to improve. The harmonization of hardware and software is the next important challenge. In this article, a short technical history of the VTR, the future of the VTR predicted from the trend chart, and the technical motivating force of VTR development are discussed.