I Never Thought It Would Happen

I began my career in broadcasting in 1995.  And in the '90s, when you needed to record and playback video, you used videotape...just like it was done in the '50s.  Of course those early VTRs (videotape recorders...the industry term) were larger than refrigerators, and used reel-to-reel tape, up to 2" wide, that traveled at astonishing speeds.  And they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per machine.  And since it was somewhat impractical to drag around a fragile VTR the size of a bookcase, all news footage was still shot on film cameras.

It wasn't until the 1970's that Sony developed a cassette-based videotape format, called U-Matic, that allowed VTRs to be small enough to be truly portable.  And though the early U-Matic (or 3/4" as they are commonly called in the industry because of the width of the tape) machines recorded less-than-stellar video, and weighed up to 50 pounds, the format resulted in the ENG (Electronic News Gathering) revolution; by 1980, film was all but gone from t.v. newsrooms across the county.

Professional ENG videotape formats progressed in quality (and, thankfully, shrunk in size and weight) over the ensuing decades.  And by the start of the 21st century, as hard drive-based computer servers were quickly replacing tape machines in control rooms and edit bays around the world, videotape was still the only practical option for portable broadcast camcorders.  Because even though CDs, DVDs, and eventually iPods had taken over the consumer audio/visual markets, the quality just wasn't good enough for broadcast use.

If you've read this far, you're probably wondering what the point of this blog is, other than a history of professional videotape formats.  But the fact is, back in 1995, 2000, even 2005....I never could imagine a day without videotape.  But we are close to that day.

KTXS was the first station in the Abilene market to transition to "tapeless" ENG camcorders.  For the past five years or so, they've used Sony XDCAM camcorders.  XDCAM uses a robust, professional-grade variant of the consumer Blu-Ray disc format.  The full-size camcorders have a drive mechanism inside that spins the disc as it records the digital video and audio data.

At KTAB/KRBC, we've been shooting news using handheld Sony DSR-PD150/170 camcorders since about 2002.  These cameras use digital videotape as the recording medium, but the recorded digital information is identical to the data stored on KTXS' XDCAM discs.

Our videotape-based camcorders have significant limitations that are shared by all VTRs.  Since we edit all of our news footage using computers, the raw footage must be played back in real time and "captured" into the edit computer.  So, if you shot 20 minutes of footage at a press conference, it will take 20 minutes to ingest that video into the edit computer.   Also, videotape is a "linear" medium, meaning if you want to find a specific shot or interview, you have to fast-forward or rewind the tape.  That's also very time-consuming.  And tape machines have many moving mechanical parts that wear out and break down; and the tape itself wears out after repeated recording and playback cycles.

But all that is changing.  Our parent company, Nexstar Broadcasting, is in the process of converting our operation to a completely tapeless "digital newsroom."  We are receiving brand new high-definition JVC camcorders that record all footage onto small memory cards.  In fact, the only moving parts on the cameras are the lens focus and zoom controls.  There's no tape or disc drive, and the operation is completely silent.  And when it comes time to edit, all we have to do is pull the postage stamp-sized memory out of the camera, insert it into the edit computer, and all of the video is instantly ready for editing.  And once the story is edited, the story is sent to the playback server with just a few mouse clicks, ready for the newscast.

It's a very exciting time.....and I'm excited to be at the forefront of 21st century technology!