RE: [AV Media Matters] First Question

[rohre@arlut.utexas.edu]

M2 was a VHS/SVHS similar format for Electronic News Gathering.  Ampex was
competeting with Sony Betacam with it.  Could this be what the customer has
and called M20?

I think its record time for a "T120" length was 20 minutes per cassette; the
tapes were dual coated to offer the M2 bandwidth and the VHS bandwidth.

It was and is a superior low dropout tape in the Ampex 289 type, (Now
Quantegy).

I personally was involved with a Navy contractor with the development of an 18
channel Sonar recorder based on this tape, but running on a conventional VHS
transport in the 2 hour mode, or the slower modes.  The bandwidth per channel
is 2 kHz for those 18 channels. What Data Acquisition Systems did, was use the
Sony music multiplexer widely sold in Europe (and in high end audio channels
in North America) to convert Video VHS recorders into long play stereo music
machines, (using the video track).  By multiplexing channels, they put 9 on
Left and 9 on Right.

This SVHS tape has evolved into the 489 now known as ADAT tape and sold by
Quantegy for the Alesis digital music recorder.

The Navy application now uses the Racal Storeplex Delta SVHS based digital
helical scan recorder for 32 channels at 45.5 kHz per channel.  We find the
Quantegy 489 ADAT tape to be the superior tape of all professional broadcast
brands tested, for reliable use in tough field conditions this recorder has
survived.  It is used Airborne, shipboard, and in portable field huts on
trucks.

The Quantegy dual coated tapes deliver higher digital data quality percentage
readouts on the Delta than the recorder manufacturer's screened tapes in our
uses.

Stuart Rohre
Univ. of TX. Applied Research Labs
ESL Analog/Digital Lab