This article is about the MII video tape format. For the game console by Panasonic, see Panasonic M2.
MII is a professional analog recordingvideocassette format developed by Panasonic in 1986 in competition with Sony's Betacam SP format. It was technically similar to Betacam SP, using metal-formulated tape loaded in the cassette, and utilizing component video recording.
MII is sometimes incorrectly referred to as M2; the official name uses Roman numerals, and is pronounced "em two". Just as Betacam SP was an improved version of its predecessor Betacam (originally derived from Betamax) with higher video and audio quality, MII was an enhanced development of its predecessor, the failed M format (originally derived from VHS). There were two sizes of MII tape, the larger of which is close to VHS size and has a running time of up to around 90 minutes, the smaller tape was about half the size and runs up to around 20 minutes, and was also the size in which head cleaner tapes were supplied.
Panasonic manufactured mains-powered MII editing and playback decks which accepted both the large and small tapes, as well as portable recorders which used only the small cassette.
Unlike M, MII was somewhat successful when it was first launched, with customers like NBC in the US and NHK in Japan using it for electronic news gathering (ENG), and PBS in the USA using it in the late 1980s to delay their television network programming by 3 hours on broadcast delay for later airing on the West Coast. But MII also suffered from lackluster marketing, a lack of customer support and public relations from Panasonic and Matsushita (Panasonic's parent company), and most importantly, a lack of reliability due to said lack of support for repair and service. This resulted in MII not being nearly as successful as Betacam SP. NBC eventually dropped the format in the early 1990s for Panasonic's D3 Format, and ultimately began broadcasting all of its television programming and television commercials from digital video servers in the 2000s.
In the UK, MII was used in the late 1980s and early 1990s by three ITV franchisees; Thames Television, Anglia Television and TV-am, whilst all other contemporary broadcasters adopted Sony's Betacam SP. Of the three, Thames and TV-am lost their licences in the 1991 ITV franchise auctions, depleting still further the already scant MII usage in the country.
MII is barely used nowadays, and spare parts as well as tapes for the format are now hard to come by, although used MII equipment can occasionally be found cheaply on the professional video equipment market and online auctions. MII faded earlier than other analog video formats, in favor of digital tapes such as Digital Betacam, DVCAM and DVCPro, which were themselves superseded by high definition discs and cards. A small number of specialist companies maintain old MII machines in order to offer a transfer service for archive footage to modern formats.
The MII format was completely analog, with four audio channels. Six tracks were recorded on the tape: two by the moving heads and four by the stationary head.
Beginning at the top of the tape, the first two tracks were audio channels two and one, recorded linearly by the stationary head. Below these were diagonal tracks recorded by the moving head in a method known as helical scan, which increases the effective tape speed and thus the bandwidth needed for storing video. There were two tracks called C and Y, carrying frequency modulated video components. The C track also contained audio channels three and four, frequency modulated. Below the moving head tracks, the last two tracks carried control and time code information, respectively, from the stationary head. The control signal was used to synchronize the moving heads for playback.
Video was split among the C and Y tracks: Luminance was simply frequency modulated and written solely to the Y track. The two chrominance signals, Pr and Pb, were combined by chrominance time compressed multiplexing (CTCM), which is a type of time division multiplexing. The resulting CTCM signal was frequency modulated and written to the C track.
Since there was no more room on the face of the tape for the other two audio channels, they were frequency modulated and recorded on the C track. In other words, audio channels three and four and the video chrominance (CTCM) signal were all frequency multiplexed and recorded on one track by the moving heads.[1]
GalleryEdit
S-VHS and MII tapes in comparison with other common formats.
^Service Manual, Panasonic MII (P.N. VQS0264) by Panasonic Matsushita Electric
External linksEdit
lionlamb.us List of videotape formats past and present, with a mention of the M format
mediacollege.com The M Format
ultimatewebdesigning.com List of videotape formats past and present, the M format listed
Sony Betamax Case Report
The History of Television, 1942 to 2000, page 194, By Albert Abramson, Christopher H. Sterling
Encyclopedia of television, Volume 1, page 251, By Horace Newcomb
The History of Television, 1942 to 2000, page 214, By Albert Abramson, Christopher H. Sterling, NBC use
August 29, 2023
videocassette, format, this, article, about, video, tape, format, game, console, panasonic, panasonic, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, c. This article is about the MII video tape format For the game console by Panasonic see Panasonic M2 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources MII videocassette format news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message MII is a professional analog recording videocassette format developed by Panasonic in 1986 in competition with Sony s Betacam SP format It was technically similar to Betacam SP using metal formulated tape loaded in the cassette and utilizing component video recording MIIMedia typeMagnetic TapeEncodingNTSC PALRead mechanismHelical scanWrite mechanismHelical scanStandardInterlaced videoDeveloped byPanasonicUsageVideo productionMII is sometimes incorrectly referred to as M2 the official name uses Roman numerals and is pronounced em two Just as Betacam SP was an improved version of its predecessor Betacam originally derived from Betamax with higher video and audio quality MII was an enhanced development of its predecessor the failed M format originally derived from VHS There were two sizes of MII tape the larger of which is close to VHS size and has a running time of up to around 90 minutes the smaller tape was about half the size and runs up to around 20 minutes and was also the size in which head cleaner tapes were supplied Panasonic manufactured mains powered MII editing and playback decks which accepted both the large and small tapes as well as portable recorders which used only the small cassette Unlike M MII was somewhat successful when it was first launched with customers like NBC in the US and NHK in Japan using it for electronic news gathering ENG and PBS in the USA using it in the late 1980s to delay their television network programming by 3 hours on broadcast delay for later airing on the West Coast But MII also suffered from lackluster marketing a lack of customer support and public relations from Panasonic and Matsushita Panasonic s parent company and most importantly a lack of reliability due to said lack of support for repair and service This resulted in MII not being nearly as successful as Betacam SP NBC eventually dropped the format in the early 1990s for Panasonic s D3 Format and ultimately began broadcasting all of its television programming and television commercials from digital video servers in the 2000s In the UK MII was used in the late 1980s and early 1990s by three ITV franchisees Thames Television Anglia Television and TV am whilst all other contemporary broadcasters adopted Sony s Betacam SP Of the three Thames and TV am lost their licences in the 1991 ITV franchise auctions depleting still further the already scant MII usage in the country MII is barely used nowadays and spare parts as well as tapes for the format are now hard to come by although used MII equipment can occasionally be found cheaply on the professional video equipment market and online auctions MII faded earlier than other analog video formats in favor of digital tapes such as Digital Betacam DVCAM and DVCPro which were themselves superseded by high definition discs and cards A small number of specialist companies maintain old MII machines in order to offer a transfer service for archive footage to modern formats Contents 1 Recording method 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksRecording method EditThe MII format was completely analog with four audio channels Six tracks were recorded on the tape two by the moving heads and four by the stationary head Beginning at the top of the tape the first two tracks were audio channels two and one recorded linearly by the stationary head Below these were diagonal tracks recorded by the moving head in a method known as helical scan which increases the effective tape speed and thus the bandwidth needed for storing video There were two tracks called C and Y carrying frequency modulated video components The C track also contained audio channels three and four frequency modulated Below the moving head tracks the last two tracks carried control and time code information respectively from the stationary head The control signal was used to synchronize the moving heads for playback Video was split among the C and Y tracks Luminance was simply frequency modulated and written solely to the Y track The two chrominance signals Pr and Pb were combined by chrominance time compressed multiplexing CTCM which is a type of time division multiplexing The resulting CTCM signal was frequency modulated and written to the C track Since there was no more room on the face of the tape for the other two audio channels they were frequency modulated and recorded on the C track In other words audio channels three and four and the video chrominance CTCM signal were all frequency multiplexed and recorded on one track by the moving heads 1 Gallery Edit S VHS and MII tapes in comparison with other common formats MII VHS and S VHS cassettes MII VHS and S VHS bottoms showing MII differences AU 65 P VCR playing MII tape Loading mechanism highlighted See also EditMReferences Edit Service Manual Panasonic MII P N VQS0264 by Panasonic Matsushita ElectricExternal links Editterraguide com List of Videotape formats with a mention on MII lionlamb us List of videotape formats past and present with a mention of the M format mediacollege com The M Format ultimatewebdesigning com List of videotape formats past and present the M format listed Sony Betamax Case Report DC Video on MII The History of Television 1942 to 2000 page 194 By Albert Abramson Christopher H Sterling Encyclopedia of television Volume 1 page 251 By Horace Newcomb The History of Television 1942 to 2000 page 214 By Albert Abramson Christopher H Sterling NBC use Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title MII videocassette format amp oldid 1167717489, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
