Sony Digital Betacam video cassette
introduction to Digital Betacam / Betacam SX / MPEG IMX cassette transfer
Digital Betacam formats were widely used in television production in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, just prior to the adoption of high-definition (HD) video. As a consequence there are many tapes with valuable content at risk of deterioration and loss.
At Greatbear, we provide archival quality transfer of these 'born digital' Digital Betacam (aka DigiBeta or D-Beta), Betacam SX and MPEG IMX video tape recordings, in both PAL and NTSC standards.
We can transfer 2, 4 or 8 channel audio and preserve timecode.
We offer a range of delivery formats for our video transfers. Following International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives TC-06 guidelines, we deliver FFV1 lossless files or 10-bit uncompressed video files in .mkv or .mov containers for archives. We can also produce Apple ProRes mezzanine files for ease of editing. We provide smaller viewing files as H.264 encoded .mp4 files or on DVD. We're happy to create any other digital video files, according to your needs.
We can provide the appropriately-sized USB delivery media for your files, or use media supplied by you, or deliver your files online. Files delivered on hard drive can be for any operating system MacOS, Windows or GNU/Linux and filesystems (HFS+, NTFS or EXT3).
DigiBeta, Betacam SX and MPEG IMX video cassette recordings can vary both in duration and in the extent of physical tape degradation, so we always assess tapes before confirming the price of a transfer.
We offer free assessments - please contact us to discuss your project.
For an introduction to our assessment and treatment processes, please see our guide to "what happens to your video tape".
Digital Betacam / Betacam SX / MPEG IMX machines
Sony's range of Betacam video tape recorders have evolved using the same chassis and ergonomic layout from the BetaSP, BVW series through the DVW (Digital Betacam), DNW (Betacam SX), MSW (MPEG IMX) and HDW (HDCAM) series of machines. These machines are flexible, easy for engineers to service and offer high reliability and often tape and format interchangeability.
Sony also made the J range of smaller, more portable, desktop players that could play several formats and offer PAL / NTSC standards but with less connection flexibility and lower reliability and servicing ease.
These formats and machines were very popular with content creators and broadcasters and many still exist on the second hand market. Spares and parts are still available new from Sony but at very high cost with no guarantee of stocks in the future.
We have a range of DVW, DNW and J3 machines with supplies of key spares, including:
- Sony J-3 SDI
- Sony DVW A500
- Sony DVW A510
- Sony DNW-A65P (PAL / NTSC)
Digital Betacam / Betacam SX / MPEG IMX format variation
| video standard | digital Betacam recording type | 280 Mbit/s SDI digital transfer of audio & video | 2, 4, 8 channels of audio supported | preservation of timecode supported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAL | Digital Betacam | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PAL | Beta SX | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PAL | MPEG IMX | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| NTSC | Digital Betacam | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| NTSC | Beta SX | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| NTSC | MPEG IMX | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Scroll to the right to view full table on smaller screens.
Digital Betacam cassette shell open, showing ½ inch / 12.7mm tape inside
Sony DVW-A500P Digital Betacam and Sony DNW-A65P Betacam SX machines
Digital Betacam cassette dimensions: 25.3 x 14.4 cm. We also transfer the smaller 15.6 x 9.6 cm tapes
Digital Betacam / Betacam SX / MPEG IMX risks & vulnerabilities
The half inch wide metal particle tape used for these three formats is much thinner than earlier analogue formats and so much less robust when physical problems happen. Any mould growth on the edge of the tape pack can be catastrophic, sticking the top or bottom edge of the tape layers together and ripping the tape when wound or played. DigiBeta and BetaSX tape is 14µm thick while MPEG IMX tape is 12.65µm.
We've found some 1990s era Sony branded DigiBeta tapes to shed on playback and gradually increase errors or playback conditions until first the audio crackles and disappears then visual artefacts appear in the picture. Tapes like this can be replayed and captured perfectly but do need some work before this is possible.
Machine obsolescence isn't a huge issue at the moment and generally these machines are reliable and long-lasting but this won't always be the situation, and key spares must be sourced and preserved for the future.
Digital Betacam / Betacam SX / MPEG IMX brands / models
Commonly-found tapes include:
- BASF / EMTEC Digital Betacam Master range
- D6; D12; D22; D32; D40; D34L; D64L; D94L; D124L
- Fujifilm D321 range
- Fuji D321-D6; Fuji D321-D12; Fuji D321-D22; Fuji D321-D32; Fuji D321-D40; Fuji D321-D34L; Fuji D321-D64L; Fuji D321-D94L; Fuji D321-D124L
- Maxell
- Maxell B-D6; Maxell B-D12; Maxell B-D22; Maxell B-D32; Maxell B-D40; Maxell B-D34L; Maxell B-D64L; Maxell B-D94L; Maxell B-D124L
- Sony
- Digital Betcam range: Sony BCT-D12CL; Sony BCT-D6; Sony BCT-D12; Sony BCT-D22; BCT-D32; Sony BCT-40;Sony BCT-34L; Sony BCT-64L; Sony BCT-94L; Sony BCT-124L.
- Betacam SX range: Sony BCT-194SXLA; Sony BCT-184SXLA; Sony BCT-124SXLA; Sony BCT-94SXLA; Sony BCT-64SXLA; Sony BCT-62SXA; Sony BCT-32SXA; Sony BCT-22SXA; Sony BCT-12SXA; Sony BCT-6SXA.
- MPEG IMX range: Sony BCT-184MXL; Sony BCT-124MLX; Sony BCT-94MXL; Sony BCT-64MXL; Sony BCT-60MX; Sony BCT-32MX; Sony BCT-22MX; Sony BCT-12M and Sony BCT-6MX.
Digital Betacam / Betacam SX / MPEG IMX history
Digital Betacam was launched by Sony in 1993, superseding the analogue Betacam and Betacam SP. As a ½ inch digital component video format, it was vastly cheaper and more accessible than the earlier, ¾ inch D1 format.
Betacam SX was introduced in 1996, as a digital version of the already popular Betacam SP, while being a cheaper alternative to Digital Betacam.
Both formats became popular with news-gathering and television production companies in the years prior to HD.
MPEG IMX was a 2001 development of the Digital Betacam format, encoding at a higher bitrate than Betacam SX.
DigiBeta logo; Betacam SX logo; MPEG IMX logo
Video cassettes, tape boxes, compatible cameras and playback machines for DigiBeta, Betcam SX and MPEG IMX can be identified by these logos. All three are trademarks of the Sony Corporation.