The Sony 9-Pin Protocol or P1 protocol is a two-way communications protocol to control advanced video recorders. Sony introduced this protocol to control reel-to-reel type C video tape recorders (VTR) as well as videocassette recorders (VCR). It uses an DE-9 D-Sub connector with 9 pins (hence the name), where bi-directional communication takes place over a four wire cable according to the RS-422 standard.
While nowadays all post-production editing is done with a non-linear editing system, in those days editing was done linearly, using online editing. Editing machines relied heavily on the 9-Pin Protocol to remotely control automatic players and recorders.
Many modern hard disk recorders and solid-state drive recorders can still emulate a 1982 Sony BVW-75 Betacam tape recorder.
Sony's standard also specifies a pinout:
Pin | on master | on slave |
---|---|---|
1 | Frame ground | Frame ground |
2 | Receive A | Transmit A |
3 | Transmit B | Receive B |
4 | Transmit common | Receive common |
5 | Spare or ground | Spare or ground |
6 | Receive common | Transmit common |
7 | Receive B | Transmit B |
8 | Transmit A | Receive A |
9 | Frame ground | Frame ground |
This 9-pin RS-422 pinout has become a de facto standard, used by most brands in the broadcast industry. In the new millennium, RS-422 is slowly phased out in favor of Ethernet for control functions. However its simple way to perform troubleshooting means it will stay around for a long time.
In broadcast automation the Video Disk Control Protocol (VDCP) use the 9-Pin Protocol to playout broadcast programming schedules.
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a DTE such as a computer terminal, and a DCE, such as a modem. The standard defines the electrical characteristics and timing of signals, the meaning of signals, and the physical size and pinout of connectors. The current version of the standard is TIA-232-F Interface Between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment Employing Serial Binary Data Interchange, issued in 1997. The RS-232 standard had been commonly used in computer serial ports and is still widely used in industrial communication devices.
Non-linear editing is a form of offline editing for audio, video, and image editing. In offline editing, the original content is not modified in the course of editing. In non-linear editing, edits are specified and modified by specialized software. A pointer-based playlist, effectively an edit decision list (EDL), for video and audio, or a directed acyclic graph for still images, is used to keep track of edits. Each time the edited audio, video, or image is rendered, played back, or accessed, it is reconstructed from the original source and the specified editing steps. Although this process is more computationally intensive than directly modifying the original content, changing the edits themselves can be almost instantaneous, and it prevents further generation loss as the audio, video, or image is edited.
On computers, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in parallel. Throughout most of the history of personal computers, data has been transferred through serial ports to devices such as modems, terminals, various peripherals, and directly between computers.
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette recorders (VCRs) and camcorders. Videotapes have also been used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram.
Linear video editing is a video editing post-production process of selecting, arranging and modifying images and sound in a predetermined, ordered sequence. Regardless of whether it was captured by a video camera, tapeless camcorder, or recorded in a television studio on a video tape recorder (VTR) the content must be accessed sequentially.
A hard disk recorder (HDR) is a system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to reel-to-reel audio tape recording and video tape recorders, and provide non-linear editing capabilities unavailable using tape recorders. Audio HDR systems, which can be standalone or computer-based, are typically combined with provisions for digital mixing and processing of the audio signal to produce a digital audio workstation (DAW).
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swappable battery facing towards the user, hot-swappable recording media, and an internally contained quiet optical zoom lens.
The DIN connector is an electrical connector that was standardized by the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN), the German Institute for Standards, in the mid 1950's, initial with 3 pins for mono, but when stereo connections and gear appeared in late 1950's, versions with 5 pins or more were launched. The male DIN connectors (plugs) feature a 13.2 mm diameter metal shield with a notch that limits the orientation in which plug and socket can mate. The range of DIN connectors, different only in the configuration of the pins, have been standardized as DIN 41524 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 ; DIN 45322 ; DIN 45329 / IEC/DIN EN 60130–9 ; and DIN 45326 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9.
RS-422, also known as TIA/EIA-422, is a technical standard originated by the Electronic Industries Alliance that specifies electrical characteristics of a digital signaling circuit. It was meant to be the foundation of a suite of standards that would replace the older RS-232C standard with standards that offered much higher speed, better immunity from noise, and longer cable lengths. RS-422 systems can transmit data at rates as high as 10 Mbit/s, or may be sent on cables as long as 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) at lower rates. It is closely related to RS-423, which uses the same signaling systems but on a different wiring arrangement.
Betacam is a family of half-inch professional videocassette products developed by Sony in 1982. In colloquial use, "Betacam" singly is often used to refer to a Betacam camcorder, a Betacam tape, a Betacam video recorder or the format itself.
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smallest connectors used on computer systems.
Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator. They can also run in a live assist mode when there are on-air personnel present at the master control, television studio or control room.
RS-485, also known as TIA-485(-A) or EIA-485, is a standard defining the electrical characteristics of drivers and receivers for use in serial communications systems. Electrical signaling is balanced, and multipoint systems are supported. The standard is jointly published by the Telecommunications Industry Association and Electronic Industries Alliance (TIA/EIA). Digital communications networks implementing the standard can be used effectively over long distances and in electrically noisy environments. Multiple receivers may be connected to such a network in a linear, multidrop bus. These characteristics make RS-485 useful in industrial control systems and similar applications.
U-matic is an analogue recording videocassette format first shown by Sony in prototype in October 1969, and introduced to the market in September 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various reel-to-reel or open-reel formats of the time. The videotape is 3⁄4 in (19 mm) wide, so the format is often known as "three-quarter-inch" or simply "three-quarter", compared to open reel videotape formats in use, such as 1 in (25 mm) type C videotape and 2 in (51 mm) quadruplex videotape.
Offline editing is part of the post-production process of film making and television production in which raw footage is copied and the copy only is then edited, thereby not affecting the camera original film stock or video tape. Once the project has been completely offline edited, the original media will be assembled in the online editing stage.
Online editing is a post-production linear video editing process that is performed in the final stage of a video production. It occurs after offline editing. For the most part, online editing has been replaced by video editing software that operate on non-linear editing systems (NLE). High-end post-production companies still use the Offline-Online Editing workflow with NLEs.
Video Disk Control Protocol (VDCP) is a proprietary communications protocol primarily used in broadcast automation to control hard disk video servers for broadcast television. VDCP was originally developed by Louth Automation and is commonly called the Louth Protocol. At the time it was developed when Hewlett Packard and Tektronix were both bringing to market the first of the VideoFile Servers to be used in the broadcast industry. They contacted Louth Automation who then designed the communications protocol basing it on Sony protocols of both the Sony LMS Storage Device and the Sony VTR. The principal work was carried out by Ken Louth at Louth Automation.
In broadcasting, channel playout is the generation of the source signal of a radio or television channel produced by a broadcaster, coupled with the transmission of this signal for primary distribution or direct-to-audience distribution via any network. Such radio or television distribution networks include terrestrial broadcasting, cable networks, satellites, IPTV, OTT Video, point-to-point transport over managed networks or the public Internet, etc.
VISCA is a professional camera control protocol used with PTZ cameras. It was designed by Sony to be used on several of its surveillance and OEM block cameras.
Apple ProRes is a high quality, "visually lossless" lossy video compression format developed by Apple Inc. for use in post-production that supports video resolution up to 8K. It is the successor of the Apple Intermediate Codec and was introduced in 2007 with Final Cut Studio 2. Much like the H.26x and MPEG standards, the ProRes family of codecs use compression algorithms based on the discrete cosine transform (DCT). ProRes is widely used as a final format delivery method for HD broadcast files in commercials, features, Blu-ray and streaming.