Electronic Media 

Published: 01-09-95 



DISK-BASED GEAR WON'T SPELL END FOR VIDEOTAPE    



Byline: By Joe Fedele



 Computer-based video recorders and file servers are getting a

lot of attention and prompting a lot of engineers to consider

replacing their videotape equipment.

  Replacing videotape recorders with disk systems is not a

one-for-one swap where we get rid of all of ourvideotape

machines.

 In fact, the process of converting to disk-based systems is

similar to when we swapped out our 3/4-inch machines with

Betacam.

 Despite what some in the industry say, the introduction of

disk-based systems won't mean the end of videotape.

  Here are some things to consider:

 Do you remember when your two-machine 3/4-inch edit rooms were

replaced by three-machine rooms that consisted of two Beta

machines and one 3/4-inch machine?

 We never did lose all of our 3/4-inch machines. The simple

truth is that there was so much archived material on 3/4-inch

tape that this format could not be wiped out as a broadcast

recording medium.

  Some 3/4-inch machines will be around for a very long time.

The same holds true for Beta machines.

  What we will probably see is a partial replacement of our

Betacam equipment.

 The only area where I foresee a complete replacement of

videotape equipment is in time-delay playbacks of network feeds.

In such instances material is recorded, time-shifted, played

back and then discarded.

 This is the ideal application for disk-based systems because a

permanent archived copy of the program material is not required

and no videotape is used.

 One additional advantage in such a system is that commercials

can be easily replaced or inserted throughout the re-feed

without stopping the recording. Your traffic and sales

departments will appreciate that.

 A satellite room is another area where disk storage can be used

to temporarily record a feed that can be either transferred to

videotape or be discarded.

 The downside of using disk recorders is their limited storage.

  Disk systems must be regularly purged of unused information in

the same way you manage files on a personal computer hard drive.

It's time intensive, but crucial.

  The upside of using disk recorders in a satellite room is the

efficiencies that can be realized when you link computers with

servers located in edit rooms.

 Feeds being recorded for archive can be simultaneously edited

in several rooms. This eliminates the need to interrupt the

recording of a news feed so that you can edit the beginning of

it in time for air.

  In the future we will have to devise a system to archive large

amounts of footage that have been recorded on the server.

Long-term storage can include magneto optical drives, which are

merely fancy CD-ROMs, and videotape.

 That's right, videotape. Dollar for dollar, it's still the

least expensive method of storage.