> From foster@sting.hao.ucar.edu Tue Jun  9 17:20:09 1992
> Date: Tue, 9 Jun 92 17:20:03 MDT
> From: foster@sting.hao.ucar.edu (Ben Foster)
> To: don@ncar.ucar.edu
> Subject: umatic
> 
> 
> I've heard there are (at least) two kinds of U-matic tape:
> 3/4 and 3/4sp. If I say macr=videoumatic, which kind do I
> get? What's the diff? 

All video has a visible y-dimension of 486 but the resolution 
(in x) available in each line varies with the format. U-matic provides about
260 "pixels" across and U-matic-SP provides about 330, which matches closely
NTSC broadcast bandwidth. We produce all U-matic animation in the SP mode
because an SP tape can be played back on *any* U-matic player. You'll note
that this is not also true of S-VHS, which absolutely cannot be played
back on a VHS player.

To confuse all of this a bit more, we're only talking about luminance,
or b/w resolution, not color.

A U-matic-SP master tape, aside from NTSC artificacts, is a
well-balanced medium that can deliver about all of the
luma and color resolution that a broadcast channel can stand
(a subtle hint on why the format has done so well with the
broadcast industry over the years ;-)

don