umatic.uib.no





institutt for informasjons- og medievitskap
universitetet i bergen





U-matic (or 3/4-inch Type E Helical Scan or SMPTE E)
is an analogue recording videocassette format first 
shown 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.

U-matic was the house video format at the 
university of bergen both professionally and for
student productions from ca 1980 to the mid 90s
when it was succeeded by Betacam and later DV
(DVCAM, DVCPRO).