With the ever increasing cost of new video equipment, I began to examine the relationship between the technology and the marketing. At age 60, I've seen every "New and Improved" product offering a "New State of the Art" come down the line. They all have one thing in common, they make the gear you currently own, obsolete. We have been bombarded with formats, initials for technologies we don't fully understand, and automatic settings. However, if all the formats were played into the same monitor, could you tell them apart?
The most significant change was in 1967, when CBS went to Sony for video tape equipment to replace 16mm film for news reporting. You might remember "Film at Eleven" on the News programs. ¾" U-Matic would change dramatically the time between shooting an event and broadcasting. 16mm film had to be developed and then transferred to video tape before it could be aired. This instantly created a new world wide industry known as Electronic News Gathering or ENG.
The U-Matic Legacy is great bandwidth provided by equipment that had high build quality and was built to last. Not only did it last, but most of if is still operational.
After being on the "Cutting Edge of Obsolescence" for many years, I would return to the first industry standard, U-matic. You don't need to mortgage your house to buy a camera, or pay car money for a tripod. For the cost of a few days in a post editing studio, you can own editors and controllers. You can work in analog and convert your final cut to digital.
If you have been financially force into "Prosumer Equipment" you can own professional broadcast equipment for less.
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