Betacam Tape Types

Betacam tapes come in many distinct types. The most common is SP. The SP (Superior perfomance) tapes use a Metal Oxide formulation. Only Video Tape Recorders displaying the BETACAM SP badge will work with SP tapes. Different series of tapes exist for the Digital Betacam and Betacam SX series machines. These are clearly labelled with the appropiate Betacam logo and tapes are not interchangeable between the formats. There is also the orginal non-SP fomrat tapes which use oxide particle material for the tape.

By far the most common are the BETACAM SP tapes which work with BETACAM SP VTRs. These come in two different sizes large and small. Not all VTRs are capable of taking the larger tapes.

Betacam tapes have re-useable erase tabs in the form of sliding tabs which when pushed inwards prevent accidental erasure of material on the tape. The position of the erase tabs differs between tape types.