D-VHS was a later variant of VHS that recorded digitally, and was introduced in 1998. It was developed by the originator of VHS, JVC, along with Hitachi, Matsushita, and Philips.

D-VHS used MPEG recording, and could record in standard or high-definition. There were several different recording speeds available, so a tape could have a variety of different capacities, for example a DF-300 tape that could hold 300 minutes at standard speed, could hold as much as 2100 minutes (35 hours) at LS7 (low speed, one seventh of the standard speed) if the machine was capable of using the very slowest speed. High-definition recordings reduced the capacity of the tape by half. Standard speed recordings had a higher bandwidth than DVD.

D-VHS tapes had a second hole on their underside that identified them to the recorder as being D-VHS tapes, and to record in D-VHS mode. Where the hole was missing, the machine would record in VHS or S-VHS format. VHS and S-VHS tapes could be played in the machine.

Unfortunately, sales of D-VHS recorders were poor, and so the price of them never fell greatly.

In 2002, a small number of pre-recorded D-VHS tapes were released under the D-Theater brand by four film-studios. However, despite being virtually identical to D-VHS, D-Theater tapes could only be played on D-VHS players with the D-Theater logo. D-Theater did provide much better video quality than DVD, at a time when high-definition formats such as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD were yet to be introduced.

The last D-Theater title was released in 2004, but D-VHS recorders were listed on the JVC website until 2007.

Figures

Dimensions: 18.7 cm × 10.2 cm × 2.5 cm

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