U-matic

3⁄4-inch Type E Helical Scan or SMPTE E is an analog recording videocassette format marketed by Sony Electronics Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic) and Victor Co. of Japan (JVC). It was initially developed by Sony and shown as a prototype in October 1969, refined and standardized among the three manufacturers in March 1970, and introduced commercially in September 1971 by Sony. The format was branded U-matic by Sony, U-Vision by Panasonic and U-VCR by JVC, referring to the U-shaped tape path as it threads around the video drum. The format was among the earliest video formats to house videotape inside a cassette, replacing the reel-to-reel systems common at the time. The format uses 3⁄4-inch-wide (19 mm) tape, earning it the nickname "three-quarter-inch" or simply "three-quarter," in contrast to larger open-reel formats like 1 in (25 mm) Type C videotape and 2 in (51 mm) quadruplex videotape.