A comparison of rotary- and stationary-head video tape recorders

In magnetic tape recording, two approaches have emerged in which essentially the same medium is tracked in two different ways: rotary- and stationary-head recorders. Both approaches are commonly employed in digital audio and data recording, but since the introduction of the first analog video recorders in the early 50s, rotary-head recorders (either helical or transverse scan) have held undivided sway in the video domain. The advent of various new enabling techniques such as (MPEG) source coding and multi-trade heads may affect the hegemony of the rotary-head machine. The article appraises both types of transport in an attempt to establish which approach might be considered for a given application.