• Video cassettes come in many formats.Video image by Marvin Gerste from Fotolia.com
  
  Even with the rise is digital media, many types of video cassettes still see regular use throughout the world. Different cassette designs usually fit with different types of recording machines. However, they can also be designed for greater quality or for different applications. If you are undertaking a project which may require the use of a video cassette, it's a good idea to become aware of what's available.
  
  

Standard VHS

• The most common type of video cassette is the standard VHS cassette tape. They usually come in 60-, 120-, or 240-minute lengths. The length can be doubled at the expense of picture quality. In general, these tapes have pretty poor picture quality, especially by today's standards. They usually measure about 188 mm by 104 mm by 25 mm.
  
  

VHS-C

• VHS-C tapes are basically smaller versions of the full-size standard VHS tape. Because of their reduced size, they usually only run for 30 to 45 minutes. They were often used in large shoulder-mounted camcorders, and require a special adapter in order to be played in standard VCRs. They measure about 95 mm by 60 mm by 25 mm.
  
  

Super VHS

• Super VHS tapes were identical in shape and size to standard VHS tapes, but while standard VHS has 240-line picture quality, Super VHS has 400-line picture quality. Super VHS became very popular with camcorder users because of its improved picture quality. Super VHS-C tapes were also available around the same time.
  
  

Betamax

• Betamax is an early, now-obsolete video cassette format that once vied for dominance of the home recording market. Originally released by Sony in 1975, these tapes measured 155 mm by 95 mm by 24 mm, and came in recording lengths of 30, 65, 130, and 195 minutes. They fell out of wide use once VHS won market dominance.
  
  

8 mm Video

• 8 mm video cassettes are used with camcorders. They come in a wide variety of resolutions and tape speeds. Some of the more popular types are Video 8, Hi8, and Digital 8.
  
  

BetaCAM

• BetaCAM are the same size as Betamax cassettes, and come in many different varieties. Because of their slightly better quality, they are often used in news reporting. Newer BetaCAMs also come in digital, HD, and MPEG formats.