SQ MATRIX Various Information ( BILLBOARD 1972-1976 )

[par4ken]

My Pioneer VP-1000 Laserdisc player has an additional connector on the back which outputs the video without dropout compensation (for connection to a PCM audio decoder).

Watching videodiscs thru this output shows how much the video dropout compensator is doing (especially with the DiscoVision titles)

Also, the David Bowie Serious Moonlight Laserdisc doesn't mention SQ encoding (I haven't watched it for quite a while, IIRC, there's a brief mention of surround sound in the credits).


Kirk Bayne

I don't see mention of SQ encoding on my Laserdisc copy either but it is defiantly encoded! My copy does mention that it uses CX noise reduction however.

 

[kfbkfb]

~30 years ago, I tried the Bowie Laserdisc with my Pioneer QX-747 SQ decoder (not impressed). I don't know what type of SQ decoder the QX-747 has (infinite, 10-10 blend, 10-40 blend).

Pioneer was an SQ licensee, I don't know why Pioneer wouldn't want to mention the SQ encoding on the Laserdisc jacket.


Kirk Bayne

 

[par4ken]

~30 years ago, I tried the Bowie Laserdisc with my Pioneer QX-747 SQ decoder (not impressed). I don't know what type of SQ decoder the QX-747 has (infinite, 10-10 blend, 10-40 blend).

Pioneer was an SQ licensee, I don't know why Pioneer wouldn't want to mention the SQ encoding on the Laserdisc jacket.


Kirk Bayne

Pioneer did not have very good decoders. The Laserdisc came out in the eighties, the only current SQ decoder was the Fosgate Tate II. Reber-Ruggles backed the production, it was meant to be decoded via the Fosgate. The Bowie recording being a live recording didn't have the all around gimmicky effects that many of us love but still it sounded very good through a good decoder. By the eighties quad was a dirty word and so sadly Pioneer chose not to mention it on the cover, I presume.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

By the early 80's the word Quadraphonic and Quad recordings ,considered taboo by then , was replaced by the word "Surround" and even at that it was a limited expression. (Even today you rarely see it mentioned.)

And Not long after some in the Audio Industry started to unveil gadgets with Ambience Extraction in an effort to sell anything beyond Stereo.

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

As to which half of those Pioneer disc's are SQ ?? well it's next to impossible now ! to find out which ones are MP and which are SQ.
For me and most others it's too late , as we likely have tossed our laser disc ( and Tape ) machines.

I'm one of those usual cases, where in the next few years I plan to add vintage top of the line VHS and Laserdisc players to my equipment stack.

"Isn't most all of that material since released on DVD or Blu-ray?"
"Yeah, but it would be nice to be able to play the formats."

No plan on Betamax, but I've also never seen a Betamax tape in person.

 

[gvl_guy]

I'm one of those usual cases, where in the next few years I plan to add vintage top of the line VHS and Laserdisc players to my equipment stack.

"Isn't most all of that material since released on DVD or Blu-ray?"
"Yeah, but it would be nice to be able to play the formats."

No plan on Betamax, but I've also never seen a Betamax tape in person.

Although VHS was the standard (eventually) for homes, Beta was what TV stations would use in the newsrooms. There might be "professional" machines laying around and for sale.

 

[par4ken]

No plan on Betamax, but I've also never seen a Betamax tape in person.

You must be young Beta was actually more popular than VHS in the beginning.

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

You must be young Beta was actually more popular than VHS in the beginning.

Yep, only 44. As I mentioned in another post, my household growing up was behind the times on home audio and video.

 

[MidiMagic]

Although VHS was the standard (eventually) for homes, Beta was what TV stations would use in the newsrooms. There might be "professional" machines laying around and for sale.

Actually, those were Sony U-matic. I have used them.

 

[Doug G.]

Have any of you guys ever seen a Beta Max machine in action - viewing the inside as about a mile of tape is withdrawn from the cartridge and wound around?

Doug

 

[fizzywiggs41]

I'm one of those usual cases, where in the next few years I plan to add vintage top of the line VHS and Laserdisc players to my equipment stack.

"Isn't most all of that material since released on DVD or Blu-ray?"
"Yeah, but it would be nice to be able to play the formats."

No plan on Betamax, but I've also never seen a Betamax tape in person.

Well I think you might be chasing ghosts . I don't think I've seen any of those first releases by Pioneer on any form of DVD.

Again ...how would you know which are SQ encoded ? I'm sure the majority might be MP Matrix if they contain any matrix at all, Dolby Dige ,and DTS would predominate, I think.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

Pioneer did not have very good decoders. The Laserdisc came out in the eighties, the only current SQ decoder was the Fosgate Tate II. Reber-Ruggles backed the production, it was meant to be decoded via the Fosgate. The Bowie recording being a live recording didn't have the all around gimmicky effects that many of us love but still it sounded very good through a good decoder. By the eighties quad was a dirty word and so sadly Pioneer chose not to mention it on the cover, I presume.

You know I've often wondered if Pioneer had their own SQ Encoder.
They were an early backer of SQ , also had the latest improvements in SQ and CD-4 in their Receivers.
And were one of the major Sponsors for the KING BISCUIT shows.

Maybe someone involved with the Biscuit ...Discrete to matrix production might know. Maybe.

 

[kfbkfb]

We can thank Sony for inventing Betamax HiFi, it challenged VHS to develop VHS HiFi (significantly more mechanically complex than Betamax HiFi [NTSC version]) which ultimately helped popularize home theaters (some w/Dolby Surround).

I recall seeing a Pioneer surround sound system at the Montgomery Ward store in the Blue Ridge Mall (receiver, 2 large front speakers, 2 small surround speakers) sometime in the late 1980s/early 1990s, checking my 1989 Pioneer brochure, their receivers had DPL/DS + "stadium" & "simulated" surround decoders, no QS or SQ.


Kirk Bayne

 

[MidiMagic]

The U-matic cassettes were larger than the VHS ones. Betamax tapes were about the same size as VHS tapes, but were not made the same.

I had one Betamax tape. It was in a box of VHS tapes I got at an auction. Since I never had a player, I donated it to Goodwill.

 

[quadaholic]

Have any of you guys ever seen a Beta Max machine in action - viewing the inside as about a mile of tape is withdrawn from the cartridge and wound around?

Doug

Doug, I used to use a beta machine in conjuntion with the Sony 501 box. It was basically a digital interface that let you use a vcr as a digital recorder. The beta cassettes were a little smaller than a vhs tape but still 1/2". I remember a lot of folks saying that Beta was the better format, but supposedly CBS/Fox nailed down the rights to a ton of movies early on, and seeing as they backed VHS that pretty much was the end of Beta.

 

[bill114]

The U-matic cassettes were larger than the VHS ones. Betamax tapes were about the same size as VHS tapes, but were not made the same.

I had one Betamax tape. It was in a box of VHS tapes I got at an auction. Since I never had a player, I donated it to Goodwill.

U-matics were 3/4" tape while VHS and Beta were 1/2" as I recall (I've been retired from the broadcasting/production biz for a while)
Beta ran at a slightly higher speed so the video quality was a bit better but VHS had the advantage of a larger cassette so more tape inside
so more recording time was available. The professional beta was Beta SP which ran at a higher tape speed for better video and audio bandwidth. Beta SP tapes were not compatible with home players as far as playback..

 

[Fourplay]

I recall seeing a Pioneer surround sound system at the Montgomery Ward store in the Blue Ridge Mall (receiver, 2 large front speakers, 2 small surround speakers) sometime in the late 1980s/early 1990s, checking my 1989 Pioneer brochure, their receivers had DPL/DS + "stadium" & "simulated" surround decoders, no QS or SQ.

This one?

Pioneer SP-101 Synthesized Surround Processor

Here is a brochure I have been meaning to scan and post: The device comes with your own fake human!

www.quadraphonicquad.com

 

[kfbkfb]

It was a Pioneer receiver, at that time, they had high power for the front 2 speakers and low power for the tiny back speakers (it was a matched system, Pioneer speakers too).

I was pleased to see the return of surround sound to mass market retailers.


Kirk Bayne

 

[barfle]

U-matics were 3/4" tape while VHS and Beta were 1/2" as I recall (I've been retired from the broadcasting/production biz for a while)
Beta ran at a slightly higher speed so the video quality was a bit better but VHS had the advantage of a larger cassette so more tape inside
so more recording time was available. The professional beta was Beta SP which ran at a higher tape speed for better video and audio bandwidth. Beta SP tapes were not compatible with home players as far as playback..

The primary difference between Betamax and VHS was the size of the head drum (both recording one field per half-revolution), which gave the Beta a higher head-to-tape speed, meaning a higher frequency could be recorded. One company I worked for was using Beta well into the ‘90s for security recording.

The pro format was called “Betacam SP.” I don’t recall if that format used standard Betamax cassettes, because it was too expensive for us to bother with. They certainly weren’t the same recording format, as you noted.

 

[bill114]

The primary difference between Betamax and VHS was the size of the head drum (both recording one field per half-revolution), which gave the Beta a higher head-to-tape speed, meaning a higher frequency could be recorded. One company I worked for was using Beta well into the ‘90s for security recording.

The pro format was called “Betacam SP.” I don’t recall if that format used standard Betamax cassettes, because it was too expensive for us to bother with. They certainly weren’t the same recording format, as you noted.

Yeah, Betacam SP. It's all coming back to me now...