Before the introduction of a standardized format to record digital audio to a tape (the DAT recorder) the practice was to use a PCM adapter (pulse code modulation) connected to a video recorder to record the digital audio signal to tape. The PCM adapter was connected to a video recorder using the video in/out of the unit in order to record the PCM coded audio digital signal where normally the video signal is recorded. The reason to do this was that a linear tape recorder did not have sufficient bandwidth to record large volumes of PCM data while video recorders were available both for studio and home use and the rotary video heads used in a video recorder had sufficient bandwidth to do this. Most video-based PCM adaptors record audio at 14 bits quantization, and a sampling frequency of 44.056 kHz.
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| PCM connection diagram |
First generation PCM adapter
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| SONY PCM-1 1977 |
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| Technics SH-P1 1979 |
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| DIATONE PCM |
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| SHARP RX-1 VC-6300 1979 |
Commercial models
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| Aurex XD-80 1981 |
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| Aurex XD-60 1981 (right) |
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| DIATONE D-102 1982 |
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| SONY PCM-F1 1981 |
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| Technics SV-100 |
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| SONY PCM-501 1984 / 553ESD 1985 / 701ES 1984 |
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| Sanyo PLUS 5 |
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| Sansui PC-X1 / PC-X11 1988 |
Dedicated audio players using VHS video tape
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| Technics SV-P100 |
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| HITACHI PCM-V300 1982 |
VCR with PCM audio
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| Aurex TOSHIBA PCM-D1 |
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| Aurex TOSHIBA PCM-D1 |
Prerecorded PCM audio on VHS tape
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| Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab prerecorded PCM (digital) audio on VHS |
