Apparatus for digitally recording and reproducing video and audio signals in skewed tracks on a record tape

An apparatus for digitally recording and reproducing video and audio signals in successive parallel tracks on a record tape while the latter is advanced in a longitudinal direction at an angle to the direction along said tracks, said apparatus comprising:

• a rotary drum;
• first transducing means mounted on said rotary drum and operative in a recording mode for recording the video and audio signals in a digital form on said record tape, said first transducing means including first and second pluralities of recording heads fixedly mounted on said rotary drum at diametrically opposed positions so that one field of the video and audio signals is recorded in a plurality of parallel record tracks of a predetermined pitch scanned by said first and second pluralities of recording heads as the record tape is advanced at a predetermined speed in said longitudinal direction;
• first and second bimorph leaves mounted at respective opposed positions on said rotary drum intermediate said positions at which said first and second pluralities of recording heads are mounted;
• and
• second transducing means operative in a reproducing mode and being mounted on said bimorph leaves for scanning said parallel tracks, said second transducing means including first and second pluralities of reproducing heads mounted on said first and second bimorph leaves, respectively, so that each of said first and second pluralities of reproducing heads can be deflected by the respective one of said first and second bimorph leaves in a direction transverse to said direction along the tracks when, in said reproducing mode, the tape is advanced at a speed different from said predetermined speed, the number of said reproducing heads in each of said first and second pluralities thereof being larger than the number of said recording heads in each of said first and second pluralities of recording heads for relatively reducing the maximum deflections of said reproducing heads by said bimorph leaves needed to ensure that each of the reproducing heads can accurately reproduce a digital video signal recorded in one of the record tracks being scanned thereby when the record tape is advanced at said different speed.