The tape is 1/2 inch wide, the helical scan head drum is 62 mm in diameter, and the video tracks, which are read by the video heads in the head drum, are 20 microns wide. Video quality is generally very high; at standard definition, D-9's quality is comparable with Digital Betacam. The BR-D51U model is additionally capable of analogue S-VHS playback.
The tape width is 1/2 inch, the head drum diameter is 62 mm, and video tracks are 20 microns wide. Video quality is high, comparable to Digital Betacam at standard definition. The BR-D51U model can also play back analogue S-VHS.