D-1 was the first major digital video format following the development of the international standards, 4:4:2. It was developed by SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) and first released by Sony in 1986. The D-1 is an uncompressed component video, recording large amounts of information with a bit rate of 173 Mbit/sec. Although it recorded greater information than later formats D-2 and D-3, it was expensive and both the tapes and equipment were large.

D-1 tapes had a limited recording time of 94 minutes. The D-1A tape made improvements to the magnetic particles, binder system and backcoating for greater performance.