Vtr - History

History

The history of the videocassette recorder follows the history of videotape recording in general. In 1952 the Vision Electronic Recording Apparatus high speed multi-track machine was built and trialed by the BBC. This machine used a thin steel tape on a 21-inch (53.5 cm) reel traveling at over 200 inches (510 cm) per second. Despite 10 years of research and improvements, the machine became obsolete when Ampex introduced the Ampex VRX-1000. This model became the world's first commercially successful videotape recorder in 1956. It used the 2" Quadruplex format, using two-inch (5.1 cm) tape. Because of its US$50,000 price, the Ampex VRX-1000 could be afforded only by the television networks and the largest individual stations.

In 1963, Philips introduced its EL3400 1" helical scan recorder (aimed at the business and domestic user) and Sony marketed the 2" PV-100, its first reel-to-reel VTR intended for business, medical, airline and educational use.

The Telcan, produced by the Nottingham Electronic Valve Company in 1963, was the first home video recorder. It could be bought as a unit or in kit form for £60. However, there were several drawbacks: it was expensive, not easy to put together, and could record only 20 minutes' output at a time in black and white.

The Sony model CV-2000, first marketed in 1965, was its first VTR intended for home use and was based on half-inch tape. Ampex and RCA followed in 1965 with its own reel-to-reel monochrome VTRs priced under US $1,000 for the home consumer market.

The EIAJ format was a standard half-inch format used by various manufacturers. EIAJ-1 was an open-reel format. EIAJ-2 used a cartridge that contained a supply reel, but not the take-up reel. Since the take-up reel was part of the recorder, the tape had to be fully rewound before removing the cartridge, a slow procedure.

The development of the videocassette followed the replacement by cassette of other open-reel systems in consumer items: the Stereo-Pak 4-track audio cartridge in 1962, the compact audio cassette and Instamatic film cartridge in 1963, the 8-track cartridge in 1965, and the Super 8 home movie cartridge in 1966. Before the invention of the video tape recorder, live video was recorded onto motion picture film stock in a process known as telerecording. Although the first Quadruplex VTRs recorded with good quality, the recordings could not be slowed or freeze framed, so telerecording processes continued to be used for about a decade after the development of the first VTRs.