|
|
|
|
|
|
|
They don't make 'em like they used to! The
first videotape recorder was put into service in 1956. In the fifty years
following there have been evolutionary changes. I have always
liked machines. I built a robot when I was 10. This is a gallery of
favorite machines. |
|
|
The Ampex VR-1000 was shown in 1956. It changed
Television completely. Google for television history, or video
recording history to get the long version of the story. I once paid
$500 for one of these (worth $50,000 in 1956). I eventually sold it
for $500 as a movie prop (Videodrome). After the movie was finished,
the darn thing came back to me via a friend who "picked it
up" for me for free. |
|
|
The VR-2000 was the high art of video recording in the
60's and 70's. |
|
|
The VR-3000 is cute as a button... 12 volt operation,
maximum 20 minute spool, no erase head (blank tape recording only),
and it has a handle! The first "portable" recorder. I still
own this. |
|
|
The Sony BVH-500 was a breakthrough in portability.
1-inch tape, 12 volt operation. I shot a couple of series using this.
You could actually carry it, plunk it down, and with a ten-foot camera
cable, shoot in a ten-foot radius of the machine, relocate, and shoot
some more. Not shown is the small car battery that ran it for an hour. |
|
|
Mr. Animation III. In service from 1991 to 1993. Still
operational, but not installed anywhere. |
|
|
|
