Week 6: Invention of the VCR

The VCR was once a staple in American homes, but thanks to the leaps that have been made in technology in the past few years, the VCR has become nearly obsolete. The VCR has a long history from its conception to its demise, and the beginning of this technology dates farther back than one may think. 

The birth of the technology that allowed for the conception of this device dates all the way back to Denmark in 1898. According to a book titled Social and Cultural Aspects of VCR Use, a physicist by the name of Valdemer Poulsen. He proposed the idea that by using magnetic recording, sound could be captured on wire. This idea then inspired Boris Rtcheouloff in 1927 to suggest that magnetized strips could record tv signals. He patented this idea, though never was able to produce such technology. I.G. Farben, a german company was the first to be able to put this theory to practice in 1931. These magnetic recording devices had the benefit of being able to record audio with much clearer sound, and the technology was used by the Germans in WWII. After the war was over, John T. Mullins, an Army technician brought units of the device back to the United States. Mullin was later invited by singer Bing Crosby to tape his show with the device so it could be played again on radio at a later time. This is especially significant, as it was the first time that magnetic tape had been used in the United States to play a program at a later time. The Ampex Electric Corporation capitalized on this success and began the production of better magnetic tape recorders. Ampex spent several years using what they had learned through producing tape recorders and was able to unveil the first ever video tape recorder in 1951. 

With the birth of the video tape recorder, other companies wanted in on the action as this was an emerging market. RCA also produced an industrial tape recorder, but thanks to Ampex, it was not seen as practical as what Ampex had produced. Ampex became the staple company for manufacturing Tape recorders for the television industry. 

This did not mean that Ampex had the market cornered, though. The SONY company in Japan realized that Ampex was making the equipment for professionals, but not capitalizing on the potential the technology had for use in people’s homes. SONY didn’t use the two inch wide magnetic tape that Ampex used, and instead opted for tape that could store more information. These VCRs hit the American market in the 1960’s. With SONY’s initial success, other European and Japanese companies began producing and selling home video recorder, and Ampex was left behind in this market, as they tried to compete but other companies had more affordable and superior products for the home. SONY released one of the most well-known VCRs in the 1970’s: the Betamax. It capitalized on the fact that it could not only be used to play tapes but record television shows. This feature was included in previous VCRs, but nonetheless this selling point caused the Betamax to be a massive success. Sources: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kK934crW140C&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&dq=history+of+the+vcr&ots=hK3TVfSZKx&sig=C4nCybFKmQbi1reMtOwk165JXQQ#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20the%20vcr&f=false https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=17SRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA91&dq=history+of+the+vcr&ots=1EzcBGnAKO&sig=9HA5Lrt6dc8ss2VHCR7CSGiuUaU#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20the%20vcr&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=17SRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA91&dq=history+of+the+vcr&ots=1EzcBGnAKO&sig=9HA5Lrt6dc8ss2VHCR7CSGiuUaU#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20the%20vcr&f=false