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Videocassette recorder
Videos
A videocassette recorder or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other AV sources and can play back the recording from
A typical late-model Philips Magnavox, VHS format VCR
A typical late-model Philips Magnavox, VHS format VCR
Not all video tape recorders use a cassette to contain the videotape. Early models of consumer video tape recorders (VTRs), and most professional broa
Not all video tape recorders use a cassette to contain the videotape. Early models of consumer video tape recorders (VTRs), and most professional broadcast analog videotape machines (e.g. 1-inch Type C) use reel to reel tape spools.
Top-loading cassette mechanisms (such as the one on this VHS model) were common on early domestic VCRs.
Top-loading cassette mechanisms (such as the one on this VHS model) were common on early domestic VCRs.
Philips N1500 video recorder from the early 1970s
Philips N1500 video recorder from the early 1970s
Betamax
Videos
Betamax is a discontinued consumer analog videocassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war against its primary rival, VHS. Betamax was i
Videocassette recorder
…decade well over half of British homes owned a VCR. Prices had also dropped, ranging from $169 to $400 in 1985 in the US. Two major standards, Sony's Betamax (also known as Betacord or just Beta) and JVC's VHS (Video Home System), competed for sales in what became known as the format war. Betamax was first…
Betamax blank top
Betamax blank top
Three Sony Betamax VCRs built for the American market. Top to bottom: SL-2000 portable with TT-2000 tuner/timer "Base Station" (1982); SL-HF 300 Betam
Three Sony Betamax VCRs built for the American market. Top to bottom: SL-2000 portable with TT-2000 tuner/timer "Base Station" (1982); SL-HF 300 Betamax HiFi unit (1984); SL-HF 360 SuperBeta HiFi unit (1988).
The underside of a Betamax cassette
The underside of a Betamax cassette
The early-form Betacam tapes (left) are interchangeable with Betamax (right), though the recordings are not.
The early-form Betacam tapes (left) are interchangeable with Betamax (right), though the recordings are not.