Video Tape Recorder - VCR

VCR

Many of the deficiencies of the reel-to-reel systems were overcome with the invention of the Video cassette recorder (VCR), where the videotape is enclosed in a user-friendly videocassette shell. This subsequently became the most familiar type of VTR known to consumers. In this system, the tape is pre-attached onto two reels enclosed within the cassette, and tape loading and unloading is automated. There is no need for the user to ever touch the tape, and the media can be protected from dust, dirt, and tape misalignments that could foul the recording mechanism. Typically, the only time the user ever touches the tape in a videocassette is when a failure results from a tape getting stuck in the mechanism.

Home VCRs first became available in the early 1970s, with Philips releasing the Model 1500 in England in 1972. It, for the first time, offered users the capability of deciding what they wanted to watch. The first system to be successful with consumers was Sony's Betamax (or Beta) in 1975. This was soon followed by the competing VHS (Video Home System) format from JVC in 1977 and later by other formats such as Video 2000 from Philips, V-Cord from Sanyo, and Great Time Machine from Quasar.

The Beta–VHS format war soon began, while the other competitors quickly disappeared. Betamax sales eventually began to dwindle, and after several years VHS emerged as the winner of the format war. In 1988, Sony began to market its own VHS machines, and despite claims that it was still backing Beta, it was clear that the format was no longer viable in most parts of the world. In parts of South America and in Japan, Betamax continued to be popular and was still in production up to the end of 2002.

Later developments saw magnetic tapes largely replaced by digital video tape formats. Following this, much of the VTR market, in particular videocassettes and VCRs popular at the consumer level, were also replaced by digital media, such as DVD and later Blu-ray optical discs.