The 1/4 inch Akai is a portable

helical scan Helical scan is a method of recording high-frequency signals on magnetic tape. It is used in open-reel video tape recorders, video cassette recorders, digital audio tape recorders, and some computer tape drives. History Earl E Masterson fro ...

EIA Eia or EIA may refer to: Medicine * Enzyme immunoassay * Equine infectious anemia * Exercise-induced anaphylaxis * Exercise-induced asthma * External iliac artery Transport * Edmonton International Airport, in Alberta, Canada * Erbil Internation ...

and CCIR

analog recording Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which, among many possibilities, allows analog audio for later playback. Analog audio recording began with mechanical systems such as the phonautograph and phonograph. L ...

video tape recorder (

VTR A video tape recorder (VTR) is a tape recorder designed to record and playback video and audio material from magnetic tape. The early VTRs were open-reel devices that record on individual reels of 2-inch-wide (5.08 cm) tape. They were us ...

) with two video

record head A recording head is the physical interface between a recording apparatus and a moving recording medium. Recording heads are generally classified according to the physical principle that allows them to impress their data upon their medium. A recor ...

s on the scanning drum. The units were available with an optional RF

modulator In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...

to play back through a TV set, as well as a detachable

video monitor A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form (the latter used for example in tactile electronic displays for blind people). When the input information that is supplied has an electrical signal the ...

. The Akai Electric Ltd. VTR plant was in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan.

Black-and-white models

Akai model ''VTS-100'' was introduced in 1967 and was a B&W portable VTR with a one tube camera. The next models, VTS-110 and VTS-120, had similar specifications: * S/N > 40 dB * Playback: about 200-lines of

image resolution Image resolution is the detail an image holds. The term applies to digital images, film images, and other types of images. "Higher resolution" means more image detail. Image resolution can be measured in various ways. Resolution quantifies how ...

* Capstan Tape speed (EIA) 11.25 inches per second (20 minute reel) / (CCIR) 23.85 cm/s (24 minute reel) * VTR Weight: 11 lb. * Monitor Weight: 3.5 lb. The Akai X500-VT is perhaps the oddest of the Akai format machines in as much as it is both a stereo reel to reel audio recorder of 3.3/4 and 7.5 inch per sec tape speed having an auto reverse function, as well as a video recorder combined in the same machine. Two separate tape paths are used and according to the way the tape is threaded, either two channel stereo audio 4-track, or black and white video with monoaural sound could be recorded and played. Tape speed for video recording like the VT100 and VT110 is 11.1/4 Inch per sec. For the time, this machine was very advanced using many innovations not used in other domestic video machines for many years, such as inverter drive video head motor to name but one. About 10 years later when Sony introduced the Beta format, the first couple of models the video head speed was controlled by a line synchronised AC motor and eddy-current brake. The X500VT was sold only in Japan and the United States (under the Rheem/Roberts re-badge agreement) and in very low quantities due to its high cost. the highest serial number known to author is 00050, indicating the probability of only a tiny production run. Camera specs: * One 2/3"

Vidicon Video camera tubes were devices based on the cathode ray tube that were used in television cameras to capture television images, prior to the introduction of charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors in the 1980s. Several different types of tubes ...

video camera Akai produced two types of portable black and white VTR using 1/4 inch tape: Portables using an open reel of 13 cm diameter (VT-100/-110/-120), and a single stationary model using a 27 cm open reel, designated VT-700.

Color model

Akai model ''VTS-150'' was introduced in 1974. It recorded composite video on 1/4 inch reel-to-reel

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...

and could record and play back B&W or

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...

. It came with a hand-held two-

tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

camera with a zoom lens. The system was very small and lightweight for its time. The VTR with the

video camera A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film). Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of oth ...

weighed only 22 pounds. A single cable was used to connect the ENG camera to the VTR for power, video and the

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

audio. This model was available in

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

, PAL and SECAM television formats. VTR specs: * S/N > 40 dB * Playback: about 230-lines of

* Capstan Tape speed (

): 254.27 mm/s (10 inches per second); ( CCIR PAL or SECAM): 217.97 mm/s * Recording time: 26 minutes (NTSC) or 30 minutes (PAL or SECAM) on a five-inch reel * One Sound, audio track * One control track * Weight: 16.4 lb. * Power consumption: 32 Watts * Battery (electricity), Battery capacity: about 40 minutes * Size 10.5" x 14.2" x 5.6" Camera specs (

, PAL and SECAM): * S/N > 40 dB * One 2/3"

* One chroma Tube, an Akai Video camera tube#Image dissector, dissector tube * 1.5" VF - viewfinder * Lens: 6x - (1.5 to 75 mm) * 300 lines of resolution * To use without the VTR, Camera control unit, CCU-150 powered the camera with 12 VDC * CCU-150 had RF output and Genlock sync input * Weight: 5.76 lb. * Size 3.5" x 9.3" x 13.2" * Microphone audio impedance: 600 ohms

References

External links

VTS-100 in PDF

with scans of media for multiple Akai devices

1972: Akai Portable VTR and Camera {{Video storage formats Videotape Film and video technology Audiovisual introductions in 1967

Black-and-white models

Color model

See also

References

External links