VX was a consumer

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 ...

videocassette 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, videocasset ...

format developed by Matsushita launched in 1975 in Japan which was short-lived and unsuccessful. In the United States, it was sold using the

Quasar A quasar is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a mass rangi ...

brand and marketed under the name "The Great Time Machine" to exhibit its

time-shifting In broadcasting, time shifting is the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to after the live broadcasting. Typically, this refers to TV programming but it can also refer to radio shows via podcasts. In recent year ...

capabilities, since VX machines had a companion electro-mechanical clock timer for timed recording of

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

s. In Japan, the VX-100 model was launched in 1975, with the VX-2000 following in 1976. The first and only model sold in North America was the Quasar VR-1000 (based on the Panasonic VX-2000), with the VT-100 timer.

Design

The VX cassette itself had both reels of

magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnet ...

stacked on top of each other in a coaxial fashion (much like the earlier

Cartrivision Cartrivision is an analog videocassette format introduced in 1972, and the first format to offer feature films for consumer rental.Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

VCR formats) in the bottom half of the tape, with a circular opening on the underside of the top half of the cassette, where the video head drum would enter. The tape in this opening was pre-formed in a loop to go around the head drum, eliminating the need for the tape to be pulled out of the cassette and threaded around the drum (as with later videocassette formats such as VHS and

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...

). The opening was protected by a cylindrical plastic plug to protect the tape, which was unscrewed from the opening when the tape was loaded in the machine (by means of moving a horizontal lever on the front of the machine), and inserted back into the tape when ejected (by moving the lever back). The video head drum itself of a VX machine also has the unique distinction of being completely removable and replaceable without any special tools or equipment. The drum has a knurled nut on top, which can be adjusted by hand, allowing the drum to be removed from the deck for cleaning or replacement. The VX machines have been the only VCR designed with this feature.

Specifications

* Recording method: Single head, alpha wrap

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 drive A tape drive is a data sto ...

* Head drum diameter: 48 mm * Cassette dimensions: 213×146×44 mm (550 g) * Tape width: ½ inch (12.65 mm) * Tape speed: 52.133 mm/s * Video track width: 48 μm (73 μm with guard band) * Relative velocity: 9.091 m/s * Video signal: Frequency modulation 3.3–4.6 MHz (chroma signal: Color-under 688.374 kHz) * Audio signal: 1 channel linear track (0.4 mm) * Recording time: Originally up to 100 minutes, 120 minute cassettes became available at a later date

External links

labguysworld.com, A page on the Quasar VR-1000, a VX-format VCR

youtube VX

reocities.com VX page

Audiovisual introductions in 1975 Discontinued media formats Videotape Panasonic {{film-tech-stub