VX was a consumer
analog recording videocassette 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 Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. The emission from an AGN is powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole with a mass rangi ...
brand and marketed under the name "The Great Time Machine" to exhibit its
time-shifting capabilities, since VX machines had a companion electro-mechanical clock timer for timed recording of
television program
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...
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 magnetic ...
stacked on top of each other in a coaxial fashion (much like the earlier
Cartrivision
Cartrivision is an analog video tape cartridge format introduced in 1972, and the first format to offer feature films for consumer rental.[Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...](_blank)
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, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...
). 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
* 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 VCRyoutube VXreocities.com VX page
Audiovisual introductions in 1975
Discontinued media formats
Videotape
Panasonic
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