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ing audio tape recorders for educational SUPPLY REEL purposes. In 1955 they manufactured TAKE-UP TAPE__ the world's first miniaturized transis- tor radio. In 1960 they had begun TAPE GUIDE CYLINDER the manufacture of the world's first minia- TENSION VIDEO HEAD ture transistorized television receivers. / POST Little did Mr. AUDIO AND CAPSTAN Ibuka and Mr. Morita, CONTROL HEAD the founders of Sony, realize that each TENSION of these developments, noteworthy IDLERS _ \-1311 Q POST by itself, was merely another step toward an end which would be GUIDE POST as important as V the invention by Gutenberg of movable HEAD DISC IDLER type. This comparatively low GUIDE POST price o further expanded the use of video re- HEAD DISC MOTOR i cording. - DISC CONTROL PULSER AND HEAD Smaller schools, colleges, and uni- versities could now afford them. Video tape recorders were quickly 15" PER SEC incorpor- (Track Width) 0.25 MM ated (0.0098") into many closed-circuit education- AUDIO TRACK al TV systems. Now specialists in vari- ous fields could be recorded when they 2" were available and events could be re- corded as they occurred, and shown when a particular phase of a course 0.48 MM(0.019") called for the information. The smaller (Track Spacing) ONTROL TRACK TV stations also expand their use of video tape recorders. Figure 2 The single -head, helical -scan system of video recording invented by Soon Hollywood became interested in Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. Ltd. (Toshiba). the new medium and the possibilties of combining the video a Kinescope recording, since the video Ford Foundation recorder with a permitted the Nation- motion picture camera. It was tape could be erased after use and re- al Educational discover- Television Network ed that the video recorder could pro- used many times. As word of the new (which is to educational television sta- vide many advantages in this medium spread, the government and tions what field too! national commercial net- Rehearsal time could be greatly educators quickly realized its tremend- works are to re- their member stations) to duced, The director could now view ous potential as a teaching and training install video tape recorders in its dupli- the scene on the monitor without the aid. The use of video recorders was, of cating center at Ann Arbor, Michigan. film camera operating. There was no course, still limited by their high cost The hope was that these recordings longer any guesswork about composi- ($50,000 each) . Initially, only larger would provide a means of copying tapes tion, and possible omissions. The universities, the TV networks, and the and erasing num- them for re -use eliminating ber of "takes" could be reduced; the government could afford them. the necessity of making copies of Kine- director could now follow the scene on In Septe nber, 1959, the Japanese scope films which had been found to the video monitor as it was firm of Toshiba announced and demon- lose value being shot. after the initial showing at a There was no longer any problem strated a single -head video recorder station. Video as tape would make it pos- to whether or not a given "take" employing a radically new concept. The sible, was it was hoped, to distribute to satisfactory. The video tape preview helical scan technique of video record- schools and colleges programs of cur- was found to be of tremendous value ing, as it came to be called, employed rent events, or special "one-shot" pro- in rehearsing the cast. The fact a single record/playback head mounted grams which that previously had been pro- the actors and crew could on a disc within a cylinder, as illustrat- hibitively see the take costly to duplicate on film. as it was played back was found ed in Fig. 2. The two-inch tape was The Foundation's to be fondest expectations extremely valuable in shooting. wound and moved in a helical loop were realized; The the video recorders were combination of the video camera and around the cylinder at the broadcast highly successful. In consequence standard the recorder and the motion picture camera speed of fifteen inches per Ford Foundation made a second second. grant had streamlined production procedures, As the record/playback head to NET in 1960 permitting twenty-five revolved provided economies, and increased the it recorded a long slanting additional stations to be equipped for track. The track started quality of the ultimate film. In 1964, the at the bottom of video tape. By 1961 NET numbered Mitchell Camera the tape and rose diagonally Corporation, who had to the top 58 affiliates, all with video tape facili- been working as the head revolved with the Sony Corpora- inside the helical ties. tion introduced loop. The head then immediately their "System 35," and con- In the spring of 1961, Ampex demon- created a new film making tacted the bottom of the tool. This tape again; strated a single -head recorder which was the first however, due to the forward commercially available motion of operated on essentially the same princi- combination of the the tape, the following track video camera and was re- ple as Toshiba's. The tape was moved recorder with the motion picture corded a fraction of an inch cam- further at a speed of 712 ips, which was to be- era, as illustrated in Fig. 3. It was sub- along the tape, as illustrated. come the standard for non -broadcast The helical sequently discovered that when this scan technique, by elim- applications, instead of the 15 ips em- combination inating three record/playback system was properly em- heads, the ployed by Toshiba. ployed it could head switching system, cut the cost of filming and three ampli- In October of 1962, a helical scan by at least 25 per cent, and it fiers (four were required with also per- the trans- recorder priced at the $10,000 level- mitted a substantial saving in time. verse system), was able to provide ex- a substantial reduction from the pre- During this time North American cellent quality at a price substantially vious prices-was introduced by the Philips, RCA, and others had less than others available also de- at the time. Japanese Sony Corporation. This com- veloped a number of excellent video In November, 1959, a grant from the pany had started in 1948 by build- recorders at competitive prices. Video 40 AUDIO FEBRUARY, 1966 .

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