Museum of early consumer electronics and 1st achievements
www.rewindmuseum.com
Vintage VHS VCRs
With a domain name of
www.rewindmuseum.com including some of the
very first video cassette recorders means that this is a very important page. Hope you find it interesting.
Ferguson Model 8922. 1978
The 1st VHS VCR was introduced by JVC in 1976 and was the JVC HR-3300. This is a Ferguson
clone of the 3300. The unit was introduced in the UK in 1978 and was cloned by a number
of manufacters including Baird. This is the VHS VCR that everyone remembers and it was
made in large quanities. It was widely availble for sale or to rent. In 1976 - 1978
it was, in comparison to other VHS and Betamax models, a very compact unit
which added to it's popularity.
The first Panasonic VHS VCR.
The VBT200 (1977) and the NV-8600b (1978)
The first ever Panasonic VHS VCR was the RCA VBT200.
In 1977, President Masaharu Matsushita visited RCA in the USA and talked to their representatives.
It was decided that Panasonic would supply RCA with VCRs using the VHS system. These video cassette
recorders would be built to RCA's specifications.
The first ever Panasonic VCR to be introduced into the UK was the NV-8600b in 1978
See the VBT200 below. This picture is from the Panasonic web site.
The VBT200 used a rotary tuner and the NV-8600b used a push button tuner.
The NV-8610b is below. Since the VBT200 was made for RCA, to the best of our
knowledge, it was never sold under the Panasonic brand name. The first VHS VCR with
the Panasonic label was indeed the NV-8600 and the NV8600b was the British
PAL version. Close comparison of the pictures shows that apart from the rotary tuner
the RCA200 and the NV-8610b are very similar.
The first ever portable VHS recorder.
The JVC HR-4100 EG 1978
The first portable VHS video system was introduced by JVC in 1978. This was the HR-4100
and GC-3350 colour video camera. The HR-4100 was large and weighed a massive 16.5 lbs.
Indeed it is almost as if JVC simply took the HR-3300 mains unit and chopped off the tuner.
The resulting unit was considerably heavier than the colour reel to reel portables from
1975 (3 years earlier) like the JVC
PV-4800E.
The increased weight would be largely due to the direct mechanical cassette eject system and
the "built like a tank" approach. Looking at the pictures does not really illustrate the size
and weight of this unit. Hence the inclusion of the lady above trying to carry it. Also remember
that a farly heavy camera and cable needed to be carried as well to complete the videographers
kit. This unit was obtained recently (2006) and the VCR and leather case is in mint condition.
We are hoping to aquire a GC-3350 camera soon.
The first ever VHSC video recorder.
JVC HS-3C (with GX-70E camera.) 1982
Here you can see a complete kit of VHSC recorder, power supply, spare batteries, manuals,
adapter cassette and camera. The JVC HR-C3 was the first ever compact VHS cassette system
and was introduced in 1982. This system was compatible with the popular full size VHS system
since the small compact cassette slotted into the larger cassette adapter and could then be
played in a standard VHS recorder. The HS-3C was the first recorder using this new system and
used a miniature mechanism. A smaller head drum of 41mm was used and there were many
energy saving features. The result was a very compact recorder weighing in at only 1.9Kg
Making a donation.
The Rewind Museum is a non-profit making endeavor. The web site and the touring exhibitions are run on
a voluntary basis. Donations,
not money, just old items you no longer want, are always welcome.
If you have something that you think would be of interest, please contact us with the details.
We can send in a courier to pick them up. (Even an international courier). Thank you.
Web site copyright © 2010 Vision International. All rights reserved.
For all questions & comments about this site's content contact Dave at Rewind
Museum (We only accept questions in English. We do not open attachments.)
