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Post by iankmclachlan on Sept 16, 2011 10:06:34 GMT
I have recently viewed a TV Times for January 1965 where 2 'teletapers' (i.e. video recorders) were being offered as prizes in a competition. Two more could be won the following week. This means that 4 families had these early video machines. No doubt other people had them too. Apparently you had to leave on the sound and vision for the programmes to be taped. I wonder if any of these early recordings still exist somewhere?
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Post by Greg H on Sept 16, 2011 11:35:25 GMT
Very interesting. Is there any chance of scans of the relevant pages for a bit of a peak? I dont know if ITV would still have records of the winners of a competition from that long ago. worth a go though.
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Post by Peter Stirling on Sept 16, 2011 14:27:35 GMT
Yes its rather shameful that this bit of history the Teletaper VKR500 has been forgotten about with regards to mentions in TV docs or even the internet itself.
While home VTRs from the majors like Sony and Philips were geared at that time to making movies with a camera, the VKR had a probably unique feature in that it was able to record TV programmes directly.
It would have been also cheap to run as it used normal quarter inch audio tape.However this lead to a disadvantage in that tape that size (at that time) could not be helically scanned meaning that the tape had to run very fast cutting down the running time.
What happened to it ?
who knows ? It might have been ahead of its time? but mostly likely it was the usual British banged together in a basement for 10 bob operation and hence probably had reliability problems and user confusion issues?
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Post by Greg H on Sept 16, 2011 15:29:10 GMT
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Post by Ewan Montague on Sept 16, 2011 16:06:45 GMT
did a quick search on this online and most references to it seem to have been made on other sites by you lot. I've never heard of this until now, are there any sites that give full tech specs?
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Post by Peter Stirling on Sept 16, 2011 21:34:41 GMT
did a quick search on this online and most references to it seem to have been made on other sites by you lot. I've never heard of this until now, are there any sites that give full tech specs? Yes very difficult to track down nwo as it seemed to have been consigned to history in about 1966? Can't even find the company that made it. if its any help it was featured on Tomorrow's World circa 1964. I would suspect but maybe wrong that it could have been a based on a small scale version of the BBC VERA videotape machine, which was also abandoned in favour of the slick Ampex machine. Vera www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyIxCRvOSGk |
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Post by Bobby Clark (synthpopalooza) on Sept 17, 2011 4:13:06 GMT
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Post by Simon B Kelly on Sept 17, 2011 21:31:54 GMT
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Post by markboulton on Sept 18, 2011 22:59:03 GMT
Ah yes, the EIAJ2 cartridge. An ingenious machine. I remember someone on YouTube having video clips showing him setting up one of these, showing the tape lacing mechanism in operation with the top off, and quite a few direct video clips taken from the machine's playback, which was pretty good quality. Incidentally, the cartridge contained only one reel and the loose end of the tape was wound up into the machine onto an internal take-up spool - so the cartridge had to be fully rewound in order to eject it. But that's not what the teletaper was, which was open-reel. I do recall the exact TV Times article and another page related to the same machine, but can't find links to any of these now (they're in bookmarks I've long lost between PCs). |
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Post by Brian Fretwell on Sept 20, 2011 18:51:35 GMT
I do remember the competition and that it was reel to reel non helical, I think it recorded in 5-10 minute chunks then had to slow down and record with the tape going in the reverse direction so part of the programme was missed .The only other thing that comes to mind is a quote from Muriel Young that she would record Pussycat Willum, which I suppose was only a few minutes.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2011 19:02:18 GMT
That's an interesting comment, Brian! I wonder if She kept any of them and what happened to her tapes?
Yes, Pussycat Willum used to be about 5 minutes tagged on to the end of Small time when they had a few minutes to spare before the 5pm programme (and pre-ads). It was really studio continuity with Willum talking to Muriel and reading out letters from viewers. A bit like an early version of the BBC broom cupboard with Andi Peters. That's what we used to get from Rediffusion in London anyway (I presume it wasn't networked).
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Post by Dave Andrews on Sept 21, 2011 9:43:04 GMT
... But that's not what the teletaper was, which was open-reel. I do recall the exact TV Times article and another page related to the same machine, but can't find links to any of these now (they're in bookmarks I've long lost between PCs). I dimly remember a news item in the early/mid 1960's showing a domestic VT machine - it appeared to be mounted directly on the top of the TV set, and was open reel with what appeared to be 1/4" tape (on 7" or maybe 10.5" reels ?). I remember that the reels went round very fast ! Would that have been a Teletaper ? |
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Sept 21, 2011 9:44:52 GMT
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Post by Peter Stirling on Sept 21, 2011 10:14:22 GMT
... But that's not what the teletaper was, which was open-reel. I do recall the exact TV Times article and another page related to the same machine, but can't find links to any of these now (they're in bookmarks I've long lost between PCs). I dimly remember a news item in the early/mid 1960's showing a domestic VT machine - it appeared to be mounted directly on the top of the TV set, and was open reel with what appeared to be 1/4" tape (on 7" or maybe 10.5" reels ?). I remember that the reels went round very fast ! Would that have been a Teletaper ? Yes that sounds just like it! It appeared to have also worried the big boys too, as the Philips machine (seen as a security system in The Baron:diplomatic immunity) became available with an attachment to record TV programmes. This consisted of a wire with a special cap, which you took off the back of the TV set and fitted it over a certain VALVE! to pick up the TV signal. So not for the faint hearted. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2011 12:52:22 GMT
Hmm, possibly it was only part-networked as I have a few friends around the country that did not get Small Time in their area, with children's programmes beginning at 5pm rather than at 4.45pm (as here in London area). |
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