An old school moment: the first videotape recorder

Talk about standing on the shoulders of giants—seems appropriate that given the calm before the next format war storm we're about to brave we might take a moment to look back at the Ampex VRX-1000 (later renamed the Mark IV), what was effectively the first commercial videotape recorder back in 1956. It sold for $50,000 a pop (which by our inflation calculations is about $345,000 2005 dollars) and apparently they actually moved some units at that gigantic price. But one of our favorite things about this thing is that Bing Crosby Enterprises (the business frontend for you-know-who) was an early investor in Ampex—what can we say, the man was connected! Say, isn't that a young Howie Long second from the left and Rod Serling third from the right?

[Via P&V]

[popeye @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

They also invented the vcr, but in Xerox fashion gave it up to Hitachi.

[KC @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Wow, that looks to be about the same size as Toshiba's prototype HD-DVD player LOL!

I guess those guys were really ahead of their time in miniaturization technology since it looks like Toshiba is using some of their techniques for the first generation HD-DVD boxes LMAO!

[homer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

in 2100 someone will show in another vintage website
steve jobs proudly stand with the nano in his hand.

[Paulie [eatlga] @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I hear it took two men to hold up the remote control for it as well.

[Pete @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Yep, and note the Emmy award sitting atop the deck.

[Ed Hardy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Digging around in a storage closet at my old college I once ran across an early VCR. It was about the size of a suitcase and had a reel-to-reel design.

I would have thought it was a reel-to-reel music player except it had a camera attached by a cable.

And I thought that thing was big.

[Charles Bronson @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Wow, I can't believe my eyes when I look at that picture. A technology invention created by AMERICANS?? Wow, you can tell that must have been the 50's. No Indians or Chinese in the picture, all white, WOW. You would never see that today in Silicon Valley.

The only question is, what happened?? Why is all new technology being created by Asians and Indians?? Americans dropped the ball!

[homer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

because it's cheaper.

[Preston Wily @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I bet in 50 years we'll see a similar picture with Steve Jobs holding an iPod.

btw, Americans still innovate - they are just smart enough to send manufacturing to countries with lower labor costs. Don't confuse invention with production.

[ela2 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Charles Bronson
Your statement is incorrect. Americans design most stuff (electronics or otherwise). The Japanese have a knack for perfecting whatever we have invented. The chinese build whatever we've designed (electronics) because they are a cheap source of labor.

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Third guy from the right is Ray Dolby. He was an intern on the project. Proposed using FM modulation of the video to make it storable on the tape.

The photo only shows the transport. There were three additional 6-foot high equipment racks of electronics to make it all go.

[Rick (16x9) @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I never used the 1000. But I actually used to operate an Ampex 1200 and 2000 back in the day.

And no, I'm not 160 years old! :)

[Matthew Goeden @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hilarious!! Not the machine -- the Engineers -- what a bunch of nerds?!?!

Wait a minute; we just wear khakis/polos instead of white shirts/black ties. Damn, I guess we are still nerds....

[Pal @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

#13: "Hilarious!! Not the machine -- the Engineers -- what a bunch of nerds?!?!"

Actually, they look like guys just like us. Except the guy with the glasses.

[homer @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

#9, you knocked off my post. (#3)
I'll sue you.

[Ken @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Bing Crosby didn't own a piece of Ampex. He funded a competitive design (stationary heads, bizarrely high tape speed reel-to-reel) that failed.

[James Biskey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Mr. Bronson - in your comment #7, I hope you meant "Causasians" instead of "Americans". Last time I checked, you could be nonwhite and still be an American.

[Russ @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

#4, even tho it was the size of a single matress - bizarrely the remote was regularly misplaced, and would often turn up fallen behind the cushons of an extremely large sofa/couch that was on site..

[revgne @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

#10: "The Japanese have a knack for perfecting whatever we have invented."

Well, at least they used to. Nowadays it seems they can't even compete with koreans nor taiwanese, let alone perfect anything new from the US.

[Jackson West @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Man, I learned how to splice tape on Ampex decks. And you can still drive past their offices on the penninsula going north or south on 101.

[clonenode @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hate to burst everyone's patriotic bubble, but the Germans invented video tape recording:
http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org/collection/event.php?taid=&id=3456961&lid=1

"...He heard about the German Magnetophon, examples of which had been brought to the United States (and other countries). Because Germany had been defeated in the war, the Allied governments considered most German technology and patents up for grabs. Ampex engineers made many improvements to the original design but kept all of its key features."

[Galley @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

#17, we just call them "white guys". ;-)

[clonenode @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hate to burst everyone's patriotic bubble, but the Germans invented video tape recording:
http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org/collection/event.php?taid=&id=3456961&lid=1

"...He heard about the German Magnetophon, examples of which had been brought to the United States (and other countries). Because Germany had been defeated in the war, the Allied governments considered most German technology and patents up for grabs. Ampex engineers made many improvements to the original design but kept all of its key features."

[onuo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Hate to burst your bubble clonenode! but try John Logie Baird not only the father of television but early video recording, colour TV, 3D TV - yes 3D! and radar...

onuo

[Johman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I'm sucker for these type of old electronics. Wow, you can tell that must have been the 50's. No Indians or Chinese in the picture, all white, WOW. You would never see that today in Silicon Valley. In my age it was called cctv.