Page 32 - 2015-12

ble, getting the full recording proved some- offered all of the requirements of the day at a
what problematic. As well as record and play, reasonable price, although I recall the tapes
the machine had forward and rewind func- being over $20.00 each at the start. Although
tions. There was no cue or review functions. slightly technically superior to VHS, it was
VHS that won the day, probably due to the,
Philips N1700 VCR market power of Panasonic and JVC.

Improved versions of the system as
well as better functionality oc-
curred over time. Innovations like
Hi-Fi sound, and the introduction
of Super Betamax, an improved
version of the system, with some
VCRs having slow motion, multi
speed play, etc. Beta was the pre-
ferred format for some TV stations
for their non-broadcast copies of
The Philips N1700 VCR material. Pre-recorded tapes were
produced for the format. A long
The N1700 was a vast improvement on the play function was introduced, resulting in
N1500, in that it gave a bit over two hours of longer play time at the expense of the image
record time and had an electronic timer. It used quality.
the same tapes as the N1500, Philips
had got more run time out of it by ...
reducing the tape speed. Pre-recorded
tapes actually became available for the
N1700 at one time.
Both the N1500 and the N1700 used
cassettes which had the supply and take
up reel one above the other. The differ-
ing height of the reels being used within
the machine to provide the required
angle between the head drum and the
tape.
Early model National VHS VCR. Note the mechanical ‘piano
key’ type controls and top loading cassette.
Beta / Betamax / Betacord
This format was introduced by Sony,
Sanyo, Toshiba and others in the 1970s It Video Home System (VHS)
Introduced at about the same time as Beta, the
Below: The Sony SL-C7 first marketed in 1979, was VHS system offered pretty much the same
the top of the range at the time. basic VCR functions. Marketed primarily by
Panasonic (then known as National), JVC, and
in the USA, RCA. There was a better range
of pre-recorded tape in VHS (perhaps a factor
in eventual demise of Beta). Over time, im-
provements were made to both machines and
tapes. Hi-Fi sound and long play were intro-
duced, tapes became thinner and four hour
tapes appeared. Super VHS gave improved
image quality, but few were sold, as most

32 REEL DEALS December 2015