Video recorderIn 1956, the first practical commercial black-and-white video recorder was demonstrated at a broadcast convention in Chicago and simultaneously in Redwood City, Ca. The VT-100 by Ampex Corporation of Redwood City was the size of a deep-freeze with an additional five 6-foot racks of circuitry. The 2-inch wide magnetic tape moved at a speed of 15 inches per second. The system had four heads on a disc rotating perpendicularly across the width of the tape, thus tracing an oblique track pattern. A single 14-inch reel could carry a 65-min. recording. The Columbia Broadcasting System purchased three of the video recorders in 1956, priced at $75,000 for each unit, and first broadcast from tape on 30 Nov 1956. |
