Talk:Videocassette recorder

Market dynamics

This article fails to point out some market dynamics and corporate politics behind it. Someone in business school should write a paper about what happened.

Betamax failed because it was a SONY format. All other manufacturers in the market banded together to reject it. They rather adopt an inferior format than to let SONY had its way. It was unthinkable how stupid the decision was because the VHS format (250 lines) has less resolution than the broadcast TV in NTSC (350 lines). Compared to S-VHS (400 lines) or LD or DVD, the VHS is pathetic.

You can see the similar situation in the "religious" war between the MOTIF and OpenLook GUI for the X-Windows in computer. OpenLook was clearly a better designed GUI. Since it was supported by Sun Micros and AT&T at the time, all other computer companies went for an alternative as long as it is not from the two giants.

~~Beta failed (in the western world) because its blank tapes could only record for five hours max, and Sony did not market the product effectively: their ads appealed to the congoscenti rather than to mass market. Beta was, however, popular in certain Asia-Pacific and Latin-American countries.~~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.156.43.8 (talk) 13:02, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Separate article for video tape

Video tape should not redirect here; it existed for over a decade before the video cassette and deserves its own article. -- Infrogmation 00:12 May 6, 2003 (UTC)

Video tape now has a separate article. — Walloon (talk) 16:38, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Introduction

I think the intro should be re-written - it's a bit silly going into detail about the different speeds of VHS tapes in this part of the article. Actually I'm not sure if that should be here at all and should be best left to VHS. This article should be by no means be specific to the VHS system - there's at least 10 other different tape formats that VCRs have used in the past couple of decades, be them consumer or professional formats. --Zilog Jones 22:01, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Redirection issues

Excuse me, but why was videocassette recorder redirected to video cassette recorder. videocassette is one word not two. video cassette recorder is the wrong name for the article. videocassette recorder is right. — 82.32.57.16 15:32, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

Excuse me, but what are you talking about? The title of this article is Videocassette recorder, and it does not redirect anywhere. There is no article titled Video cassette recorder. There is an article titled Video Cassette Recording, which which is about "VCR" an early domestic video format designed by Philips. The company always spelled "video cassette" as two words. Philips later abandoned the trademark, and "VCR" has become a generic term. — Walloon 00:08, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Did This Even Happen?

"In November 2004, Dixons, the largest electrical retailer in Britain, announced that it was to phase out sales of VCRs entirely."

Dixons and Currys in Ireland are still selling VHS VCRs anyway - I don't know about UK stores. --Zilog Jones 22:09, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Dixons website in the UK still sells them (as of 09/05); on the BBC last year, they stated that they 'expected to be sold out by Christmas'. I think the fact they're still selling them stretches the credibility of this claim too far, and it has been removed. The news reports *did* smack somewhat of a publicity stunt; make up your own mind!

Fourohfour 19:48, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Recording Times

What I would find really, extremely useful is a table showing all the different types of tapes, both PAL and NTSC, and their recording time on EP, SP, LP etc. I have had great difficulty finding such a resource on the web. From experience I now know some of them, but if anyone with more knowledge could make such a table, I for one would really appreciate it. --newsjunkie 16:02, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

History rewritten

I have categorised the history section, and tidied it up a bit. This is a generic article, and as such the history section should provide an overview, placing the *main* developments and features in context. It was evolving into a series of mini-articles about the particular formats, and in the process becoming too detailed for its intended purpose. (Each of the formats has its own page anyway, so there is a place for such detail).

Also, I believe that it's acceptable to say "cassette" instead of "videocassette" and "VCR" instead of "videocassette recorder", so long as it's clear from the context what is meant.

Anyway, no massive changes made, and no specific criticisms against any one contributor intended; I find that there is a tendency (particularly with technical articles) for edits which may individually be fine to add up to something that is a mass of detail, and failing in its purpose as a result. Fourohfour 13:23, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

Double-decker video recorders

Does anyone remember the double-decker VCR? They were advertised on TV in the UK sometime during the 80's I think, but how popular were they? As the name implies, it was a VCR able to take 2 video tapes within the 1 unit. What caused their demise? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.31.18.85 (talk • contribs)

I remember seeing ads for Amstrad models in newspapers, but only once or twice during the late 80s/early 90s. Googling, I find that apparently an 'Orion' model (Argos/Index own-brand IIRC) was also released. This latter machine must be more recent; silver was virtually non-existent in consumer electronics for a long time until the industry decided en-masse that it was fashionable again one weekend in the late 1990s.

But my point was that they aren't and never were common; if the idea had been popular, Amstrad would have continued making them, and others would have widely copied the idea. Perhaps the question should be "Why didn't they really take off in the first place?".

Guessing, it's possibly because (if the 'Orion' is anything to go by), they were the size of two ordinary videos placed atop one another, and they'd probably cost approaching twice the cost. And although two separate recorders may have worked out *slightly* bulkier and more expensive, they have the advantage that you can use them entirely separately (e.g. kids room, second living-room, etc.), or pack the second one away when not in use. So, as a "value-added" replacement for an ordinary recorder, they're too large/expensive, and as a replacement for a two-recorder setup they lack flexibility. It's not like the "televideo" which despite the obvious drawbacks, has convenient niches; e.g. neat unit for watching in kitchen, easy setup/move around in corporate environment. In short, the double decker sounds good on paper, but when you stop and think about it, the market doesn't sound nearly so great.

But this is all speculation, and shouldn't go on the main page.

Fourohfour 12:46, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I think double-decker versions should be mentioned on the main page, without too much speculation. Even a quick mention would be ok, wouldn't it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.31.23.227 (talk • contribs) .

Yes; I put it in (new 'Variants' section) and noted its existence, but no more. I don't want that section to turn into a bloated analysis anyway. BTW, please sign your comments by placing four tildes (~~~~) at the end; this will be replace by the signature. Fourohfour 11:23, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

We used to have a dual vcr where the tapes were side by side —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.125.110.223 (talk) 16:43, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

GO-Video was the first (only?) company to sell dual deck VHS VCRs in the USA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.100.251.226 (talk) 04:48, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Stamp

I notice the caption on the stamp was changed so that we are "illustrating the stamp in question", hence making it "fair use".

I am not a lawyer, but despite the change, I'm not convinced that this would stand up to U.S. "fair use" laws. The question is whether we are genuinely describing the stamp, or using it as an illustration.

Anyhow, it's a nice enough stamp, but should it be the first (and hence "main") picture in the article, or would a good photograph of a VCR not be better? And yes, I'm well aware that whilst there are *countless* equipment shots (including, I'd guess, those of VCRs), the number of professional or near-professional standard ones is *far* lower. Fourohfour 13:05, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Stamps from the U.S. Postal Service are not under copyright. In fact, federal copyright law prohibits the U.S. government from holding any copyrights on its own behalf. -- Walloon 16:40, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

U.S. Postal Service#Copyright and reproduction --jiy (talk) 08:36, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

The article linked to says that post-1978 stamps are under copyright and that written permission is required for their use; therefore, my original reservation about its use seems to apply after all. Fourohfour 10:48, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

No, that USPS article linked as a source does not say that post-1978 stamps are under copyright. That word does not appear anywhere in the USPS article. Title 17 of the U.S. Code says about the U.S. Government and copyright: "Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government…" — Walloon 13:56, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Old Images

hey, the images are rather old, would not it be better if we add some newer ones? — 87.69.22.188 09:19, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

idk

"Speed Play"

"One feature still not seen today on VHS VCRs, or DVD players, was Beta's 'speed play', which allowed the viewing of programs at twice normal, but with clipped rather than 'chipmunk' voices."

Assuming "clipped" means "audio playback at normal pitch", I don't think this is totally true. I've seen at least one DVD player (actually a DVD recorder) that does render audio during double-speed playback with normal pitch--it's slightly distorted, but speech is intelligible. --68.102.127.239 07:21, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

This is also an error I've seen. At least the 'DVD players' should be deleted from that sentence. 68.82.155.232 18:50, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

"Main article"

Should we include

Main article: Video 2000

and the like in each of the format sections, to emphasise that more detailed articles are available? Or would this just add more clutter than it was worth? Any thoughts? Fourohfour 21:05, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

I've done this now. Fourohfour 18:08, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

22X Fast Forward

My Akai vcr VS-G280 has fast forward speeds of 7,11 and 22x but did the standard vhs machine in general have an industry wide 1x speed at all.Atirage 16:31, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

The "speeds" are multiples of the normal playback speed. Or that's what I'd assumed- what else would they be? Fourohfour 16:53, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

How does it work?

This was a very interesting article but, it fails to mention how the VCR actually works! 156.34.212.181 14:51, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

TV quality

...television sets of the time were rather poor in quality - limited to barely 3 megahertz bandwidth and 240 horizontal resolution...

This sounds like NTSC; was beta quality similar to VHS when viewed on PAL or SECAM?

Apepper 13:14, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

NTSC sets need comb filters to get over 220/240 lines, they didn't come into common use until late '80s

Copy Protection

I think all VCR have video AGC which is the attack vector of Macrovision. The difference is whether VAGC is done at the horizontal or vertical rate. If it's done at the horizontal rate Macrovision can only affect one line but at the vertical rate it can affect one field. I have seen VCR modifications that change the R-C time constant in the VAGC circuit by changing a resistor or capacitor to minimize the effect of Macrovision and they work, but only in older machines with discrete components. An EE friend of mine says Sony changed VAGC in Beta machines from horizontal to vertical right at the time when Macrovision was introduced. Collusion? Any comments? Also, I would suggest changing "unwatchable" to "annoying" or "very annoying." Unwatchable is a videophile term. If everyone was a videophile we would never have had Beta or VHS in the first place. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Stclifford (talk • contribs) 07:37, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Digital VHS

Nothing about Digital VHS? JVC tried to launch D-VHS a couple years ago. Prior to that, there was a digital satellite reciever with a built in digital VHS recorder, but using a proprietary format- not JVC's D-VHS.

S-VHS MiniDV combo

JVC, Matsushita and one other company made several dual deck VCRs with an S-VHS and a MiniDV transport. Some models had a 1394 Firewire port for copying video to a computer. I've never been able to find out if any of them can remotely control and digitize directly from the S-VHS transport.

a not so important drawback

Another important drawback of DVD recording is that one single layer DVD is limited to around 120 minutes of recording if the quality is not to be significantly reduced, while VHS tapes are readily available up to 210 minutes (standard play) in NTSC areas and even 300 minutes in PAL areas.

i admit it's been a long time since i used VHS, but i remember the recording quality being much lower than either broadcast (PAL) TV or DVD. in fact, if one were to record VHS-quality video on a DVD, i suspect a lot more than 300 minutes of video could be stored. this sentence should probably be reworder to reflect that, but i'm not sure what a good phrasing would be. kate.

I would also dispute those recording times. I have never seen a VHS tape that could record more than 160 minutes of NTSC in stores. I did recently find a T200 tape on Amazon, but it costs $30! I wouldn't call that "readily available", when T120 tapes cost ~$2. Were they once less expensive? — Ken g6 (talk) 17:31, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

VCR is a VTR

The lead claims that VTR refers only to open-reel video tape recorders. It is my understanding that a VCR is a type of VTR. I'm sure that different people have different opinions about this. If we're going to belabor this point, it needs to be supported by some quality citations. --Kvng (talk) 17:51, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

Agreed. I'm not an expert of VTRs or VCRs, but me and my classmates are doing a reverse-engineering project on VCRs and hopefully we can verify the differences between the two. Dudeaga (talk) 20:21, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

The term "VTR" is widely used to refer to any device that records videotape, open or closed reel, so you folks are correct. A VCR is a VTR; the only difference is that in a VCR the tape must be in a cassette. I've removed the paragraph. NTox · talk 06:30, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: 'Not moved. Consensus is against a move. Dpmuk (talk) 22:25, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

---

Videocassette recorder → VCR – Simple title. The device is nearly always referred to as a VCR and the long "videocassette recorder" is rarely used in speech. Voortle (talk) 21:06, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

• Support Compare to DVD or VHS. --BDD (talk) 22:56, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
• Support. Common name. Common sense. LCS check (talk) 23:21, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. No comparison to DVD or VHS, both of which most people would have a hard time knowing what the letters stand for. VCR's are not even used very much any more. Apteva (talk) 23:50, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. To me, as a Briton, VCR is an Americanism. It may be "nearly always referred to as a VCR" in America, but America is not the whole world. We in Britain generally call it a video recorder or just a video. -- Necrothesp (talk) 15:14, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
• Support. As I stated above, simple title. Most links to here are from VCR also. Voortle (talk) 18:55, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
• Support per VHS and DVD. RightGot (talk) 21:21, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
  • As I stated above, this is not a valid argument. DVD and VHS are used everywhere. VCR, however, is the common American term, but is not universally used. -- Necrothesp (talk) 22:29, 2 April 2013 (UTC)
• Support. 4.238.1.197 (talk) 01:53, 28 March 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. VCR is less recognisable; the longer name is descriptive and more likely to be understood. VHS and DVD are more recognisable, as they are well known from their logos, and unlike VCR, which is an abbreviation of a description, these are names of standards. "Video Home System" isn't well known, and there is more than one version for DVD. Peter James (talk) 22:47, 4 April 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. VCR is an abbreviation. VHS and DVD are the standard terms. 4.238.6.60 (talk) 13:34, 6 April 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. Per above. RightGot (talk) 16:20, 6 April 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. Article should have the full name, not the acronym (which is already a redirect so easily found). Sionk (talk) 22:42, 6 April 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose The acronym was not widely used in many countries, in contrast to DVD (which has never actually stood for anything) or VHS. Timrollpickering (talk) 14:36, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

"VCR"

The usage of VCR (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) is under discussion, see Talk:VCR (disambiguation) -- 65.94.76.126 (talk) 11:39, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

External links modified

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21st century use

I originally wrote this for the talk page in the VHS article but I though the information might be relevant here.

That section of the article currently deals primarily with the United States and parts of it might be outdated. I am under the impression that no video cassette recorder has a digital tuner so they would not be able to record channels other than what the viewer is watching after digital television transitions. I got that idea from the media and retailers in the United Kingdom in 2007 which encouraged the idea to promote sales of digital equipment ahead of digital switchover. According to one poll many Britons expected to get rid of their video recorders after the switchover. This might also be because the major studios stopped releasing films on VHS in the late 2000s and most viewers already had DVD players by then. However services such as timeshift channels and online catchup services such as BBC iPlayer also played their part in the decline in the use of recording equipment. As for immigrants using VHS to source content from their home countries, that is only possible for content that was ever released on VHS. I think this is the case throughout the developed world and the digital television transition in the United States was completed in September 2015. Tk420 (talk) 12:14, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

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Movies on videocassettes?

At the bottom of the section "First home video recorders", this article says "In 1967, videocassettes of movies became available for home use.", citing Broadcasting & Cable. This appears to be incorrect:

• The next paragraph of this article says the first videocassette format was introduced in September 1971. It is ... unlikely ... that a product was offered four years before it was playable.
• The B&C article at http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/timeline-fun-facts/112619, under 1967, says "Prerecorded movies on video are sold for home use." (Entire text; no mention of cassettes.)
• Cartrivision says "Cartrivision is an analog videocassette format introduced in 1972, and the first format to offer feature films for consumer rental" (with an online cite).

I've put the note/cite about prerecorded movies in Video tape recorder, in the middle of the History section where it fit chronologically. I've also changed the text and cite here. Both are plain links; anyone who wants to pretty them up (or make a local copy of the cited pages?) feel free. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.6.73.78 (talk) 14:49, 13 October 2016 (UTC)

No yearly/cumulative VCR sales data?

Can somebody please source it? 5.18.244.22 (talk) 19:46, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

Uncited material in need of citations

I am moving the following uncited material here until it can be properly supported with inline citations of reliable, secondary sources, per WP:V, WP:NOR, WP:CS, WP:NOR, WP:IRS, WP:PSTS, et al. This diff shows where it was in the article. Nightscream (talk) 19:03, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

Extended content

LEDE SECTION Most domestic VCRs are equipped with a television broadcast receiver (tuner) for TV reception, and a programmable clock (timer) for unattended recording of a television channel from a start time to an end time specified by the user. These features began as simple mechanical counter-based single-event timers, but were later replaced by more flexible multiple-event digital clock timers. In later models, the multiple timer events could be programmed through a menu interface displayed on the playback TV screen ("on-screen display" or OSD). This feature allowed several programs to be recorded at different times without further user intervention, and became a major selling point. History Early machines and formats First home video recorders Ampex and RCA followed in 1965 with their own reel-to-reel monochrome VTRs priced under US$1,000 for the home consumer market. The EIAJ format was a standard half-inch format used by various manufacturers. EIAJ-1 was an open-reel format. EIAJ-2 used a cartridge that contained a supply reel; the take-up reel was part of the recorder, and the tape had to be fully rewound before removing the cartridge, a slow procedure. Philips "VCR" format The format was also supported by Grundig and Loewe. It used square cassettes and half-inch (1.3 cm) tape, mounted on coaxial reels, giving a recording time of one hour. The first model, available in the United Kingdom in 1972, was equipped with a simple timer that used rotary dials. At nearly £600, it was expensive and the format was relatively unsuccessful in the home market. This was followed by a digital timer version in 1975, the N1502. In 1977 a new, incompatible, long-play version ("VCR-LP") or N1700, which could use the same blank tapes, sold quite well to schools and colleges. Avco Cartrivision Main article: Cartrivision The Avco Cartrivision system, a combination television set and VCR from Cartridge Television Inc. that sold for US$1,350, was the first videocassette recorder to have pre-recorded tapes of popular movies available for rent. Like the Philips VCR format, the square Cartrivision cassette had the two reels of half-inch tape mounted on top of each other, but it could record up to 114 minutes, using an early form of video format that recorded every other video field and played it back three times. Cassettes of major movies such as The Bridge on the River Kwai and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner were ordered via catalog at a retailer, delivered by parcel mail, and then returned to the retailer after viewing. Other cassettes on sports, travel, art, and how-to topics were available for purchase. An optional monochrome camera could be bought to make home videos. Cartrivision was first sold in June 1972, mainly through Sears, Macy's, and Montgomery Ward department stores in the United States. The system was abandoned thirteen months later after poor sales. Mass-market success A black Panasonic NV-SD2 HQ VHS VCR started gaining mass market traction in 1975. Six major firms were involved in the development of the VCR: RCA, JVC, AMPEX, Matsushita Electric / Panasonic, Sony, and Toshiba. Of these, the big winners in the growth of this industry were Japanese companies Matsushita Electric / Panasonic, JVC, and Sony, which developed more technically advanced machines with more accurate electronic timers and greater tape duration. The VCR started to become a mass market consumer product; by 1979 there were three competing technical standards using mutually incompatible tape cassettes Earlier machines used mechanically-operated control switches; these were replaced by microswitches, solenoids and motor-driven mechanisms. VHS vs. Betamax ...although many users did not perceive a visual difference. The first machines required an external timer, and could only record one hour, or two hours at lower quality (LP). The timer was later incorporated within the machine as a standard feature. The rival VHS format, introduced in Japan by JVC in September 1976 and in the United States in July 1977 by RCA, had a longer two-hour recording time with a T-120 tape, or four hours in lower-quality "long play" mode (RCA SelectaVision models, introduced in September 1977). In 1978, the majority of consumers in the UK chose to rent rather than purchase this new expensive home entertainment technology. The E-180 cassette tapes with three hours recording time were the initial standard (offering lower quality six hour recording in long play mode). A thinner 4 hour length (E240 tape 1981) soon followed. A much thinner E-300 appeared in 1999, not long before the format's demise offering five hours recording time (ten hours in long play mode). The rental market was a contributing factor for acceptance of the VHS, for a variety of reasons. In those pre-digital days TV broadcasters could not offer the wide choice of a rental store, and tapes could be played as often as desired. Material was available on tape with violent or sexual scenes not available on broadcasts. Home video cameras allowed tapes to be recorded and played back. Two hours and 4 hours recording times were considered enough for recording movies and sports. Although Sony later introduced L-500 (2 hour) and L-750 (3 hour) Betamax tapes in addition to the L-250 (1 hour) tape, the consumer market had swiftly moved toward the VHS system as a preferred choice. During the 1980s dual-speed (long play) models of both Beta and VHS recorders were introduced, allowing much longer recording times. The recording length on World Wide Standard on consumer video recorders (VHS) Was 8hrs with PAL colour encoding and 5hs-46mins with NTSC color encoding. The total recording length on The World Wide Standard On Professional Broadcasting (Betamax) was 3hrs 35mins on PAL colour configuration, and 5hrs on NTSC color configuration. With the introduction of DVD recorders, combined VHS and DVD recorders were produced, allowing both types of media to be played, and transfer of tape material to DVD. Philips Video 2000 Philips V2000 format video cassette recorder Main article: Video 2000 A third format, Video 2000, or V2000 (also marketed as "Video Compact Cassette") was developed and introduced by Philips in 1978, sold only in Europe. Grundig developed and marketed their own models based on the V2000 format. Most V2000 models featured piezoelectric head positioning to dynamically adjust tape tracking. V2000 cassettes had two sides, and like the audio cassette could be flipped over halfway through their recording time, which gave them up to twice the recording length of VHS tapes. User switchable record-protect levers were used instead of the breakable lugs on VHS and Beta cassettes. The half-inch tape used contained two parallel quarter-inch tracks, one for each side. It had a recording time of 4 hours per side, later extended to 8 hours per side on a few models. Machines had a 'real time' tape position counter with the information retained on the tape, so when tapes were loaded the position was known; this feature was only implemented on VHS recorders much later. V2000 became available in early 1979, later than its two rivals. The V2000 system did not sell well, and was discontinued in 1985. Other early formats Less successful consumer videocassette formats include: V-Cord, launched by Sanyo in 1974 VX, launched by Panasonic in 1975 Compact Video Cassette (CVC), developed by Funai and Technicolor and introduced in 1980. Faults such as these damaged the tape irreversibly, a particular problem with irreplaceable tapes filmed by users. VHS tapes recorded in LP or EP/SLP mode were more sensitive to minor head misalignment over time or from machine to machine. Decline The videocassette recorder remained in home use throughout the 1980s and 1990s, despite the advent of competing technologies such as LaserDisc (LD) and Video CD (VCD). While Laserdisc offered higher quality video and audio, the discs are heavy (weighing about one pound each), cumbersome, much more prone to damage if dropped or mishandled, and furthermore only home LD players, not recorders, were available. The VCD format found a niche with Asian film imports, but did not sell widely. Many Hollywood studios did not release feature films on VCD in North America because the VCD format had no means of preventing perfect copies being made on CD-R discs, which were already popular when the format was introduced. In an attempt to lower costs, manufacturers began dropping nonessential features from their VCR models. The built-in display was dropped in favor of on screen display for setup, programming, and status, and many buttons were eliminated from the VCR's front panel, their functions accessible only from the VCR's remote control. Remaining niche in recording Although consumers have passed over videocassettes for home video playback in favor of DVDs since the early 2000s, VCRs still retained a significant share in home video recording during that decade. While the adoption of DVD players has been strong, DVD recorders for home theater use have been slow to pick up (although DVD recorder-writer drives became de facto standard equipment in personal computers in the mid-2000s). Although technologically superior to VHS, there were several main drawbacks with recordable DVDs that slowed their adoption. When standalone DVD recorders first appeared on the Japanese consumer market in 1999, these early units were expensive, costing between US$2500–$4000. Different DVD recordable formats also caused confusion, as early units supported only DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs, but the more recent units can record to all major formats DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL. Some of these DVD formats are not rewritable, whereas videocassettes could be recorded over repeatedly (notwithstanding physical wear). Another important drawback of DVD recording is that one single-layer DVD is limited to around 120 minutes of recording if the quality is not to be significantly reduced, while VHS tapes are readily available up to 210 minutes (standard play) in NTSC areas and even 300 minutes in PAL areas. Dual layer DVDs, which increase the high quality recording mode to almost four hours, are increasingly available, but the cost of this medium was still relatively high compared to standard single-layer discs. Another factor was the increasing use of digital video file formats and online video sharing, skipping physical media entirely. For these reasons, DVD recorders never took hold of the video recording market like VCRs had. Digital video recorders have since come to dominate the market for home recording of television shows. Special features Multi standard One of the problems faced with the use of video recorders was the exchange of recordings between PAL, SECAM and NTSC countries. Multi Standard video recorders and TV sets gradually overcame these incompatibility problems. High quality audio (Nicam, AFM, and HiFi) See also: NICAM The U-matic machines were always made with Stereo, and both Betamax and VHS recorded the audio tracks using a fixed linear recording head. However the relatively slow tape speed of Beta and VHS was inadequate for good quality audio, and significantly limited the sound quality. Betamax's release of Beta Hi-Fi in the early 1980s was quickly followed by JVCs release of HiFi audio on VHS (model HR-D725U). Both systems delivered flat full-range frequency response (20 Hz to 20 kHz), excellent 70 dB signal-to-noise ratio (in consumer space, second only to the compact disc), dynamic range of 90 dB, and professional audio-grade channel separation (more than 70 dB). In VHS the incoming HiFi audio is frequency modulated ("Audio FM" or "AFM"), modulating the two stereo channels (L, R) on two different frequency-modulated carriers and recorded using the same high-bandwidth helical scanning technique used for the video signal. To avoid crosstalk and interference from the primary video carrier, VHS used depth multiplexing, in which the modulated audio carrier pair was placed in the hitherto-unused frequency range between the luminance and the color carrier (below 1.6 MHz), and recorded first. Subsequently, the video head erases and re-records the video signal (combined luminance and color signal) over the same tape surface, but the video signal's higher center frequency results in a shallower magnetization of the tape, allowing both the video and residual AFM audio signal to coexist on tape. (PAL versions of Beta Hi-Fi use the same technique). During playback, VHS Hi-Fi recovers the depth-recorded AFM signal by subtracting the audio head's signal (which contains the AFM signal contaminated by a weak image of the video signal) from the video head's signal (which contains only the video signal), then demodulates the left and right audio channels from their respective frequency carriers. The end result of the complex process is audio of outstanding fidelity, which was uniformly solid across all tape-speeds (EP, LP or SP.) Such devices were often described as "HiFi audio", "Audio FM" / "AFM" (FM standing for "Frequency Modulation"), and sometimes informally as "Nicam" VCRs (due to their use in recording the Nicam broadcast audio signal). They remained compatible with non-HiFi VCR players since the standard audio track was also recorded, and were at times used as an alternative to audio cassette tapes due to their exceptional bandwidth, frequency range, and extremely flat frequency response. The 8 mm format always used the video portion of the tape for sound, with an FM carrier between the band space of the chrominance and luminance on the tape. 8 mm could be upgraded to Stereo, by adding an extra FM signal for Stereo difference. The professional Betacam SP format of videocassette also used AFM on the higher-end "BVW"-series of Betacam SP deck models from Sony (such as the BVW-75) to offer 2 extra tracks of audio alongside the 2 standard Dolby C-encoded linear audio tracks for the format, for a total of 4 audio tracks. However, the 2 AFM tracks were accessible only on those decks equipped with AFM audio (like the BVW-75). Quality The problem is known as "head chatter", and tends to increase as the audio heads wear down. The sound quality of Hi-Fi VHS stereo is comparable to the quality of CD audio, particularly when recordings were made on high-end or professional VHS machines that have a manual audio recording level control. This high quality compared to other consumer audio recording formats such as compact cassette attracted the attention of amateur and hobbyist recording artists. Home recording enthusiasts occasionally recorded high quality stereo mixdowns and master recordings from multitrack audio tape onto consumer-level Hi-Fi VCRs. However, because the VHS Hi-Fi recording process is intertwined with the VCR's video-recording function, advanced editing functions such as audio-only or video-only dubbing are impossible. A short-lived alternative to the hifi feature for recording mixdowns of hobbyist audio-only projects was a PCM adaptor so that high-bandwidth digital video could use a grid of black-and-white dots on an analog video carrier to give pro-grade digital sounds though DAT tapes made this obsolete. Copy protection See also: Copy protection Introduced in 1983, Macrovision is a system that reduces the quality of recordings made from commercial video tapes, DVDs and pay-per-view broadcasts by adding random peaks of luminance to the video signal during vertical blanking. These confuse the automatic level adjustment of the recording VCR which causes the brightness of the picture to constantly change, rendering the recording unwatchable. When creating a copy-protected videocassette, the Macrovision-distorted signal is stored on the tape itself by special recording equipment. By contrast, on DVDs there is just a marker asking the player to produce such a distortion during playback. All standard DVD players include this protection and obey the marker, though unofficially many models can be modified or adjusted to disable it. Also, the Macrovision protection system may fail to work on older VCR's made before 1986 and some high end decks built afterwards, usually due to the lack of an AGC system. Newer VHS and S-VHS machines (and DVD recorders) are susceptible to this signal; generally, machines of other tape formats are unaffected, such as all 3 Betamax variants. VCRs designated for "professional" usage typically have an adjustable AGC system, a specific "Macrovision removing" circuit, or Time Base Corrector (TBC) and can thus copy protected tapes with or without preserving the protection. Such VCRs are usually overpriced and sold exclusively to certified professionals (linear editing using the 9-Pin Protocol, TV stations etc.) via controlled distribution channels in order to prevent their being used by the general public (however, said professional VCRs can be purchased reasonably by consumers on the second-hand/used market, depending on the VCR's condition). Nowadays, most DVDs still have copyright protection, but certain DVDs do not have it, usually pornography and bootlegs. However, some DVDs, such as certain DVD sets, do not have the protection against VHS copying, possibly due to the VHS format no longer used as a major retail medium for home video. Flying erase heads The flying erase head is a feature that may be found in some high end home VCRs as well as some broadcast grade VCRs and VTRs such as Type C videotape VTRs to cleanly edit the video, allowing to erase each video frame individually. Normally, the tape is passed longitudinally through two fixed erase heads, one located just before the tape moves to the video head drum and the other right next to the audio/control head stack. Upon recording, the erase heads erase any old recording contained on the tape to prevent anything already recorded on it from interfering with what is being recorded. However, when trying to edit footage deck to deck, portions of the old recording's video may be between the erase head and video recording heads. This results in a faint rainbow-like noise at and briefly after the point of the cut as the old video recording missed by the fixed erase head is never completely erased as the new recording is printed. The flying erase head is so-called because an erase head is mounted on the video head drum and rotates around in the same manner as the video heads. In the record mode, the erase head is active and erases the video precisely down to the recorded video fields. The flying erase head runs over the tape and the video heads record the signal virtually instantly after the flying erase head has passed. Since the erase head erases the old signal right before the video heads write onto the tape, there is no remnant of the old signal to cause visible distortion at and after the moment a cut is made, resulting in a clean edit. In addition, the ability of flying erase heads to erase old video off the tape right before recording new video on it allows the ability to perform insert editing, where new footage can be placed within an existing recording with clean cuts at the beginning and end of the edit. Variants In addition to the standard home VCR, a number of variants have been produced over the years. These include combined "all-in-one" devices such as the TV/VCR combo (a TV and VCR in one unit) and DVD/VCR units and even TV/VCR/DVD all-in-one units. Dual-deck VCRs (marketed as "double-decker") have also been sold, albeit with less success. In addition, VCR/Blu-ray combo players exist. These players can support up to six formats: VHS, CD (including VCD), DVD, Blu-ray, USB flash drives and SD cards.