| 1984 |
 Chronomedia index
Numbers after entries link to the list of references. |
links and notes |
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Cultural highlights | Predictions made this year |
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| January 13 |
UK’s Home Office grants a licence to Swindon Cable allowing it to relay Satellite Television. |
> 1984 September 17 |
| January 17 |
in the 'Betamax case', the US Supreme Court rules that using a videocassette recorder to tape off-air is not an infringement of copyright. |
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| January 16 |
Satellite Television, now owned by Rupert Murdoch, is re-launched as Sky Channel. |
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| January 22 |
 Apple Computers runs a 60-second (or 45-second) commercial during the half-time break in the Super Bowl to launch the Macintosh computer. The '1984' advert, based on imagery from George Orwell's novel and directed by Ridley Scott, costs $500,000 for the airtime and either $400,000 or $1.6m to produce (sources vary). |
 Watch the commercial, which has been doctored by Apple Computers to include an iPod player on the runner's waistband. Oh dear! |
| January |
BBC buys the ATV studios at Elstree. |
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| January |
Thorn EMI launches the VHD video disc system to the UK professional market. |
 The Quest for Home Video: VHD |
| January |
Philips launches the industrial PAL LaserVision video disc system in UK. |
The Quest for Home Video: LaserVision |
| February |
Access to France’s Minitel system is provided on an anonymous kiosk charging basis without the need for a subscription. |
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| February |
Digital Products Research Group at RCA’s David Sarnoff Research Center begins work that will emerge as Digital Video Interactive (DVI). |
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| March 5 |
Intelsat V-F8 satellite is launched by an Ariane rocket. |
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| March 16 |
Ekran 12 satellite is launched. |
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| March 29 |
Rediffusion launches a four-channel cable television service on 14 of its networks in the UK, offered to 302,450 homes passed. |
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| March 29 |
Three UK cable channels are launched on 22 upgraded narrowband relay systems. Music Box, Screensport and TEN (short for The Entertainment Network, a movie channel run jointly by the Rank Organisation and UIP International Pay TV) are the first specialised channels in Europe. The recommended charge for TEN is £7-£8 a month. The target is to achieve 1m subscribers by 1988, equal to 20 per cent of all cable households forecast for that year. |
> September 1 |
| March |
 JVC’s production version of a combined video camera cassette recorder, the GR-C1 VHS VideoMovie, is shown at Helmsley Palace, New York. It later appears at CES in Chicago. |
The Quest for Home Video: VHD |
| April 12 |
Telecommunications Act receives royal assent to sell off 51 per cent of British Telecom and create the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) regulatory body. |
Oftel: August 1
BT |
| April 22 |
Soviet Union's Gorizont 9 satellite is launched. |
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| April |
Indigenous television service starts in Faroe Islands. |
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| April |
RCA announces phased withdrawal of support for SelectaVision CED video disc system. |
The Quest for Home Video: CED |
| April |
Pioneer launches consumer laser video disc player to UK market. |
The Quest for Home Video: LaserDisc |
| April |
Laser video disc pressing plants start offering ‘while-you-wait’ check discs plus priority same-day turnaround pressing. |
The Quest for Home Video: LaserDisc |
| May 1 |
Rediffusion launches a four-channel cable service on six more UK local networks. |
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| May 23 |
Spacenet 1 satellite is launched by an Ariane rocket. |
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| July 2 |
Epic Records ships 2m copies of the Jackson Five album Victory to US record dealers, an unprecedented initial shipment. |
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| July 12 |
Robert Maxwell pays £113m to acquire Mirror Group Newspapers. |
 The official view of Robert Maxwell |
| July |
Austin Rover uses VHD video disc interactive system in 25 UK showrooms. |
The Quest for Home Video: VHD |
| August 1 |
Gorizont 10 satellite is launched. |
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| August 1 |
UK's Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) comes into formal existence. During the month British Telecommunications becomes a public limited company, wholly owned by the state. |
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| August 4 |
Télécom 1 and ESC 2 satellites are launched by an Ariane rocket. |
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| August 24 |
Ekran 13 satellite is launched. |
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| September 1 |
Two more UK cable channels are launched: The Children’s Channel and Premiere, a second movie channel. |
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| September 17 |
First UK broadband cable network to launch is Thorn EMI’s Swindon Cable Services. |
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| September 21 |
Galaxy 3 satellite is launched. |
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| September |
UK National Interactive Video Centre established. |
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| October |
Pioneer, Sony and Teac launch laser video disc/CD-audio combi-players in Japan. |
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| November |
Canal Plus terrestrial pay TV channel is launched in France. |
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| November |
BBC undertakes £2.5m Domesday interactive video project with 1986 target completion date. |
> 1986 November |
| November |
The offer to the public of 3,012m ordinary shares in British Telecom (BT)—50.2 per cent of the total—at 130p is 3.2 times over-subscribed. |
> 1991 December |
| • |
To celebrate British Film Year, the UK government abolishes capital allowances for film production. |
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| • |
UK cinema admissions reach the lowest level ever: 53.8m—a fall of 96.7 per cent from the peak achieved 38 years earlier in 1946. |
UK cinema admissions |
| • |
Bray Studios on the River Thames west of London is acquired by equipment rental company Samuelson Film Services. |
> 1990 March |
| • |
Shepperton Studios is bought by facilities company Lee International for £3.6m. |
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| • |
First feature film made in Djibouti: Le Grand Moussa, directed by Ahmed Dini. |
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| • |
Australian TV stations QTQ-9 Brisbane and STW-9 Perth are bought by entrepreneur Alan Bond for A$65m and A$50m respectively. |
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| • |
Japan’s BS-2a broadcasting satellite is launched. |
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| • |
This is the peak year for production of Betamax videocassette recorders: Sony produces 2.3m machines. |
The Quest for Home Video: Betamax |
| • |
 Sinclair Research’s QL 32-bit personal computer is launched in the UK but makes little more headway than the MSX format. UK market leaders are the Sinclair Spectrum and C64 models. |
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| • |
First Indian 3-D movie is My Dear Kuttichattan, directed in Malayalam by Appachan. |
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| • |
Do They Know It's Christmas? single by Band Aid, organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, raises £8m for African famine relief. |
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