1961
The quest for home video
Loewe Optacord 500
Source: Loewe
In 1961 the German consumer electronics manufacturer Loewe showed its
Optacord 500 video recorder at the Berlin Radio Show (Funkausstellung). It was
claimed to be designed for home use, although it bore more resemblance to the
broadcast standard models then being employed in television studios.
The 50mm (two-inch)
tape advanced at 19 cm per second, the picture being recorded in
transverse tracks, one field (half a frame) in each sweep from top to
bottom of the tape. Sound was recorded during the vertical blanking interval
period (a technique known as sound-in-syncs). The recorder had inputs for both a
camera and a broadcast television signal.
Loewe Optacord 600.
1961
The quest for home video
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