VCR

In the mid-1950s, a transverse scanning system of video and recording playback was created. This system of recording was known as quadruplex and represents the origins of the VCR. In the quadruplex system, the sound and picture control tracks run linearly close to the edges of the tape. Fixed heads scan them while the picture control track, "generates signals that serve to adjust the speed of the rotating drum so that each head is aligned directly over the correct part of each recorded video track" (Encarta 1). The tape used was two inches wide, but the quadruplex system was reserved mainly for the broadcasting industry. Another scanning principle was developed for video recorders intended for consumer use. In this less complex system, a helical scan has a much slower head-to-tape speed than the quadruplex system and has a smaller maximum bandwidth. While this system was developed for consumer video recorders, it has a much lower level of resolution than the quadruplex system. Most of the video cassette recorders developed with this system of scanning had a tape width of 0.5 inches. During the1970s and 1980s, VCRs had an improving price/performance ratio which began to make them quite popular with consumers.

Originally, Sony had infiltrated the market but went with the Beta format as opposed to the VHS format. While the Beta format provided better quality of resolution, the VHS format won out with consumers and by the 1980s VCRs were r

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gnetic tapes with recording lengths from two to five hours. Sony makes the world's smallest camcorder for a price of approximately $1,100, weighing 24 ounces and measuring 5-3/4" x 5" x 2-3/8" (Spy 1). The miniaturization trend in consumer electronics is nothing new, however, the miniaturization of the camcorder has spurred many new uses for it, from education to security systems. Of course, there are ongoing attempts to produce video recording and playback on a computer chip so that the utility of video recording will only increase in the future. Other developments like DVD (digital video discs) threaten the popularity of the VCR, but, the industry is still booming, "Some 25.6 million VCRs � 1.3 million more than in 1997 � were shipped to dealers in 1998, an all-time high, according to the Consumer Electronics Association" (Gelmis 1). However, handheld, fixed and miniature camcorders are used in all kinds of industries today. Many firms use video recorders as a way of improving security. Schools, hospitals, prisons, government agencies and financial enterprises all employ the use of video recording to beef up security and provide 24/7 surveillance at lower cost than traditional forms of security with greater effect

Category: Science - V