Videocassette Recorder
VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER
VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER (VCR) is a device that records, stores, and plays back television programs on magnetic tape; VCRs are also used to play prerecorded commercial cassettes. Videocassette recorders for consumers evolved from models used by broadcast professionals. By the early 1970s, two competing types of VCRs were available: the Betamax format, produced by the Sony Corporation, and the VHS format, produced by the Matsushita Corporation. Although Betamax was widely acknowledged to be technologically superior, the consumer market ultimately abandoned this format because it lacked several desirable features, such as recording times that could accommodate movies and longer programs on a single tape.
The introduction of the VCR not only transformed the television-viewing habits of Americans by allowing them to tape programs and time-shift their viewing; it also shook the roots of the powerful movie industry. Initially, industry leaders feared that the availability of recorded movies to be watched at home would cause Americans to leave theaters in droves. But their fears proved to be unfounded, and over the next decades the revenue from videocassette sales and rentals became a significant portion of the profits from Hollywood films. The introduction of inexpensive camcorders—movie cameras that use videotape recording—gave another boost to the popularity of VCRs as families used them to make home movies that they could later view on their television sets and share with relatives and friends.
Videocassette recorders gave Americans new flexibility, privacy, and control in viewing television programs and movies. They were perhaps the first technology that enabled consumers to personalize their viewing experiences, a trend that continues to grow in importance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dobrow, Julia R., ed. Social and Cultural Aspects of VCR Use. Hillsdale, N.J: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1990.
Gaggioni, H. P. "The Evolution of Video Technologies." IEEE Communications Magazine 25 (Nov. 1987): 20–36.
Graham, Ian. Television and Video. New York: Gloucester Press, 1991.
Wolpin, Stewart. "The Race to Video." American Heritage of Invention and Technology 10 (Fall 1994): 52–63.
Loren ButlerFeffer
See alsoElectricity and Electronics ; Film .