Also, U-Matic was used for many years to master CDs. Did you know? The digital data was carried on U-Matic to the mastering plant from the studio. The requirements for CD mastering is very stringent when it comes to tape reliability.
One man's trash is another man's treasure. Truer words were never spoken for RetroChad. I love all this stuff he has. Being a collector myself (but with limited space) this would be like a dream come true. Nice to see a U-Matic still working. Not many of them have survived.
My school had a set of JVC units of the same era. I remember having gotten the science teacher to set them up in a makeshift editing bay in hopes of producing a year-end video for the class. Unfortunately, they were so old and beat up that they had become useless for the task. I just played around with viewing the old tapes all afternoon and left the whole mess. I forgot to clean up and when I asked the teacher about it, he said, angrily, that it had already been done. I still feel bad.
What I really find amazing is the fact that Sony never changed the physical construction of their cassettes. HDCAMSR tapes, designed for digital HDTV broadcasting, still have the same shape as the good old U-MATIC tapes from 1970.
Thank you! They really did catch on in the broadcast business... however I don't think any 3/4" machines were marketed for home use. They may have been too expensive at that time to be appealing to the consumer market.
It probably weighs about 30 pounds! If only more people had these at home and had recorded things that the networks wiped in the 1970's. So many shows are lost forever now. We had these in junior high school because I remember using them on the A/V carts.
I researched U-matic tapes, and found that out, as well as that it was created in 1969 and entered the market in 1971. It is now being phased out in favor for digital, unfortunately.
Like, wonderful video toy. All of the "type 2" (VO-2000-series) units are great ("type 1" units are horrible). Please continue doing your part in keeping U-matic alive well into the 21st Century. Way to go, babe!
Man you got a nice one!!!!!! STILL WORKS! Why did Sony have to use those Sanyo capacitors in the Betamaxes.........., when this U-Matic is older and used better parts. Anyway, this machine looks really cool, and I like the layout of the controls. Very nice machine.
Occasionally I would have to sign-on a TV station and would get to play some 3/4" tapes on the air....the machines however were the later front-loading types.
The Beta format was superior to the VHS format. I remeber seeing TV news crews using professional Beta Cams. Gee I never saw a VHS. Alignment on a beta machine was tougher than a VHS, but the tape was much more stable in the mechanism hence fewer tracking errors.
Also, U-Matic was used for many years to master CDs. Did you know? The digital data was carried on U-Matic to the mastering plant from the studio. The requirements for CD mastering is very stringent when it comes to tape reliability.
Now I have to get one of those too! The picture quality was superb, it's a wonder it never caught on. Very nice machine.
One man's trash is another man's treasure. Truer words were never spoken for RetroChad. I love all this stuff he has. Being a collector myself (but with limited space) this would be like a dream come true. Nice to see a U-Matic still working. Not many of them have survived.
I have 2 l got from a studio I want to rid of. They upgraded. Everything is in tact. Also 2 betamax and beta cams l of each
Oh- they may need some work. 1 of the umatics l know the picture stopped playing if that helps
My school had a set of JVC units of the same era. I remember having gotten the science teacher to set them up in a makeshift editing bay in hopes of producing a year-end video for the class. Unfortunately, they were so old and beat up that they had become useless for the task. I just played around with viewing the old tapes all afternoon and left the whole mess. I forgot to clean up and when I asked the teacher about it, he said, angrily, that it had already been done. I still feel bad.
What I really find amazing is the fact that Sony never changed the physical construction of their cassettes. HDCAMSR tapes, designed for digital HDTV broadcasting, still have the same shape as the good old U-MATIC tapes from 1970.
Thank you! They really did catch on in the broadcast business... however I don't think any 3/4" machines were marketed for home use. They may have been too expensive at that time to be appealing to the consumer market.
It probably weighs about 30 pounds! If only more people had these at home and had recorded things that the networks wiped in the 1970's. So many shows are lost forever now. We had these in junior high school because I remember using them on the A/V carts.
The quality on the recording looks really good... and the Golden Girls are still funny today!
Thank you! The Golden Girls was always one of my favorite shows to watch in the 80's (and still is today).
lol I just found the same model on the street being thrown out by a realtor today, still works too!
I researched U-matic tapes, and found that out, as well as that it was created in 1969 and entered the market in 1971. It is now being phased out in favor for digital, unfortunately.
Like, wonderful video toy. All of the "type 2" (VO-2000-series) units are great ("type 1" units are horrible). Please continue doing your part in keeping U-matic alive well into the 21st Century. Way to go, babe!
Man you got a nice one!!!!!! STILL WORKS! Why did Sony have to use those Sanyo capacitors in the Betamaxes.........., when this U-Matic is older and used better parts. Anyway, this machine looks really cool, and I like the layout of the controls. Very nice machine.
that is amazing quality!
I like the meters too and it's great that it has stereo capabilities plus actual adjustable audio input controls.
Wow, I want one of these. See, we had blue ray all along. They just kept on changing the name and making them not as good as they used to.
Occasionally I would have to sign-on a TV station and would get to play some 3/4" tapes on the air....the machines however were the later front-loading types.
Great machine and demo :)
I saw one of these as a background prop in "Lost"!
Thanks for the comments! The picture quality is really good.
The Beta format was superior to the VHS format. I remeber seeing TV news crews using professional Beta Cams. Gee I never saw a VHS. Alignment on a beta machine was tougher than a VHS, but the tape was much more stable in the mechanism hence fewer tracking errors.
Is not VHS format. Is U MATIC format
Nice! I wonder why these never caught on for home use?
Screw VHS and Betamax, give me one of those!
Anyone know what sort of monitor this could be hooked up to? I have one of these beasts but no monitor. It has an 8 pin connector for video out.
Anyone know where I can get a video cable for one of these? I have 3 units I need to test.
me too!!!!
Ikegami maybe?
I want !
I have 2 to get rid of. Need work though. Also a beta cam and beta max,. All decks came from a station
BETAMAX IS VERY MUCH BETTER ON VHS FORMAT
I noticed that too. Today's tapes are cheaply made.