Oddity Archive: Episode 265 - The Quasar Great Time Machine (VX Video Format)
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- Опубліковано 14 чер 2023
- You’re in for a “great” time!
Would you believe “good” time?
How ‘bout “adequate” time?
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3:50 - A (Largely Speculative) History Lesson
13:10 - The Quasar Great Time Machine’s Greatest Hits! (tape & VCR quirks)
25:31 - Footage Montage
To make up for having only one video head, VX spins the head drum twice as fast as VHS or Betamax. That could explain why it does an excellent job of clogging itself and chewing up the tape.
Initially they hadn't the goal to establish a consumer format for time shifting TV. So the running time was about 30 to a maximum of 60 minutes, so it was good for teachers, who recorded educational content for school. Few people with higher income purchased 2 video recorders to record shows and movies in 2 parts onto two video tapes.
The majority waited till the end of the 1970's, when videotapes could run 2 hours and some waited to the point, when a video recorder had the same price as a low budget reel tape deck.
I think I know why it's called the Great Time Machine. It ate up about two weeks of Benny Boy's time. 😀 But it's fascinating to see a format I'd never even heard of that was around at about the same time as Betamax and VHS.
The clips were pretty cool. I especially liked the brief glimpse of Shaun Cassidy - I was CRAZY about him back in the day. And I'm sure that first Japanese commercial featured the actor who played "Cornjob" in the Gamera movies on MST3K. I've heard that he did Japanese commercials back then, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was him.
More like 4-5 weeks.
Good, thorough job as usual. Now I know why I would pay to get the machine "fixed" and have it come back with a clean bill of health and then stop playing the tapes again (with that dreaded red light) within a few attempts. Silly me, I forgot to clean every moving part in it after 5 minutes of use! You have way more patience than I do. At this point I should just donate my machine to you. Any tapes I still have from it I would gladly pay to have someone else transfer for us.
It could certainly use a new head drum and AFT button.
I'm legitimately impressed by the audio fidelity
That was my first vcr. Bought it from Polk Brothers. I didn't know what format it was till I tried to buy tapes for it. Had to drive to Quasar plant in Franklin Park Illinois and buy from their store.
More than likely, (to explain Marilu Henner and Henry Mancini's appearances on the tapes) it was the 1980 Golden Globe Awards ceremony. If you pay close attention during the Awards show clips, Adrienne Barbeau announces Dolly Parton's name as Entertainer of the year... there was only one major movie in 1980 that she not only starred in, but sang the catchy theme song for: "9 to 5." And to drive it home: IMDb states that not only did Adrienne Barbeau and Dolly Parton appear at the ceremony, but so did Marilu Henner and Henry Mancini, both of which are also featured in this compilation. And to put the cherry on top: there was a series of outdoor performances with musical numbers at a stadium.
The montage was compiled from 13 different tapes.
@@OddityArchive cold reality ruining things again I see haha
The black bar is there because the one head had to record both fields at double the rpm so there wasn't a second head to take over during the period of gap around the drum, or so I've read.
My main takeaway from this episode is the '70s were crazier than I ever realized.
If only you could ask Marilu Henner herself, she could tell you the exact date and location where that bit was shot, and what it was for.
Not about the VX in particular, but I was just on vacation in Wales visiting my girlfriend and saw a quad machine in a museum and thought about your episode on quad, Ben. These episodes on old, obscure (if you can call quad obscure) tape and video formats teach me so much and I look forward to them the most out of everything you do--maybe aside from that sign-offs volume two you were teasing on the AFN episode, wink wink. Happy summer vacation in Archiveland!
5:21 I’ve often wondered if that style of glasses was ever fashionable in Japan or if they were always seen as goofy looking.
5:17 HOLY S***. It's Cornjob!
Good video! I liked the reference to Weird Al Yankovic's "Living with a Hernia" at 21:45.
Shame the Marilu Henner version of 'I Will Survive' isn't complete as it stands a chance of being the next Archive ear worm.
the Great Time Machine? Truly you are... a wizard of speed and time
MARLO AND THE MAGIC MOVIE MACHINE! I LOVED that show!!
I'm from the Netherlands and back in the early 80s as a kid my parents owned a Philips VCR and so it played the superior (and double-sided) VCC aka Video 2000 video format. Dutch videostores in the eighties had every movie they owned to rent on VHS, Betamax ánd VCC.
I always shudder when I think how close we came to buying one of these in June 1978. Whew.
Ahh yes, my favorite part of these videos, “The History Lesson”.
i really enjoy the random footage you show on these videos a lot, they're things i'd never have the chance of watching if it weren't for this channel, being from spain and 22 yo and all, so it's always interesting to see how tv/society was back then in the US. Also interesting to see newspaper clippings and such, "fighting inflation!" sounds so funny especially to refer to a piece of soon to be ewaste they wanted to get rid of 😭
I love to find about new obscure formats from many years ago, how they came to be, the landscape back then and why it failed (even if speculative), these videos truly are like a time machine, thank you for all the hard work you put in preserving media and making these videos telling us about it!
As a 70's kid I remember seeing on TV the once iconic "Quazaaaaaarrrrrrr" commercials.
the built-in dehumidifier has to make this the most Tairy Greene Machine-like format you've discussed
Great season Ben, OA keeps getting better and better. Thanks fir the years of entertainment, have a good break
Great episode! Never knew about this format before, thank you.
😮Sergie keep Benny-Boy out of the Bars 😂
27:31 I believe that is Dennis James who was known for many things in TV including hosting Name That Tune and the nighttime version of The Price is Right.
That is 100% Dennis. Coincidentally, Dennis himself is believed to have owned a VX VCR as well as a V-Cord II.
Also used to host Cerebral Palsy telethon.
27:00 Heyyy! Benny Hill!!!
28:00 For those that are Curious, this is the 1977 Paramount picture "Islands in the Stream" with the featured George C. Scott in the starring role.
🎉Happy Vacation Benny🎉
I wish it were a vacation.
The only way you'd be able to get a stable picture would require taking multiple passes at each tape, with and without the sync thing and then editing the soundtrack to sync with the stable picture, but the quality is good enough to make it not worth the huge pain in the ass that taking more passes at each tape would be.
It did remind me that I've got a bunch of sporting events recorded in the 80's on vhs tapes I found at a thrift store to transfer. I'm hoping for a bunch of old local commercials.
so glad to see u still posting, i love seeing these old obscure formats
Mancini blowing Flight of the Bumblebee like a boss.
23:08 This was the 1974 British Grand Prix, held on 20 July 1974, won by Jody Scheckler, with Niki Lauda (who led most of the race) finishing fifth.
*1978. The ad breaks from that tape are currently Patreon-only.
@@OddityArchive Except...Jean-Paul Jarier (#10) wasn't in the 1978 race. The 1974 race is the only one that featured all five of the racers shown on the screen AND Lauda leading at some point (all five were in the '75 race, too, but Lauda never led). Maybe listing Jarier was a mistake? Maybe they were re-running the 1974 race in 1978 for some reason?
My bad. The tape is public and I forgot all about it. Perhaps a callback to the '74 race? I spent that entire transfer constantly changing the setup trying to get the least worst result possible. ua-cam.com/video/6VrbA3BPN-w/v-deo.html
Watching this again I just noticed that you ran the intro through the VX, that was a great touch!
21:48 living with a hernia got to have an operation feel so old!
Henner's family ran a Dance school in Chicago that performance invokes her origins.
28:30 WOW, didn't know Hank played the flute either!!
Ben will survive...
Behind his box.
You may not ever see his face
But you will listen when he talks...
🧐 ~ I assume the “dehumidifier” is just a fan to ventilate the unit with [as you said] with the cassette door open, it’s motor sounds like it needs oiling - which would make it quiet, and depending on how it draws the air into the unit = a risk of dust buildup inside the unit ~ unless the air is drawn in through a filtered vent on the outside and blown out the open door. I would have liked to see this “dehumidifier” fan, where it is located and the setup of it ☹️
Marlo and the Magic Movie Machine!
"Mom, can we have the Z Channel?"
"We have the Z Channel at home"
The Z Channel at home: 25:33
@28:10 Kenny was performing for 15 years almost by that time !
I would agree that the black at the bottom of the picture is where the head would reach the edge of the tape and have a small gap before it picked up the tape again after the gap.
All the best skate videos are filmed on VX
4:52 Well, they've had over 50 years, and the U-Matic *still* hasn't cured cancer! What a gyp! Thanks a *lot* , Sony...!
"You can't cook on a diamond" cracks egg on her hand. Lol.
-nice dual cowl phaeton
- clean every TWO hours?!
-Ben's incredibly manicured hands
-season 11, wow!
-FANTASTIC EPISODE!
I think I can safely say you're the first to refer to my perpetually scratched, veiny hands as "incredibly manicured".
So a very heavy, frustrating, clogging, goofy video tape player. A great video Ben, but now you can relax. Yes, I remember Dynamo. That Marilu Henner segments were really a different take on a great Donna Summer song.
Happy Oddity Thursday!
I'd be disappointed if I came across an old Japanese tape that said "Toei Video" and it was just porn. Of course, now I know a company that dealt mainly with animation and tokusatsu shows also distributed "gentlemen's entertainment." Also, THAT'S what the "I still can't cook on a diamond" line from Dog Police's 1-800 is a reference to.
I reminisced about this format with my dad last year, we had the US VCR and timer back when I was really young. My dad sold the VCR off to purchase a VHS one instead, but for some reason we kept the timer. We ended up using that timer for years, maybe even decades, to switch on/off a lamp while on vacation, or the Christmas tree lights every year.
Also, I think the "VX" naming is a bit of retro-classifcation, something hobbyists started calling the format, and it seems like it's just based on the two Japanese VCR models having model numbers starting with "VX," so likely something like 'those VX model players" and/or "those tapes for the Matsushita VX VCRs," which later got trimmed down to just "VX." As your investigation shows, it doesn't look like Matsushita or Quasar ever assigned a "format" or "standard" name to it, likely because they never licensed it to other manufacturers. Up until they started making VHS players, one could've probably just referred to them as "National" or "Quasar" VCRs and/or tapes, depending on what country you were in, and everyone would know what you were referring to.
And as it also had a 12 hour analog clock ~ an unusual looking timepiece - I could easily see that being far from the VCR or the telly, but on its own as a clock ~ on the mantle piece above the fire, next to a lamp/low wattage heater to automate them, under the Christmas tree for the fairy lights, and even a [stereotypical 🇺🇸] top-load washer hot fill with no heater
@@samuelfellows6923 I think the reason for the separate clock was to get the time precise, down to the second using the seconds hand, since for TV recordings being a minute or so off when starting/stopping the recording can be really bad, vs. more conventional timed outlets where if the Christmas Tree comes on at 7:01 instead of 7:00, it's not that big of a deal.
24:55 -I did some digging and the variety show in question might be Dinah! (hosted by Dinah Shore). Marilu appeared as a guest in several episodes around the turn of 1978-79.- Nope. According to Ben over at the ArchiveAnnex channel: 'I think we have a winner. An intrepid OA viewer pinned this to part of the "Celebrity Comedy Football Classic", which aired on November 16, 1979 on ABC. Amusingly enough, the OPEC embargo was only imposed four days earlier.'
Seems kinda weird to cut to a stadium for a performance of "I Will Survive" (with cheerleaders) just to pad out an episode of the Dinah Shore Show.
More than likely, it was the 1980 Golden Globe Awards ceremony. If you pay close attention during the Awards show clips, Adrienne Barbeau announces Dolly Parton's name as Entertainer of the year... there was only one major movie in 1980 that she not only starred in, but sang the catchy theme song for: "9 to 5." And to drive it home: IMDb states that not only did Adrienne Barbeau and Dolly Parton appear at the ceremony, but so did Marilu Henner and Henry Mancini, both of which are also featured in this compilation. And to put the cherry on top: there was a series of outdoor performances with musical numbers at a stadium.
The Barbeau clip is from the 1978 Academy of Country Music Awards--I threw it in because (given how Kenny Rogers swept the ACM's that year) I thought it'd be a nice curveball. The Marilu Henner stuff is from a totally different tape.
"At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Now I wash everything with Dynamo."
Good luck Ben on the season break.
Great nod to maxwell smart and don Adams .
Great stuff, keep it up 👍
I actually remember the bad breath commercial. I believe that was for Scope.
Listerine.
G Channel.... sounds like that may be from Gill Cable TV in the San Jose area...
The aircraft carrier 28.54 time mark is I believe in the MCU the HeloCarrier(sp) better know as CV 64, U.S.S, Constellation.
I've been wondering if for the longest time if this man has a mustache or not. For years and years I always thought yes but after seeing this video not quite so sure anymore.
Hopefully now Benny Boy can finally leave The Quasar Great Time Machine; To the great annals of time where it belongs.
In addition to this I’ll-fated format, Quasar also made the VH-5000 as the first ever VHS VCR in late 1977, and then Panasonic jumped in with the Omnivision VHS VCR a year later in 1978. Both Panasonic and Quasar used the Omnivision name on all VHS VCR models during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The recent VHS VCR I have is my Panasonic PV-950H Omnivision VHS VCR, and it looks a lot similar to Quasar VCR. Both Panasonic and Quasar were siblings of Matsushita.
When i look at the inside it looked quite similar to an 8 track. I didn’t think even the video went the 8 track route.. 😄
There was something similar to an 8 track loop for video. In the ‘70s the Sony CV2100 ace half inch reel to reel machine was the standard video recorder used in schools here in London, England. There was a colour version, the CV5600 p, but I never saw one. These machines were similar to the half inch EIAJ format but ran the tape at a higher speed of about 11 1/2 inches per second. While these machines normally ran reel to reel Sony did make an endless loop cartridge for them. It was basically a square plastic box which sat over one of the reel spindles but was not driven by it. The tape was pulled out from the centre and wound up on the outside as on an 8 track. I don’t remember how long the tape ran for but it was only a few minutes. The lubricant from the back of the tape found its way onto the heads which had to be cleaned frequently, and the only one of these things which I ever saw lasted only a few playings before jamming and the tape getting totally screwed up.
There was another endless loop product which was announced but never came to market, a LVR (Linear Video Recorder) from Toshiba. BASF and Toshiba both announced plans for LVR formats to remove the mechanical complexity of helical scanning. Due to the speed that the tape had to run the tape would only last for a few minutes at most. The BASF version would reverse the tape when it reached the end, I don’t remember how they covered the gaps each time the tape reversed, while the Toshiba one would use an endless loop(with the tape running at video writing speeds!). Needless to say, neither system was actually launched, but I did see a demonstration of a prototype of one of them, I think it was the BASF one, but it’s a long time to think back now. The Toshiba endless loop version sounds even less practical.
Never even heard of that....VX....And I have a VCR LP vcr.
28:27 - I know it's a fast-paced piece, but if I ever lifted my fingers so far off of those keys while playing, there would have been hell to pay! Anyone who learned a brass instrument would always have it drummed into them not to puff their cheeks out, and yet that's what all the greats did. You can just picture Louis with his cheeks puffed!
Isn’t that an unfortunate effect of the “circular breathing” that wind musicians do to sustain a note 🎵 ?
That ended in quite the youtube poop.
After watching these history episodes on other vcr and tape formats, it really is telling as to why they lost the format wars to beta and vhs.
When it came down to it...Beta and VHS were the better choice. The VX format would have caused even the most mild-mannered preacher to go as Ralphie's father.
I believe the G Channel was Gill Cable.
28:05 A wild David Soul appears.
Yup. Alas, he didn't sing anything.
@@OddityArchive A shame, I like "Don't Give Up on Us". Too poppy for the country audience I guess.
A little disappointed to learn this didn’t come out in the US til 1977- I thought it was out in 1976 but I guess I won’t find any US tapes from that year. Wonder when it was officially discontinued?
From what I read, it looks like they shipped in December of '76, with the street date being January 1st-3rd, 1977 (depending if the store was open on New Year's and/or Sunday). The cynic in me says the last machines were manufactured by the end of '77, but obviously I can't confirm that.
Question: where did you find the service manual? Was it on LabGuy's World? Would love a copy for whenever the day comes that I get a Great Time Machine VCR (currently too occupied trying to revive a V-Cord deck).
Bought it off of LabGuy.
🎶Ben found out too late it’s pornograaaaaaaphic! 🎶 11:19
Why is a lady wearing purple singing the song "I Will Survive" with the Air Supply album cover hot air balloon in the background? In the dark? Who's flying it?
I am a balloonist and I find this important!
I thought Quasar was owned by Panasonic! So Panasonic was sabotaging its own operation and working with its competitor RCA on VHS?
VX = Video Times?
Question, how many motor races do you have on tapes, since this seems to be the second race you’ve shown on the show
Three or four. None complete.
Do you remember the others? I know you have the 1977 Indy 500 and the 1978 British Grand Prix since I’ve seen them in episodes. It’s okay if you don’t remember
I think I have part of the 1982 Indianapolis 500 (if memory serves).
Too bad Benny boy can't bend time and space in The Great Time Machine to get us to Season 12 of OA faster - that would require many years of maintenance after the fact!
I’m lonely 😞
I have the biggest crush on Marilu Henner.
15:00 "VHS had at least two video heads [...], one to read and one to write". Ummm nope, and you should know this. There was one head for each video field. Both heads were used for recording and playback.
23:25 I would say the reason that there's a black area on the screen is that the tape is all the way around the head drum. As the head has to move from the end of the previous loop of the helix of tape to the start of the next loop and never goes away from the tape (as it does in a two-head helical system), it's inevitable that the head will cross the linear audio track and sync track to do so. So there's undoubtedly some electronics in the recorder that turns the recording off at the (almost) end of each frame, and turns the recording back on at the beginning of the next frame. Maybe they couldn't make the "end of frame recording disable" switching fast enough and just made it so that the video head was at a safe distance from the audio/sync tracks. But it's also possible that your recorder has an adjustment for this.
What are you doing with the cat food cans? throw them at the cats???
I must insist on seeing the Marilu Henner performance with the ladies in sexy blue dolphin shorts.
Not complete, but here ya go. ua-cam.com/video/lO3yFR_NLvE/v-deo.html
what about some clips from the Japanese tapes, geez
5:14 Was that Cornjob?
@ViegasSilva Alas, too hot for YT.
@@OddityArchive are you telling me there's not a couple of seconds at all capable of showing?
The few seconds of the head clogging comes from one of the Japanese tapes.
2:10 Not "timeframe" but *"TIMELINE"!* Time has *only one dimension,* length! From one second, minute, hour, day, etc. to the next second, minute, hour, day, etc. Time does *NOT* have height, depth, or width.
"Promo sm"