VX (videocassette format)

VX was a short-lived and unsuccessful videocassette format developed by Quasar in 1974. It was marketed under the name "The Great Time Machine" by Quasar to exhibit its time-shifting capabilities, since VX machines had a companion electro-mechanical timer to record tv programs at a later time. The first and only model made was the VR-1000, with the VT-100 timer.

The design of VX

The VX cassette itself had both reels of 1/2" wide tape stacked on top of each other in a coaxial fashion (much like the earlier Philips "VCR" and Cartrivision formats) in the bottom half of the tape, with a circular opening on the underside of the top half of the cassette, where the video head drum would go into. The tape in this opening was pre-formed in a loop to go around the head drum, eliminating the need for the tape to be pulled out of the cassette and threaded around the drum (like later videocassette formats like VHS and Betamax). The opening was protected by a cylindrical plastic plug to protect the tape, which was unscrewed from the opening when the tape was loaded in the machine (by means of moving a horizontal lever on the front of the machine), and inserted back into the tape when ejected (by moving the lever back).

The video head drum itself of a VX machine also has the unique distinction of being completely removable and replaceable without any special tools or equipment. The drum has a knurled nut on top, which can be loosened (and tightened) by hand, allowing the drum to be removed from the deck for cleaning or replacement. To this date, the VX machines have been the only VCR designed with this feature.

External links

* [http://www.labguysworld.com/Quasar_VR-1000.htm A page on the Quasar VR-1000, a VX-format VCR]