The history of consumer magnetic video tape recording, from a rarity to a mass product

Since the first experiments on magnetic recording by Valdemar Poulsen in 18 98 the use of this technology has grown tremendously and magnetic storage i s used in almost every home in the world. A special challenge was the recor ding of video signals which need a high bandwidth. In the 1950s, television broadcasts had started which created a need for storage in the broadcast w orld. The first broadcast recorder was the Quadruplex from Ampex in 1956, L ater solutions were found for application in the consumer market. Better me chanics, magnetic tapes and recording heads allowed the mass production of a cheap consumer recorder. The size and weight decreased tremendously and p ortable camcorders are very common. Recording of broadcasts, video rental a nd home movies are now very popular. The factors which contributed to the m aturing of this technology will be reviewed in this paper, (C) 1998 Elsevie r Science B.V. All rights reserved.