Welcome back to The Video Vault

When we left off last month we just introduced the oversized video cameras known as RCA-VHS and the Betamax and separate audio recording unit.

In 1983 Sony released the first consumer camcorder-the Betamovie BMC-100P. It used a Betamax cassette and you could not hold it with just one hand, so typically it was rested on your shoulder. In the same year JVC released the first camcorder based on VHS-c use. IT too was very large, but the audio was built into the video unit itself.

In 1985 Sony came up with its first compact video cassette format. They called it Video-8. Both VHS-C and Video-8 had their benefits and problems, and neither of them would stick around long.

In 1985, Pansonic, RCA and Hitachi all began producing camcorders that recorded to full-sized VHS cassette and they all offered up to 3 hours of recording time. These shoulder holder camcorders found a niche with videofiles, industrial videographers, and college TV studios. Super VHS (S-VHS) full-sized camcorders were released in 1987 which exceeded the broadcast quality of the day and provided a less expensive way to collect news segments or video shots. Sony matched this with the release of Hi-8, this was an upgraded version of Video-8.

In 1986 Sony introduced the first digital video format. Video was recorded in uncompressed form and required enormous bandwidth for its time.

That pretty much gets us through the 80's and next month we will jump into the 90's and see how the digital age truly effected the video camera world.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time,

~Chris Lewis

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