Video Tape Recorder

A video tape recorder (VTR) is an electronic device capable of recording broadcast audio/video signals onto magnetic tape. The common form of VTR is the videocassette recorder (VCR), which uses tape cassettes. Earlier VTRs could also be reel-to-reel. 
Home VCRs first became available in the early 1970s. The first system to be successful with consumers was Sony's Betamax in 1975. This was quickly followed by the competing VHS (Video Home System) format from JVC, which eventually proved the more popular and took over the market.Video tape recorder article on Wikipedia. 
The first machines were extremely expensive and very few fans could afford them. Very, very anecdotal stat: When the January 1980 issue of S and H published the results of its own reader survey, including the question "Do you own a VTR?", it received the following answers: "15 yes [5 with VHS, 4 with Beta, 1 with V-Cord, 1 with Quasar], and 10 fans were dependent on audio cassettes. Sixty surveys were sent out; there were 39 replies. 
In July 2016, Funai Electric announced the shutdown of the world’s only remaining VCR production line. Last known VCR maker stops production, 40 years after VHS format launch. Ars Technica, July 2016. Some electronics companies still sell reconditioned or refurbished units, with many available on eBay.
==History==
Fans first started to be able to record things off of television for home-viewing in the late 1970s.
In the context of later controversies over private individuals making unlicensed copies, it should be noted that, when videotape recorders first appeared (in those pre-TIVO, pre-internet days), they were sold precisely for the purposes of private copying, for DIY timeshifting. Early advertising stressed the advantages of being able to tape off the television for later viewing, so that one could go out for the evening or on holiday without missing something on TV. 
Technical availability was one thing. Cost was another. The machines themselves were very expensive, and there were other costs as well, ones that made this technology available to few fans. Blank tapes were initially sold for about $10 each; and many people therefore wiped the recording in order to reuse the tape. 
Film and television studios then made or licenced professional copies of many movies and some TV series. At first, relatively few were available; but, over time, an increasingly large library of material was released. However, these purchased pre-recorded tapes were expensive (more than double the price of movie admission). For example, in 1980, one company offered two episodes of Star Trek (from a selection of about nine episodes) on VHS or Beta format for $39 from an ad by "Cable Films, Country Club Station" out of Kansas City, MO, an ad in Datazine #8 , a exorbitant amount even today. Furthermore, most non-fans were not much interested in rewatching the same tape multiple times. This limited the market for direct sales to the public. Instead, a significant video rental industry developed. VCR usage concomitantly shifted from home taping to home viewing. Many families acquired the habit of movie night—not going to the cinema, but staying in to watch a rental movie.
Initially, the expense of producing tapes meant that studios released many more movies (which would fit on a single tape) than they did television shows (which, with two one-hour episodes per tape, required a dozen or more releases to cover a typical North American season). Although eventually a number of popular shows were made available, episodes were released frustratingly few at a time. It ultimately became possible to purchase complete sets of some popular series (such as Star Trek and Babylon 5); but many other shows were never or only partly made available on tape. It was not until the cheaper DVD format became common that previous seasons of television shows were routinely and quickly made available for purchase.
==Impact on Fans==
When VTRs first appeared on the market, it was not possible to purchase professionally produced tapes of old television series. Even the most popular were released only a few episodes at a time; and the selection often omitted fan favourites. There was also considerable lag time before new shows were offered on tape. Fans therefore found it desirable to tape their favourite shows, whether in first run or rerun, in order to build up a permanent library.
Being able to record, and then watch, shows over and over again—something modern fans take for granted—was an amazing and powerful new ability. No longer were fans at the mercy of broadcast television's erratic schedules and often sloppy editing. 
In 1984, a fan re-watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the uncut version, and this time in his own home. His remark shows the new-found power, and disillusionment, offered by the VCR: 
In 1988, a fan speculated on some changes in fannish socialization at cons: 
 
In 1990, a fan was grateful for VCRs as she would no longer have to rely on a changes in a show she disagreed with: 
In 2006, a fan named Dawn Gilbert reminisced: 
From a fan in 2006: 
In 2015, a fan commented on the ups and downs of the value of fannish goods: 
===Viewing Shows Without Cut Scenes===
The VCR made it possible for fans to watch shows that weren't the edited versions offered up by individual television networks made to squeeze in more commercials. 
From a fan's complaint in 1976: 
In 1991, a fan explained how the VCR can revive a fandom: 
==Trading, Collecting, and Communication==
APA-VCR (1987) was an Apazine where members could publish their lists of video tape collections for exchange with other fans. Members also reported which television shows were going to appear in their area and volunteered to tape them for fans who lived somewhere else.
==Navigating Technological Boundaries==
Fans in other countries where the TV shows didn't air (or not yet, or not in English), often copied the episodes for each other and the tapes usually included as many episodes as would fit on a tape because postage was expensive and fans sometimes shared these costs and the cost for converting a master tape from NTSC to PAL. The people receiving copies of copies of the master tape often had no idea where the episodes originally came from (people placed ads in genre magazinesIn Germany for example TeleVision and later TV Highlights., asking for copies of this or that season of The X-Files, offering Highlander in return, etc.) and the fans who copied their own copies for fellow fans often included vids, bloopers and interviews from other sources to fill up every free second of tape with something fannish. Without title credits, these vids were as anonymous as the episode sources and few vids on these copied tapes came with credits. Copying these vids together with the source material was quite common in the 1990s.
A fan describes a disappointment, and considering the cost of overseas postage, what must have been a major blow to the pocketbook: 
==Restorations==
Sometimes, fan recordings will be brought to the attention of the creators or distributors as a means of helping to archive lost footage. In the case of Doctor Who:
==Vidding==
It is no coincidence that, in 1981, the first commercial video to ever air on MTV was the hit song "Video Killed the Radio Star" which contains the lyric "Put the blame on VTR".
VCR features such as slow-motion and freeze frame allowed fans to see things in shows that they'd never been able to before. And, this new tool, of course, was the next step to Vidding.
==Fanart==
In early 1986, a fan editor speculated about possible future changes in fanart for zines, one that could use clips and photo references taken from video recordings: 
==External Resources and Further Reading==
* VTRs at Wikipedia
* Rewinding to Betamax: The path to consumers’ “right to record”: 30 years ago today, a landmark ruling set technology free by Joe Mullin - Jan 17, 2014. reference link 
* , 2014 comments on the availability of VCRs
==References==
Category:Video