Blog #5

 The History and Impact of VCR

For those who don't know what a VCR is or for those who don't know what the letters stand for, a VCR is a videocassette recorder.  The VCR was introduced by the electronics company Sony.  However it was not originally Sony's idea that jump started the change in television media.  It was another electronics company called Ampex who got the ball rolling when they introduced the VTR, which was greatly used by broadcast companies.  The VTR, also known as the videotape recorder, could convert video signals to frequency modulation or sound signals before recording them.  It was discovered that the tapes used to record these FM signals were very similar to the tapes that were used in recording audio signals.  Prior to the 1950s the idea of video was associated with the visual aspect of television, but this idea was altered when the VTR was created in 1956.

As more and more companies began to use VTR, Sony understood that there was another way to implement similar technology into the world, but they wanted it inside the home.  Sony was not interested in focusing mostly on creating broadcasting equipment.  Instead, they wanted to create a device that would be used for at home video watching.  Their goal was to make a piece of technology that was smaller and cheaper, and they wanted their consumers to include everyone- not just broadcast companies.

In 1975 the first VCR was produced by Sony and it was called the Betamax.  The Betamax had a thinner tape with a slower tape speed, resulting in creating a tape that could fit into a cheaper cassette.  Sony reached their goal of making this product smaller and cheaper, because consumers wouldn't have to go out of their way to buy a more elaborate cassette in order to use the Betamax.  It was easily operated by consumers and was compressed, to make it an all around simple product.  The Betamax allowed consumers to record something while watching another show at the same time.  It also had a button which could eliminate commercials as a program was being recorded.  Which I personally think is the coolest thing, because I strongly dislike commercials and I'm sure many of you do too!

I think that for us, as people who live in a world that is quite some years past the invention of the VCR, we can see how the idea of being able to watch things at any time, has implemented its way into our daily lives.  We as a society are all about having a choice of when to watch, where to watch, and what to watch.  I personally do not think that we would have our streaming services and the demand for the freedom of television in a sense if it weren't for the VCR.  Today the VCR is on a small scale in comparison to all the streaming services we have that allow us to watch whatever, whenever.  However we have Sony to thank for the control that they gave consumers years ago.  For instance, the more and more the VCR settled into the market, the more popular it became.  People loved the Betamax, because it gave them an opportunity to watch shows other than the ones that were on their television at that specific time.  In 1980, only 1.1% of Americans owned VCRs, however that number skyrocketed over time, and in 1997 89% of Americans owned VCRs.  Due to the fact that Sony's Betamax gave consumers this new sense of control for the first time, consumers stuck by VCR and considered it to be their "technology appliance."  Meaning that consumers essentially didn't buy other forms of technological developments like DVDs, PPVs, and VODs.  

The biggest social impact from the development of the VCR was the increase in people spending time watching TV and spending time with family which led to the decrease in people going to the movie theaters and doing other activities outside the home.  This could be seen as a good thing, because people are spending time with family and enjoying television together at the same time.  However, as we know streaming has taken over and in a way, VCR was the cause of it.  Streaming has had a negative impact in a sense, because we have been so consumed with binge-watching shows, so we do not get out as much and experience the real world.  I would say that people still spend time watching shows together, but personally I think that it has declined.  There are so many shows to watch on so many devices, so an individual can watch by themselves, they don't need to sit around and watch as a family necessarily.  Therefore I feel that the VCR itself promoted sitting down and watching recorded shows together in the home, but as technology has evolved thanks to being inspired by the VCR, people have become more prone to watching shows on their own devices on their own time.