National VCR Day

For movie geeks like us, June 7th is time to celebrate National VCR Day. While today’s televised entertainment is dominated by streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, there was a time when watching a film at home was a special occasion. The experience included buying or renting a VHS tape from the video store. National VCR Day is the perfect opportunity to relive the past!

Because nearly every household in America owned a video cassette recorder (VCR), the electromechanical device is one of the most famous innovations in the history of technology. The first device was created by Norikazu Sawazaki in 1953, but the technology didn’t hit the market till 1956, when Ampex introduced the quadruplex videotape professional broadcast standard format with its Ampex VRX-1000. Due to its price of $50,000, the Ampex device could be afforded only by television networks and the largest individual stations. In 1972, the innovation was launched for home use when videocassettes of movies became available through Cartrivision.

It is during this time that the VCR wars started. The competitors that introduced two different formats included Sony Betamax and VHS by JVC. In the end, VHS came out on top and, by 1987, JVC had 90% of the $5.25 billion VCR market in the United States. Once made available for the public, the device transformed several industries, including the world of cinema. It also birthed VHS video rental shops, developing an ecosystem around the format.

This marvel of technology had several uses including playing movies and videos, as well as recording shows and events that aired on television. At a point in time when the internet did not exist, recording television shows to later replay was a joy for many. Though the act of recording shows raised some concerns regarding copyright issues initially, the perception changed when the Supreme Court ruled home recording of TV programs “fair” in 1984. This ruling allowed millions of people across the country to make their own collections of movies and TV shows.

To acknowledge the impact VCRs had on the world, National VCR Day is celebrated every year.