This is the Sony BVH 500 Video Recorder
On October 6, 2013
- TV History
I’ve Never Seen Anything Remotely Like This! Take A Look!
This is the Sony BVH 500 one inch, portable video tape recorder. Notice that the tape reels are stacked on top of each other! One reel spins one way and the other reel spins the other way! Amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEdGo1eGYEw
http://www.thegeekgroup.org – Chris and Kidwell investigate and old Sony Reel to Reel VTR. They explore the different parts, figure how to load the tape, and…
I always loved how they, (RCA, IVC, Ampex, Sony) all used the word “portable” so loosely. I suppose it referred to anything that didn’t have at least 1 rack of support gear attached. But seriously… 3M used the same type of transport system in their 93/94 series background/foreground (read “elevator) music players prior to switching to the “Fidelapak” style cartridge format.
i use Ampex VPR 3
I think we used these in college; mid 1970s.
@Bill June 14, 2010. Knew him well.
Huh! strange looking thing, was that something grandpa used?
I used one. Funny that now a canon 5D is Broadcast Quality!
Try threading that after a few beers.
I have a Hitachi HR-100 in my collection which is very similar. It sure does weigh a lot!
One of the biggest believers in this format and did thousands of shows using this was Starfax run by a brilliant man who has sadly passed–Ron Stutzman.
Oh buddy, do I remember lugging that thing around!
I think I saw this when I was looking for a Revox reel to reel.
It seems like these guys are doing a lot of speculating. Pretty funny.
Load them with batteries and carry one for a half hour. You had to be a strong man.
AHHH its a SONY 500. what a nightmare to fix… Ate battery too If I remember.
We had a BVH-500 at the station I worked at. It was only used as a back up. It had no TBC but it had full interchangeability for playback on the BVH-1000’s we also had and the images off it looked fine.
I master many shows on those. The unitel ( now Denali) trucks had at most 5ks on board. I would have 10 of those hanging on hooks on the wall., I could unload/ reload on about 39 seconds. At the end of the show you would be putting tapes back on original source reels for hours!
I had to schlep one on a few shoots for WMVS in 1984 with a TK 76!
I used Hitachi HR-100
Used this one and the Ampex model back in the mid-80’s.
It did make good recordings. It was designed as a recorder … not as a player. It had only the most basic playback capabilities.
See them? I used to repair them. And once… I was the video tape operator that had to change reels mid flight in a helicopter with the doors off. Now that was fun, trying to thread the tape blowing in the wind. Actually was a very good recorder. No time base corrector though.
I can remember having to “stand by” while we change the reel… Time to check the pager for calls.
Why couldn’t they find one of us that actually used this recorder all over the country for years to do this demo. These guys had no business showing the fine recorder. I still have one in my basement.
Ampex VPR 20 was the same. Reels stacked.
There is no copy protection on 1″ type C recorders. They simply don’t understand the technology…terrible misinformation…