| LabGuy's World: Three Quarter
Inch Umatic VCR's
New Addition! 03.08.05
Here is a Video Cassette Player that LabGuy had never heard of before actually getting one. This unit was donated to LabGuy's World by Bruno Merlier in France. Thanks Bruno! It appears to be based upon the mechanism of the VO-3800 and BVU-100 portapacks that follow. This model can only play the smaller "S" cassettes which have a maximum playing time of 30 minutes. Used for sales presentations, even 30 minutes can be too long. It is not battery powered, but needs 117 volts AC 60 Hz, implying that this one is an NTSC unit. So, this unit fills in the "traveling salesman" niche. The machine apparently had a hard shell dust cover at one time. The clips that held it at the front are clearly visible. The main AC plug has been cut off, so I have yet to test it out. Stay tuned! WANTED: More information about this model. Service manuals, operator's manuals, catalog entries, advertisements, personal anecdotes and or the missing dust cover. New! 02.11.12:     
Sony VO-3800 - The very first 3/4" Professional Umatic Portapack VCR. Model year: 1974. This is the first portable Umatic VCR from Sony or from anyone else for that matter! Like many "bleeding edge" video products of the day, this unit has its color playback circuits located off board. By itself, the VO-3800 records in color, but can only playback in black and white. For full color playback, the VCR is connected to the AC-3000 power pack and color playback adapter. The AC-3000 provides the necessary 12 volts DC to operate the VCR and recharge the BP-20 internal gel cell battery. Along with the standard power functions, the color playback circuits are placed within the AC adapter as well. This saves some weight on the VCR, which weighs in at a petite 30 pounds. Not too bad, considering the average weight of a video recorder in 1974! The VO-3800 had an RF adapter internally that allowed for B/W playback in the field. Introduced in parallel with the DXC-1600 hand held color camera, for the first time provided the budding videographer with a fully portable COLOR field production system. Flip the switch to B/W and plug in a Sony AVC-3400 or AVC-3450 and you have a very high quality monochrome system as well for the budget conscious guerilla video producer! This machine is in excellent condition, considering its age, including the original handsome leather satchel. WANTED: Nothing. LabGuy now has the complete 1974 color system including VO-3800 and DXC-1600 camera! Stay tuned as this system gets tested and restored! New! 02.08.01:   
Sony BVU-100 3/4" Professional Umatic Portapack VCR. I have no information on this model. I have heard rumors that this was the broadcast quality incarnation of the VO-3800. The connectors were upgraded to professional XLR and BNC jacks. It is possible that the color playback circuits were located in the external AC adapter. However, I have not verified this. WANTED: Service manual, operators manual, power pack, or any other accessories for this model. New Addition! 01.11.12
Of all of the video formats to have ever been, the Umatic format has persisted the longest. Umatic format produces extremely good video, Hi-FI stereo audio tracks and records and or plays up to 60 minutes per cassette. This is a first generation play only machine. Hundreds of thousands of these found there way into classrooms and library A/V centers for student training. NEEDED: Service manual for this machine. New Addition! 01.02.07
Here is the deluxe first generation model from Sony! This is the full color, stereo audio, flagship of the line. It has built in TV tuners, sound dub facilities, direct video and RF outputs and a dozen other features! The VO-1600 is far from portable, but it is "luggable". Sony had high hopes of making Umatic the home video format in the early 1970s. But the size and cost(s) associated with the format were outside the scope of the average consumer. Second generation machines no longer offered built in TV receivers. (Correct me if I am wrong on this) NEEDED: Service manual for this machine. . NEW! 02.08.25: [CLICK HERE] to read the instruction manual for the VO-1800U. This is essentially the same VCR as the VO-1600, but without the built in TV receiver. [CLICK HERE] to read the quick reference card for the VO-1800U. New Addition! 01.02.07
This is a very sorry example of the Telemation TVP-1010 Umatic video player. It has obviously seen better days. The truth is, this is a machine made by NEC. Maybe an NEC VC-8300? If you look close at the innards, you will see that this model does not use a threading ring like the other Umatic VCRs shown on my pages. Instead, there is a rotating collar, not visible, below the head wheel that has a kind of sloped skid that pushes down the nylon rollers attached to the return return guides. As the collar rotates, the skid slowly presses the guide pin down and after the threading finger has passed over the pin, it gently rises back up behind the tape! It is quite the contraption to see in operation! This poor feller is very unlikely to ever pull a tape again. But, you never know, LabGuy might get bored on a rainy day and try it out anyway. NEEDED: Service manual for this machine.    
1975?: JVC CP-5000U 3/4" Umatic format VCP. This model, from JVC, is a first generation play only machine. It produces excellent color video and Hi-Fi stereo sound and plays up to 60 minutes depending on the cassette. The first two photos are glamour shots. Photo #3 shows the internal mechanism. Notice the threading ring and extractor arm (just below the main motor). This clever mechanism pulls the tape from the cassette and wraps around the head drum before engaging the capstan. Photo #4 is a close up shot of the head drum, showing one of the two actual video heads. Notice how tiny it is. Though it can be quite a pain to get this old guy to thread tape, it is well worth it. The threading ring drive belts are shot and it could use a new filter capacitor in the power supply but, once it's warmed up, it plays like the day it was made. NEEDED: Service manual for this machine. New Addition! 00.12   
1975?: JVC CR-6060U 3/4" Umatic format VCR. The model CR-6060U is also a first generation machine. In fact, it is the recording version of the previous machine. I picked it up recently and it is in absolutely excellent fully operational condition. These machines produce excellent quality video with stereo sound tracks. Included were the original operators manuals, the VHF channels 2 or 3 RF unit, power cord and even the nylon dust cover! WANTED: Service manual for this machine. . NEW! 03.05.09: [CLICK HERE] to read the instruction manual for the CR-6060U. New addition - 01/00   
JVC CR-4400U 3/4" Umatic portapack. Spec.'s: 20 minute recording time on KCA-20 cassette, broadcast quality video with stereo sound tracks. It's heavy! It weighs over 30 lbs with battery and tape. The CR-4400U can be synchronized for use with an external TBC. An excellent first generation electronic news gathering (ENG) machine! Picture and sound were of the absolute highest quality. The AC adapter for this unit is the model# AA-P44U. The pin outs for the power connector may be the same as for the JVC PV-4500 shown on my [VTR Connectors Page]. However I can not verify this at this time. Can you? I used to have a CR-4400U, mated with a brand new high quality Hitachi single tube (saticon) consumer video camera back in the early 1980s. The small camera used very little power, so I got lots of recording time with it. The CR-4400 that I had was made up from the "bone yard" or several "dead" units in the back room of the video company I was working for at that time. Using an old Sony studio camera case, I was able to pack all of the equipment into three convenient to carry parcels. They were: the tape deck itself on a padded leather shoulder strap, the camera case and the tripod. To complete the ensemble, my clothing and other necessities were carried in a ruck sack on my back. It was all very heavy, but could be managed by myself, all alone. I remember repairing literally hundreds of these portapacks at the time. They were great money makers for my employer. But, because of their portability, they got beat up a lot! I saw them smashed apart, full of sand or water, even burned out from trying to power them from airplane DC power! You name it, I probably fixed it. The only-est good thing about these machines, was how easy they were to repair! I carried that old JVC and Hitachi everywhere I went, back then. Yes, I was quite the guerilla video artist of the day, taking that equipment with me to work, to many great parties and even half a dozen space shuttle landings at Edwards AFB in southern California between 1982 and 1984. I even hauled it all over 3,000 miles across the country, to Orlando in Florida, to record the launch of the third space shuttle, STS-3. What an adventure that was! On that trip, I even met James Doohan (Scotty on Star Trek) in the Orlando airport! What is even stranger, is that I had seen him just the day before at an autograph signing session in Mountain View, California. It shows what a small planet we live on, eh? As soon as I am reunited with the items I have in temporary storage, I will grab some frames from those old shuttle tapes and display them here. . NEW! 02.08.25: [CLICK HERE] to read the operator's manual for the JVC CR-4400U. Note, that this text is valid for the Panasonic NV-9400 that follows. Another derivative of this machine was the Hitachi SV-340 for which these instructions may also apply. If you know different, please inform me at [THIS ADDRESS]. Thanks in advance. Updated Information! 02.08.01:    
Panasonic NV-9400 3/4" Umatic portapack. Spec.'s: Identical to the JVC CR-4400U, shown above! I guess Panasonic was so impressed, by the JVC design, they just ordered up a few thousand of these with customized covers. That's Ok, as long as your name goes onto a quality product, the origin of the product doesn't matter. Right? Since, I used to have a CR-4400U back in the early 1980s, and I stumbled across this VCR at the electronics flea market for $15.00, I had to have it! This machine is still a working unit. The fourth photo is of the IO bay on the side of the machine. On the opposite side of the VTR, is a the 10 pin EIAJ B/W or color camera jack. When the machine is in monochrome mode, it will output the H&V drive pulses required for the B/W portapack cameras. The power supply for this VTR is the model NV-B50. The pin outs for the power connector may be the same as for the JVC PV-4500 shown on my [VTR Connectors Page]. However I can not verify this at this time. Can you? The third photo is of a second unit I obtained recently. It is in far superior condition than the earlier one. Still untested. But, obviously in fine restorable condition! Attached to the bottom is the CCU for the [Panasonic WV-3700] Color Camera. Click here to: Extinct Video Cassette Recorders Return to the Exhibit Index Return to The Top of LabGuy's World Last updated: August 05, 2003 |
