LabGuy's World: Extinct Asaca Video Equipment Directions:  For a larger view of any image, click on the small image. To return, click your browser's back button.  AVS-3200: New! This is a one inch, transverse scan, quadruplex VTR! Developed at Asaca in 1974. This is probably the tiniest, full function, quadruplex VTR ever! Let me know if I am wrong.  The following text was included with this photo: Shibaden (full name was Shiba Denki Co. Ltd.) was a leading manufacturer of two inch quadruplex VTRs in Japan before the Japanese government agreed to allow Ampex to import their quad machines. After Ampex started to sell VTRs in Japan under the Toamco brand name in approximately 1968, Shibaden lost their market share very rapidly. They started to diversify their business into consumer products, such as transistorized TVs and home use VTRs (longitudinal VTR and half inch helicals), but they failed and finally went bankrupt. Hitachi Denshi bought a major part of the Shibaden company but Mr. Shigezaki, president of  Shibaden kept a part of the business and established a separate new company called Asaca. Mr. Shigezaki was so very enthusiastic about Quadruplex VTRs and they (Asaca) continued development to build a one inch quadruplex machine for portable use. As far as I remember they sold some units but it could not be a major player. Photo and Info: Marcel Snijders 02.07.20 [HOME]......[CATALOG INDEX] Last updated: January 09, 2005