Video Disc: Magnetic Recording
Magnetic disc recording is a very old idea, partly because it is much easier to produce a magnetised disc than a tape.
Way back in the early days of magnetic
recording, before tape recorders, dictation machines were
sold which were effectively gramophones with the record
replaced by a magnetic disc, and the stylus by a read/write head.
A simple mechanism moved the tone arm to record and
replay a spiral track. Broadcast quality magnetic disc systems were (and indeed still are) used for instant replays; the machine records continuously, keeping the last 30 seconds or so, and can be switched from record to replay as soon as something important happens. Like most disc systems, the key feature is the instant access to any part of the recording. |
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It was inevitable that this approach
would be developed for video use. A West German company
called MDR demonstrated a consumer disc machine, which
combined a standard record player and magnetic disc
recorder on the same turntable. Perhaps unfortunately,
this was never brought onto the market. Prototype MDR deck |
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