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.

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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