Grundig 2x4
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The 2x4 was Grundig's first V2000 machine, and in fact beat the Philips VR2020 to the market by about a month. It is clearly not derived from the Philips machines in any way; in fact it resembles most strongly Grundig's SVR format 4004 machine.
Like all Grundigs, nearly everything about it is
bizarre. The cassette loading system is a sort of perspex
"greenhouse" on the right; when this is closed
with a cassette inside, the carriage and tape can be
seen descending gracefully into the works. The main operating buttons are distributed randomly around the fascia, with the tuner/timer controls to the left under a panel. To confuse the user, the eject button is labelled Tape, the button marked Stop is actually Pause, and there's an extra button with a curious symbol on it which is effectively the Stop key - it unlaces the tape without ejecting. |
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Both the tuner and the timer controls are also completely unfathomable, with more misleading labels and meaningless symbols. There is also a knob on the top which appears to be something to do with the aerial, but again the symbol on it does not make its purpose clear, and it has no visible effect on the picture. Definitely a machine which needs a good manual - which we haven't got...
One of the criticisms levelled at the 2x4 was its
lack of trick-play
features, and the 2x4 plus was brought out shortly
afterwards to address these lacks. This was identical to the original 2x4 apart from an extra panel below the cassette compartment which contained three special playback keys for still frame, slow motion and forward picture search. No reverse picture search was provided. |
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Internally the 2x4 is another modular design, with
plug-in circuits on a main motherboard. Curiously,
Grundig chose to use the Betamax-style
"C" lacing pattern rather than
the "M"
lacing pattern used by Philips' V2000 machines. Rumour
has it that in the long run this was more reliable than
the Philips system. The white loading ring can be seen each side of the head drum. As for Beta and U-Matic, this rotates and pulls the tape out and around the drum and head assemblies. |
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