Early Philips VCR format also known as N1500, N1700, SVC.

[@moow950]

The first video cassette recorder for consumers, in 1972!!!!! And a decent video quality too!

[@probnotstech]

I'm impressed with the picture quality and sound on those recordings, especially considering the age of the tapes and players.

[@video99couk]

They can be very good. N1500 in particular was used by TV studios to give people copies of recordings they featured in back in the early 1970s, and the results can be comparable to professional Umatic tapes.

[@probnotstech]

@Billy William Which VCRs couldn't record? As far as I'm aware all the early models could. There were play-only models that started to come out in the 1980s for things like rental machines and whatnot. While they were technically called VCPs (Video Cassette Players), I think most people just called any device that could play a videotape a VCR.

[@renegonzalez6755]

Wonderful collection of machines. Great history lesson on the VCR format. You have great tips on troubleshooting, design flaws and upgrades. The tip on your favorite machine along with which one is gentlest on the tape is worth gold for any current or future collector of the VCR format. It shows that you love what you do. I know it is an expensive and time consuming hobby. As of the past 3 years i have collected, repaired and enjoyed the video formats of the early 80's "format wars" (CED Selectavision, laserdisc, VHS, CVC Microvideo and Beta.) The VCR format is something that i wish to own in the future. I like working "back in time" by collecting formats as they were created in reverse order. Before i dig into the VCR format i want to collect the VCC Video2000 and V-cord I and V-cord II formats. The open reel to reel video formats will be the last machines that i wish to explore. Currently the CVC Microvideo format is my favorite to collect and use. P.S. i have noticed that many hard to find machines (CED Selectavision, VHD, V-cord I and VCR to mame a few) and their respective media are becoming available on ebay. It must be due to the current economic slump. Take care and keep saving those relics of our video format history.

[@video99couk]

I do show some CVC machines in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5uZqJl-hJd6gac I may do more on CVC in the future. V2000 machines are not too hard to find, I like the later Grundig models best. I've being trying to get VCord-II for years but they are very rare, especially PAL ones. Also see my work on a Skantic branded N1700: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqCzpnWOj5mSeq8

[@renegonzalez6755]

@@video99couk Thanks for the heads up on the availability of the VCord-II machines. To me personally there is something neat about those "8 Track audio" looking video tapes. The VCord-II media is available both sealed and preowned at great prices. I love a challenge and i am also a firm beliver that "Money Talks" when purchasing and convincing sellers to export to the United States. If i ever own a V-Cord II machine i am sure it will in fact knock my CVC Microvideo machines to second favorite. I live in the U.S. where the 80's formats: (CED Selectavision, VHS, Beta, CVC Microvideo and laserdisc) are abundant. For anything older i have had great success by importing from ebay Japan, ebay U.K., ebay Germany and ebay Italy. To me this has been and continuess to be an incredible adventure. From cave drawings to our future holographic glass media storage, or perhaps DNA based media storage? An appreciation of humanities past and future ever-evolving quest to capture and reproduce moving pictures. Love it too much.

[@boredwithusernames]

Back when I was around 10 or 11 years old my primary school (in the UK that was the school for ages 7 to 11 years old) actually had a Philips N1500 machine. I remember it being wheeled in on a huge trolley with a massive 21 inch TV on top of it and the teacher playing some sort of history video on it. I also remember that when it was put into rewind at the end of the video it ate the tape and was wheeled quickly out of the classroom with looks of embarrassment being quickly hidden on the teacher's faces :=) I have a great affection for this machine, thank you for covering it on your channel, it brings back some very fond memories for me ;)

[@dmlfoto]

Fond memories! My dad bought one of these in the late 70s. We had to send away for rental films through the post, and very few titles were available :-)

[@stevealexR1]

My school in England had a Philips N1500 and then N1700 back in 1973 (onwards) and I remember being fascinated by it when I was 9 years old especially the (I think) red and green threading and unthreading buttons on the top!

[@erwinuiterwijk346]

The content on that videocassette is historical. Old dutch television from the early seventies. The quality is great for the age of that videocassette. The videorecorder is plastic fantastic and still running. Thank you for that.

[@atariandre5014]

I agree. That material on the tape is Dutch TV heritage and it would be fantastic if you could digitise it and somehow transfer it to the National TV and Radio archive “Beeld en geluid” in Hilversum. I bet no one else has this material. It looks VERY good !

[@Actranuk]

I had a 1500 in 1973 - reasonably reliable. I then bought a 1700 in about '76, much better with longer record time but it got nicked in a burglary! (They left the 1500!!!) I converted to VHS in about '83. The 1500 became very iffy. I eventually gave it and all the tapes to a collector - probably someone like you 🥲

[@richardd.9816]

What you say about Cartrivision machine is true. However in 1975 when I bought one from Olson electronics and spent about a week tracing out the connections and figuring out how to tap into my Tv's video and audio circuits the skip field didn't matter. I was 17 at the time and my friends who thought I was crazy to try to make this open chassis thing work. I invited my friends over and played back a Star Trek in full color they were begging me to build one for them. I did from one more and used a small Sony monochrome monitor that had video out and played back through a modulator to a color set. Could never get them to understand how I was getting a color picture from a black and white TV. Olson was selling them for $150..00 plus $50.00 for a Eumig zoom camera that was powered from the Cartrivision machine. Did need quite a bit of light though. It was great fun for a 17 year old nerd, skip field or not.

[@richardd.9816]

1975 Cartrivision system found, and it still works (sort of) I was shoveling out my work shop, aka, 4th bedroom when I came across my first Cartrivision machine. Since I had nothing better to do I wired it up to a monitor and IT actually a produceted a picture (sort of) but tape being coaxial was sticking A lot for so it unwound found some half inch NOS VHS cartvision tape and sacrificed an original VHS tape and wound it on the Cartrivision coax she'll. Cleaned the tape path and using chamois sticking on the heads and it worked! Took a while to get the tension right and to get used to skip field but it produced a usable color picture. Needs new belts decent picture. Now then, what the he'll do I do with it? Took 6 hours to reload the tape, any suggestions? I can't possibly pitch it in bin now.HELP

[@martynquiney9121]

Great video Colin very Informative

[@rahb1]

Incredible; I had no idea these existed back then. I would have killed to own one, but couldn't afford it, let alone a car. Besides, Australia didn't officially get colour TV transmission until March 1975, sigh. I did finally manage to buy a Sony Beta VCR (SL-C5) just in time to record Brideshead Revisited in 1981. I am very impressed by the quality of the recorded images from so long ago!

[@wrtlpfmpf]

BTW the SVR4004 was also available in a variant for the first system. This was mostly sold to schools and Pollin had some fairly smashed up ones available for sale cheaply some years ago.

[@organfairy]

I think the back tension system was taken from Philips' open reel tape recorders. The idea is that the torque varies with the weigth of the reel - when the reel is full it is heavy and presses hard on the friction material under the plate, but at the same time the outer diameter of the tape roll is large. When a reel is almost empty it is much lighter and therefore only gives a little torque but then the outer diameter is small and the resulting tension should therefore be almost the same. The problem is that there is no feedback so if the tension is wrong the machine will not correct it. Also the machine can only operate in horisontal position as the weight dependent friction system naturally only works in the direction of gravity. This was why they stopped using it on open reel decks as people started to expect them to be able to play vertically.

[@video99couk]

Never thought of that as the way it works, but it's certainly possible. I will ask one of the format designers (yes really!)

[@Wurlyscope]

The picture quality of the N1500 and 1700 seems to be much better than VHS. Thank you for showing these machines.

[@video99couk]

It certainly has higher resolution. However I think that the servos were less stable than a good VHS or Beta.

[@joligrunlaub3412]

When I throw my VCR 4000 away in the early 90s I already knew that this would be a failure. The main problem of the VCR recorders were the tape transport and the two video heads. Because of the big drum the relative speed was very high, so clogging and braking of the heads were common. Did you see the vertical stripes in the pictures at 14:49? I tried hours to got them away, but no way. It seems to me a design flaw. Perhaps the colour carrier frequenz.

[@video99couk]

I have seen those stripes on some recordings, but not on others. Yes I suspect it was a weakness in the design.

[@perherbert]

My interaction with the VCR was in grade school. in the late 70 and early 80. At home the first video format was VHS second half 0f 1980. (frontloaded)

[@anthonybrunotheodd]

I have a Grundig Reel to Reel taper recorder. It was bought brand new in France and that’s where I bought it from. The really weird thing was the controls were all in German! Which is rather odd because this tape recorder was bought brand new in France and the instructions even have an English section. Now I live in the US so Grundig is not a name you see around here. They were around in the 50’s but they withdrew in the beginning of the 60’s. Back to the tape recorder. When I started playing with it, I noticed two buttons. One said stop and the other said halt. Now, being an American who can only speak English, (I know a little German because I have a German Uncle and I once sang a German song in Grade School) my brain thought this, well I recognise halt that can mean stop but there is a dedicated stop button. Maybe halt is pause? I tried stop and the recorder froze but I could hear the motor going but the tape wasn’t moving. I scratched my forehead and decided to read the manual. Once it explained what all the German labelled controls did, I thought to myself “Why would they do that? That is the most counterintuitive thing they could have done! Even for a German electronics company that is weird!”

[@video99couk]

Philips and Grundig have always done strange things. The markings on a Grundig V2000 format video recorder's remote control and front panel are mad too. I'll never understand why they had to be different just for the sake of it.

[@Okkie26]

I do love the smell of these old VC30, VC45 and VC60 cassettes..

[@video99couk]

Now you come to mention it, they sometimes do have a distinctive smell.

[@honestguy7764]

@@video99couk as laserdiscs do.

[@tinfoilcat]

Very interesting! Being born in the late 1980's in Sweden I did not come into contact with anything other than VHS apart from one Philips V2000 deck at a flea market. However around the year 2000 I was the kind of teenager that read old consumer technology magazines (seems like I haven't changed much on that point). I owned a bunch from the mid to late 1970's and vividly remember the articles about video recorders. VCR och VCR-LP was the main thing, but I remember that SVC was mentioned. The main use case seemed to be time shifting, but I guess that the price of the units and only two available TV channels made it a niche. :)

[@tinfoilcat]

And around ten years ago I took a look in a dumpster outside a old psychiatric hospital that was being cleaned out. Found a whole box of VCR tapes. Might have been recorded psychotherapy. I let them go to waste since I've never come across a player, and that's probably for the best...

[@JJVernig]

@@tinfoilcat Imagine they were 20-30 pounds or about 100 guilders per piece during the 70s!

[@millomweb]

15:30 I wondered after pressing 'cassette' and the machine delaced, whether FF and REW would work faster BUT I suspect those stacked spool cassettes were never designed to do that.

[@andrew1479]

Seeing the cassette apart and the arrangement of the spools, reminded me of the Bosch (BTS) 1" B format machine I used to operate on occassion.

[@video99couk]

Never looked at a B format machine. I have a C format machine to restore one day though!

[@andrew1479]

​@@video99coukYes, we still have an Ampex VPR-80 in the Lab here. I also used to use a "hoover". The Sony self lacing Vaccuum 1"C compact VCR and then there was the Sony machines that were not only fitted with Dolby A NR Audio boards but PCM Digital boards too! This 1"C variant was mainly used for HiFi VHS duplication by people like RANK video.​

[@wrtlpfmpf]

Actually there is a "professional" VCR in that format, called the VCR601. It lists a playing time of 65 minutes on a SVC 4 tape. 14,29 cm/s. Apparently one of it's features is that it can lower the tape tension when the tape is not in use. I do have the service manual of it if you want it. Not sure how compatible it is.

[@video99couk]

Weird, I didn't know about that sub-variant.

[@MrJoeGooch]

Great video. What I'd love to see is what the most common problems with these machines are and the steps you take to repair them, what size belts it takes, where you got the parts etc. Cheers!

[@video99couk]

I ordered belts based on their size in the past, have not bought any for a while so I don't have dimensions to hand. The hardest one to get is probably the head drum belt of the N1502 and N1700 (same belt). Getting them working is very dependant on the condition when it arrives, and the model, so there's no easy answer to that. Sometimes problems are purely mechanical, sometimes there are electronic faults. Service manuals help a lot, but you still need to know what you are doing. Most parts are salvaged from scrap machines. Video heads are virtually impossible to obtain, so they are a big challenge.

[@millomweb]

25:05 Magnetic brakes - for tape tensioning I guess - as why would you need them on head or capstan ?

[@video99couk]

That's how the servos worked on early video recorders. They were all driven by a big motor via clutches, then slowed to the required speed by eddy current braking discs. Less motors that way.

[@millomweb]

@@video99couk Then along came V2000 with more motors than the space shuttle ! You name it, there's a motor for it ;)

[@stickytapenrust6869]

The SVC/SVR format is really just called SV. Note the cassette has Super Video Cassette and the recorder has Super Video Recorder.

[@video99couk]

OK, I'll go with that. There may be some fascinating insights into the whole N1500/N1700/V2000 history coming up on my channel shortly.

[@videolabguy]

Great video Colin. Lots of juicy details. Speaking of Euro gear, I have three Euro VCRs, two Grundig and on Philips (I think). I can't recall the model numbers. But, the one machine says Grundig Video 2X4. As I recall, two are NTSC and one is PAL. I forget where I got them.

[@video99couk]

You are referring to the V2000 format there, the successor of VCR. I have a Grundig 2x4 Super here, it works very well. See Techmoan's video on the V2000 format (he links back to this VCR video in his comments too): kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZa2q2mDpL1jZrM However the V2000 format was PAL only, so you can't have an NTSC one. Similarly with VCR, it was only really released for PAL, only a few sample NTSC machines were made.

[@richardd.9816]

Colin, videolabguy, could have sworn that my v2000 was a NTSC machine. I donated to another old video person, never heard back from him, would like to know if he made any progress. Cheers Of course I'm getting old. Richard

[@video99couk]

They may have made some SECAM V2000 machines, but I don't believe the V2000 format was ever engineered for NTSC. A handful of sample N1500 NTSC machines were built however.

[@coydog7902]

We’re there any NTSC vcr tape machines ever sold in the United States?

[@video99couk]

@@coydog7902 As I understand it, just a handful of NTSC machines were made in a pre-production prototype batch. It may have been that the switch to NTSC reduced the running time, so Philips decided against marketing them.

[@NuGanjaTron]

I now realise I actually have one of those BASF LVC tapes -- but not an SVR deck to check it out. Picked it up at a flea market aeons ago. I knew what it was then, and was curious about the coaxial spool mechanism. And it was dirt cheap. :^)

[@millomweb]

23:40 Motor on the left looks very similar to one I found in a Garrard record deck. Deffo mains voltage !

[@mspysu79]

Neat machines, I know the N1500 is not your favorite VCR, but a much better offering then we had in the US, the infamous Cartivision system. It was normally sold as a TV/VCR combo and cost $1,500 in 1972, it also used a coaxial reel but recorded with skip field recording which recorded 1 frame and played it back 3 times. There was Sony U-Matic as well but that was even more expensive (but worked much better).

[@video99couk]

I don't like the N1500 as a model, but the format itself was good for the time, the N1502 is really quite useable. Cartrivision was a bodge up, and from what I have read, it wasn't even easy to use. Umatic wasn't sold as a domestic format, as far I know no machines were sold with tuner and timer options.

[@mspysu79]

Yeah, cartivision was bad, look at the R&D films that are out there, the machines were designed on the top of workbenches, and so when the machine is in the TV console the controls are at knee level. There where U-Matic machines that did have tuners, and there was a tuner/timer accessory for them just like the industrial Betamax machines. In the US it was sold at high-end Audio/video dealers, although not marketed to the consumer by sony.

[@matthewringham2458]

Hi, love watching your videos, they're awesome. I have a 1700 that is not functional would be nice to see what is on the tapes that came with it. I don't suppose you offer a repair service as I wouldn't know where to start.

[@video99couk]

Sorry, I can't take on repairs, I have a backlog of my own machines to service. But I can run tapes to video files.

[@RobertHellier]

I remember my school having one of these before they changed over to VHS

[@betaman7988]

11:10 Loeki the Lion was also used on Westward TV (ITV in the Westcountry) in 1980 and 1981.

[@video99couk]

Really? I don't remember that, and I live in that TV area. I do however remember Gus Honeybun.

[@betaman7988]

video99.co.uk Loeki was used here and there on Westward for a while. If you look up Westward closedowns from around 1980 or 1981 he appears just after the announcer says to ‘don’t forget to switch of your set’. And as for Gus Honeybun. I was recently reading about a time in which one of his legendary bunny hops went wrong, causing one of his ears to fall off!

[@betaman7988]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYTbkHalidp5qtk Here’s Loeki and Gus!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@video99couk Loeki also found his way to the US through a TV station in Chicago that played the stop-motion segments as break bumpers... kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaO6dqijodR9q68

[@mdftrasher]

@@ChristopherSobieniak Wow!

[@leeharvey8334]

Hi Colin, just seen your video and subscribed to your channel, your really fantastic and no your stuff! I got a brand new 1702 in 1979, I never had any issues with it and all worked fine till one day I unplugged it, when I reconnected it I plugged it in to a three way adapter, I saw a arc in the plug and the Phillips died. That was around 1983, i covered it up, put it on top of the waldrobe and iv never looked at it since. I suppose I must have blown a internal fuse? The green mains on light and cassette illumination light failed somewhat earlier. Iv a stack of tapes too. I suppose one day I will get the old girl going again. I remember the secondary school I went to in the mid 1970's having a stack of 1500's, The picture quality was always good. Your very lucky having those 2 Grundig machines, iv only ever seen pictures of them. I remember there being a mod where a 1700 machine was modified to play both VCR and VCR long play tapes and freeze frame being reinstated. How though I dont no with the 1500 series head drum recording guard bands and no slant azimuth recording. Mid 80's I moved on to Betamax and then VHS. I will never forget the Philips machines and iv a great fondness for them. I don't suppose heads are available for any of these machines now except like you say removing them from another machine. I did manage to get some BASF LVC 180 three hour tapes years ago. They were about £18 each. I never had a problem with them. It would be great if you demonstrated a 1500 working even though you say you don't like them. Thanx so much for taking me down memory lane. Regards Lee.

[@video99couk]

I'm not aware of any modification for an N1700 to be able to play N1500 tapes. But there was a modification to convert an N1502 to N1700 format, including a change of heads. That made it incompatible with N1500 recordings of course. Your N1700 sounds like a good candidate for restoration, please don't ever dump it.

[@abuhawee1]

I remember back in late 1978 , a rich neighbor just came from USA , he brought two things Pioneer PR-7820/Model 3 MCA Discovision player and boney M video disc ,we would play it again and again

[@anthonybrunotheodd]

I would love to see a review on the Avenger. Looks like a lovely car.

[@video99couk]

Well a bit off topic for my channel, but I suppose I could. I've invited Hubnut to come and play with it, if ever he's in the area.

[@thomasfrancis5747]

I have 2 N1700's - one bought new for around £600 in 1978. IIRC Central TV in the UK used these machines as backup in case they had broadcast failures. Our school had an N1500 for black and white school programmes in the mid 70's.

[@video99couk]

The N1500 had a special trick with black & white video, it would reassign the chroma bandwidth to luma giving the pictures extra detail. There was a button to do this. Stunningly good monochrome pictures for a domestic format. Just a pity the servos weren't great.

[@NuGanjaTron]

It's interesting to see how Grundig already established its convention of the right-hand mech on its early SVR model. AFAIK all VCRs developed in-house by Grundig (including their early VHS units, before sourcing the mechs from Philips and others sometime in the late 80s / early 90s) had the mech on the right, and the controls on the left. Any ideas why?

[@video99couk]

This was before the centre mounted decks which were of course done for cost reasons. Perhaps they felt that (mostly right handed) people needed to use their best hand to get the tapes in and out of these slightly ungainly mechanisms.

[@betaman7988]

I’d love an N1700. It’s just a shame that they’re so rare, so expensive and so unreliable. I do, however, absolutely love my Betamax (a Sony SL-C9 UB) along with its tapes dating as early as 1982 and as late as 1999

[@video99couk]

I've found N1700 machines to be easier to find and a bit cheaper than N1502 models. I picked up a non-running N1700 from eBay for about £15 a while ago, that machine is the one I used to play the cricket programming in this video. I have two fully working C9s here. The cassette carriage design is over-complicated and fragile, and DC-DC converter failure can kill the display and tuner, but they are lovely machines when fully working. You can see one of them in my videos about PCM digital audio.

[@betaman7988]

video99.co.uk I absolutely love my C9. It was my family’s first VCR back in 1982 (long before I was born) and the only issue I’ve had with it was an understandably dirty set of heads from being in storage and the tape tensioning being set too tight.

[@richardd.9816]

Hi Colin, great video, real nice avenger! Still looking for a Plymouth cricket.. All the best Richard

[@millomweb]

40:00... 'sticky tape' - i.e. damp - hence the oven (or a dehumidifier) helping. 'DEW' being the warning message via LED and instruction book ! Best solution is to keep tapes and players in the same room for over 24 hours so that moisture issues sort themselves out first. Perhaps more an issue with videotape cameras which are subjected to varying atmospheric conditions.

[@video99couk]

Sticky-shed syndrome is not really related to damp, and doesn't have any effect on the Dew sensor. It's a very different problem, and sitting in a room doesn't help at all. It's the tape surface becoming unstable.

[@njm1971nyc]

I remember the N1500 from the junior school I went to. The analog clock was somewhat "amusing" to me even as a 7 yr old kid. The VCR never worked properly, always had a bad tracking error (or probably tape damage, no doubt the tapes were used over & over, and were probably 5 years old by the time I got to "enjoy" one). Aside from the clock, which was like something from an electric cooker, I actually like the styling of the N1500 much more than the later models 😊 My other very early memory of a video recorder was a top-loading umatic in the lobby of the local branch of Barclay's Bank...just one of those random memories from the 70s. By the time I got to secondary school it was all Ferguson Videostars. Always struck me as a bit odd that anyone would want a naff Ferguson badge on a fairly decent JVC-made machine! The audio, in particular, even on lo-fi linear was way better than my dad's dreadful SL-C6mkII Betamax! That really was a crappy machine. My first job in the video field was in the engineering dept at Technicolor Videocassette in Wembley. I think they had about 20,000 vhs duplicators. JVC BR-7000 and Panasonic AG-6810. I definitely preferred working on the JVCs. Spent half my time just replacing the little IR tape sensor boards...if a tape got stuck, the not-very-bright "factory staff" would just yank the cassette out, the chewed tape would catch on the IR led board and rip it off! I'm sure JVC in Japan were mystified as to why so many little PCBs were sold as spare parts! Almost killed myself with a BR-7000...pushing a stack of about 12 of them on a cart, through swing doors, the deck on top slid off, literally slid over my head, and all 30-odd kilos of very angular metal hit the ground with a thump. Not quite sure how I escaped death there. Aside from being a bit wonky after its fall, the deck survived too! "Health and Safety" wasn't yet a thing in the late 80s! And that concludes my trip down vintage-video memory lane! 😄

[@video99couk]

The N1500/N1501 servos were hopeless. The N1502 improved on that situation hugely. I wasn't aware of any sound issues on the C6, but it was a bit of a big clunky machine that probably wasn't the pinnacle of design for its time. Then the (much more expensive and unreliable) C9 came along, it must have looked like something from a space ship. A BR7000 or similar would certainly have done some damage had it hit you in the head! My funniest similar moment was when I put a heap of audio equipment into a small lift (no room for me, so I went up the stairs) What I hadn't realised is that the mains plug to a JVC amplifier was on the outside of the doors. When the lift opened at the top, you should have seen the carnage after the amplifier had been pulled through the lift by its mains cable. But it was all repairable.

[@njm1971nyc]

@@video99couk Yeah the C6 was a really crappy machine. Picture quality wasn't great (the school Videostars looked significantly better), the audio AGC was hopeless...everything recorded so low that tape hiss was a really noticeable. Maybe we just had a dud. Only needed one repair, but for a fault I've never seen on anything else, and I've worked on thousands of video decks over the years. All of a sudden there was a streak of noise across the picture. Apparently a guide post had become magnetized and was erasing a portion of the video track as the tape went past. I'm generally a fan of Sony gear, especially the professional decks, but that Betamax was rubbish! 😊

[@gerardjurgens2670]

My late father was a le to buy a N1500 in 1974 because His cousin worked for Philips as a tecnician, working on televisión and later vcr. It was a customer return machine which my uncle ma naged to repair and my brother and I over and over replayed Bohemian Rapsody from Queen and The Noses Show, a very comicial british programa with funny slapstick scenes! My father wasn't very happy with us rewinding and playing back all the time because he was very worried of tape and headwear

[@video99couk]

Rightly so perhaps because early examples had a short head life.

[@repairitdontreplaceit]

i used to repair these back in the day , not sure if i have happy memorys about them or not :)

[@srfurley]

In 1974 a 60 minute cassette cost about 20 pounds.

[@video99couk]

Very expensive machines to run as well as purchase.

[@richardbrown1189]

Great memories of the 1500 and 1502. We had both in the AV department of the school I worked at in 1979. We used the 1502 mainly for off-air recording since the digital clock was much more accurate than the hit and miss mechanical one on the 1500. The format was already out of date by then as VHS and Betamax were available. The tapes were pretty unreliable and I became adept at dismantling and repairing them, which was a nightmare with all the little springs and cogs which you had to put back together.

[@Marcelopeireiragomes]

Muito interessante com certeza o primeiro videocassete valeu por postar,esse vídeo thank you.

[@marcse7en]

We had an early Philips VCR at school in the mid 1970s! It was always breaking down! 👎 I always thought concentric spools were a bit weird! 😂😂😂 I was waiting for you to say that the N1500 circuitry was ENTIRELY DISCRETE! 👍 I always thought it was? But it isn't? I've never heard of "sticky shed" on cassette formats, but I encountered it on SONY EIAJ! I successfully "baked" the tape, which temporarily removes moisture, allowing successful playback.

[@video99couk]

It does have ICs, just not DIP packaged ones. People in the past have incorrectly assumed that it was all discrete because the ICs look a bit like transistors. Sticky-shed is a bit more complicated than driving out moisture, it's about the tape's adhesion to the backing.

[@MegaWayneD]

Would you be interested in seeing if the Teletext data is recoverable from the tapes? I'm thinking the cricket one would certainly have Teletext data. Not sure about the Dutch tapes.

[@video99couk]

Interesting. I've just taken a look at some raw captured video from TV programming taken from some N1500 tapes. It appears that the format didn't record the very top lines, they are probably in the head switching interval, or my capture system ignored that area. Some tapes have tracking and stability issues at the very top (and bottom) of the picture anyway. So I would say it's unlikely that teletext could be recovered, but next time I run an N1700 tape I will take a closer look for teletext data. If I see it, then I'll have to work out a way to feed the signal into a TV which supports teletext. I'm not sure all TVs will decode data which comes in via the AV inputs, some may only decode from the tuner. So we would have to use a modulated signal and an analogue capable TV, which is a bit of a challenge to hook up these days. That cricket N1700 tape has probably gone now alas.

[@MegaWayneD]

@@video99couk Jason at The Teletext Archeologist on Facebook has software that recovers Teletext data directly from the video signal. The earliest recovery he's managed to find is from 1978, so it would be cool if we can find something earlier.

[@telocho]

I remember playing recordings on my N1700 and teletext would show, some corruption happens of course. But most old recordings from before the early eighties will not have any teletext as this was not introduced then.

[@MegaWayneD]

@@telocho Ceefax (the BBC's service) went live in 1974! Oracle (ITV's service) was officially launched in 1981 but there were test transmissions starting in 1978.

[@millomweb]

3:15 Is that a microwave oven laid on its back you have the 1502 on ?

[@video99couk]

No, it's a Sony BetacamSP UVW1200P which is cover in another KZbin video.

[@randersonctr77]

This is a wonderful video!! Thanks for sharing!

[@video99couk]

Glad you enjoyed it. It was a lot of work. Please do subscribe, as long as my subscribers keep increasing then I can keep doing more interesting technology videos. I was planning on a Umatic one next week but have been set back by an small injury so may have to do something with lighter equipment!

[@millomweb]

The 1502 was the model my school had. The physics teacher (apparently!!) didn't give the unit the required pause between moving the relevant control to the stop position and then to the eject position resulting in him getting a face full of unspooling tape. Allegedly.

[@video99couk]

The tape or machine probably had a fault. The eject operation is locked out until unlace (selecting stop) has completed.

[@millomweb]

@@video99couk 2nd hand info a long time ago. Who knows !

[@peopyt]

Hi Colin. I have finally got my hands on this, n1500 and of course all the belts are goo 😀 But I have a question about the video output. Do you use the "ant out" or the "TV out fbas"? Is it a 6 pin din or something?

[@video99couk]

It's a while since I looked closely at the back of an N1500, but I believe the 6 pin DIN socket does have (audio? and) video out. That would give much better results than the antenna output. However there will likely be faults all over the place, these are very old machines.

[@peopyt]

@@video99couk Thanks. I see a second Din output for the audio actually. I will replace the belts and see what happens next

[@alexstevensen4292]

I got an n1702 from an uncle complete with service manual which was interesting it explained how all the modulation stuff worked. It worked but it was problematic the picture was never stable although it had a very good what you might call 'base quality'. The sound was very good though.. Flawed machines I would say. the biggest issue seems to be the stacked cassette although grundig seemed to have got it to work properly. later I got a grundig 2x4 v2000 which was god-like.. I believe the manual (of the N1702) eplains how the mechanism has to be cleaned every 10 hours of operation or so. I guess that explaines why the cassette holder comes of so easily you are supposed to get in there and clean stuff. There was a metal strip at the beginning/end of the tape which would simply make a connection to stop the machine there was a problem with the glue. my uncle had replaced that with an optical sensor and he would use schotch tape to remove the magnetic material and make the tape transparant at the beginning/end. So right at the start the machine needed to be hacked to get it to work properly (sort of). So quite good quality when it comes to basic picture quality like chroma bandwidth but problematic right out of the factory. You can say about vhs what you want but at least they got the tape transport right. Well in terms of handling the tape, can't compare to the grundig 'direct drive' mechanism, vhs was always a bit 'cheapish' but otherwise well done. vhs would have this 'swing wheel' to drive the spools, flakey but the thing isn't supposed to last forever anyway. It would work properly for say 8 years and then it would be time to get a new recorder anyway. It seems the grundig v2000's were designed to last forever which is a bit unrealistic. But I'm rambling on. There seem to be different design philosophies between a german v2000 and japanese VHS. After a few years you would get HQ VHS which had a bit of improved luma bandwith. And after that came super vhs which had full 5mhz bandwidth. So you don't want the recorder to last forever anyway. One thing that dissapointed me about S-VHS was the chroma bandwidth it was still VHS after all.. I guess they figured I wouldn't notice. Now it's digital and high quality and all but I still miss that era it seems things are more interesting when they aren't perfect.

[@pjisonline]

Very interesting. Nice to see old Dutch television from the seventies (I'm Dutch). Where did you get that tape?

[@video99couk]

I don't remember where the tape came from, either a customer one or possibly with a machine.

[@PhilipvanderMatten]

AVRO's Televizier Magazine!!

[@m3snusteve]

is that lokie the lion on the dutch tv adverts from Netherland 2 tv? I have a old vhs tape of dutch tv stations received in the uk via tropospheric ducting when there is a high pressure weather system over europe.

[@jantonkens9820]

Wow do remember those ad blocks of the 70s &80s... Onky adds around the evening news broadcasts insted of around every program and &as now - during programs .. tge good old times 😂

[@UnOrigionalOne]

I am visiting from Techmoan. Cheers!

[@video99couk]

I'm going to do another Techmoan related subject very soon, so do subscribe to see that.

[@NuGanjaTron]

So when will Techmoan _himself_ visit here?

[@millomweb]

I can see a lot in the 'SVR' that migrated to the V2000 machines.

[@maximr4866]

Do you do digitialsed transfers? I have a VC-60 cassette which I've come across while clearing out my Folks house would love to know what's on it.

[@video99couk]

Yes, see my web site video99.co.uk

[@VFAFOOTY]

I am restoring one of these machines currenrtly just wondering is there anywhere you can still buy the drive belts for ? i need pretty much all of them if you had a link or something would be fantastic i have the N1500 Model the first model that came out thank you great video btw

[@video99couk]

You just have to measure the lengths from where the belts connect to. Do an eBay search for cassette belts and buy in belts just based on their sizes. You might want to get sizes several for each so you can experiment with the best fit. But before spending too much time on belts, first make sure the loading mechanism is working.

[@VFAFOOTY]

i haven't turned it on yet but it does look like everything is in tack i have opened it up to have a look any advise with turning it on anything to look out for has not been turned on for many moons @@video99couk

[@musmodtos]

I really would love one of any of the machines from this family - I've got too many projects on the go at the moment at take one of these in to my life, but soon I'll pick up an 'N' series machine. Any suggestions as to which one might be the most viable of a project, I'm only interested in one from the family, not fussed as to which sub-format?

[@video99couk]

Heads are the big problem. I think head life on N1700 machines is a little better than some earlier models, and they are slightly less valuable than N1502. The later machines are also easier to work on than the N1500 for example. So I would probably say an N1700 or N1702 is the best for dabbling in the format.

[@mdftrasher]

4:11 n1500 Tapes must be bought in holland ;-) Ster reclame!

[@hankl8168]

Loekie de leeuw

[@kr509]

Very nice...loeki de leeuw a dutch icon....funny in betweens during commercials...im activly looking for an N1700 with tapes....impossible.

[@kr509]

@@mdftrasher i clearly remember my aunt allways bought the latest video players and she used to have a crisp by then obsolete N1700 with 40 plus tapes containing movies and steam locomotive documentairies...ofcourse it was thrown away as recent as 2007...its all about memories and childhood moments...im a basic audio tech...these things are a horror to repair probably..

[@mdftrasher]

@@kr509 I am no expert at all, but the quality of the electronic components are very good. Most of the time there are mechanical failures.

[@kr509]

@@mdftrasher the moment will come as an active thriftstore searcher....ill find one!...good one mate keep em rolling. thx👍

[@millomweb]

So what is that knob in the middle of the top of the SVR ? Playback speed adjustment ? If so, I guess that's on the board you replaced the chip on !

[@video99couk]

It's sharpness.

[@millomweb]

@@video99couk Another mystery feature ! Fancy doing a video to explain it ?

[@honestguy7764]

@@millomweb Dont you remember vhs ? in the midtimes they got tracking an sharpnes controls

[@millomweb]

@@honestguy7764 Hmm ! Tracking didn't cross my mind. I only remember one with both tracking and sharpness but Video8 had sharpness. Other people had VHS We were V2000 :)

[@millomweb]

22:58 "Normal service will resume shortly."... ...The next line is missing :(

[@honestguy7764]

Ive just bought a Grundig SVR and Im dying to plug it into the tv. It works mechanically, but havent tried it before.

[@video99couk]

If it works mechanically, you're a long way there already.

[@honestguy7764]

@@video99couk It works perfectly fine! nice sound and pictures, on par with later vhs. the only thing is the tape counter cannot be reseted. Estra quick when winding and rewinding. it came with 19 tapes, with interesting newsreels, cartoons, docus and commercials

[@randersonctr77]

Philips was there first in 1972, so why didn't that become the standard?? Were VHS and Beta a ton cheaper?? I keep wondering.

[@video99couk]

Beta and VHS were several years later.

[@randersonctr77]

Vcr long play came out in 1977

[@video99couk]

@@randersonctr77 By which time VHS and Beta were on the market, and were both clearly more practical, smaller and cheaper solutions.

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

Was the tape formulation changed when the VCR-LP format came out? Sony did that when they introduced the L-500 tapes and the SL-8200 with the X2/βII speed.

[@video99couk]

VCR-LP uses exactly the same tapes as VCR. the change was in the head design where they went from having guardbands to an alternating azimuth head design like VHS and Beta. The tape formula was however changed to Chromium Dioxide for the Grundig SVR/SVC format, though those tapes would also work fine on VCR and VCR-LP too. Here in the UK, we never had variable tape speeds for Beta: An L750 runs for 3 hours 15 and an L830 for a bit under 4 hours, which for most people was plenty long enough.

[@camouflage81]

10 years ago I saw a Luxor player for sale that was claimed to take both standard and LP.

[@video99couk]

I'm told that there was a Grundig model which could play both, so it might have been a rebadged one of those.

[@MarcosAlmeidaNet]

Amazing video. Congrats!

[@video99couk]

I'm getting a Skantic VCR-LP machine sent to me next week. Repairing that might make an interesting KZbin video. Just a bit bogged down in a Toshiba Beta at the moment!

[@millomweb]

13:06 Not seen one of those before !

[@peopyt]

Do you know the purpose of the belt brushes?

[@video99couk]

I think they act as dampers to stabilise the belt speed.

[@millomweb]

39:50 "Dogs" I'd suspect. Spool driving dogs, in full.

[@bobjerome5390]

hi my brother had a V2000 in the past the RF socket on the backs of the models he had used to break and fixing it was a right pain a lot use a cable that can out of the back will a RF plug on the end to save cost of repair

[@video99couk]

I've seen that same repair on a Sony Beta Hifi player. Not very pretty but gets the job done.

[@bobjerome5390]

talk about hi-if i got 9 of the 100UB one's and some c9 as well i wish some one would print the front panels 3D

[@video99couk]

@@bobjerome5390 I have a 3D printer but printing panels like this is very hard. Tried and failed to print panels for Sanyo VTC-M40 Beta hifi machines, the hinges were impossible to get right.

[@chrishickory7907]

When was this one manufactured?

[@video99couk]

1972 or 1973 probably.

[@davidchamberlain2162]

I have a box of about 10 tapes for this machine.

[@mdftrasher]

Even the russians copied the machine ;-) The machine was called the Spektum 203 and Saturn505

[@video99couk]

Really, I would love to see a photo of one of those.

[@mdftrasher]

@@video99couk retrotexnika.ru/lorta/videomagnitofon-spektr-203.html www.osta.ee/kollektsionaari-unistus-vcr-formaadi-videomakk-saturn-505-40142463.html buzzon.live/3149-what-vcrs-were-released-in-the-ussr/ www.radioscanner.ru/forum/topic18690-213.html

[@video99couk]

@@mdftrasher Wow that's pretty compact. I wonder if it uses the same VCR tapes or some other oddball format.

[@mdftrasher]

@@video99couk Some photo's show a machine with the boxy tapes. See bottom in the dutch mfb forum, there's a picture. forum-mfbfreaks.nl/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8335

[@video99couk]

@@mdftrasher Same tapes, probably then the same recording format (VCR N1500).

[@Caro-hr1oc]

DO YOU KNOW VX. IT HAD STACKED REELS AND IT HAD A PREMADE LOOP FOR HEAD. AND BY THE WAY I THINK YOUR VIDEOS ARE GREAT

[@ChrisFEJackson]

Hi Colin!

[@video99couk]

Hi Chris!

[@queenielouweekly3160]

I thought it was gonna be like an 8 track at first; the tape would be an endless loop, which is logical because the tape kinda looks like an 8 track tape.

[@video99couk]

The machines are much more sophisticated than 8-track players. I don't think anyone has ever done an endless loop video tape machine, though I could see why there might have been applications for it.

[@queenielouweekly3160]

@@video99couk OK.

[@ashleyschooneman2998]

I am in Australia,I need used tapes,are they still around ? I have the N1700

[@video99couk]

Yes, lots of used tapes are still around. I regularly dump tapes which people don't want any more.

[@PhotoShutterLab]

is that a dutch tape?

[@video99couk]

I believe it is, yes.

[@calliehewett4141]

Do you purchase these? I have an N1700

[@video99couk]

I probably have enough N1700 machines (but would like another N1502!). But if it's not wanted, please don't dump it, I might like to feature it on the channel. It certainly won't work unless it's been recently serviced. If you want to get money for it, I would suggest selling on eBay but be prepared to box it and send within the UK. Collect-only auctions tend not to fetch much.

[@calliehewett4141]

@@video99couk how interesting, yes I have listed it on eBay auction but nothing yet - perhaps I should change to a fixed price. I would rather it featured on your channel then be dumped but I’d love someone to buy it who would appreciate it - my dad (passed) bought it in early 1978!!

[@calliehewett4141]

@@video99couk hi again sadly I’ve had no interest in it so for space reasons it’s going to go to the tip. Sad bcos did think a collector might be interested in it. Do let me know if you change your mind or know anyone else who might be interested

[@trax8864]

How much would these sell for nowadays?

[@caradinegeorge]

Too much for what they really worth. Scalpers, make the market price. I used to service a lot of them back in the day. It's bulky, the plastic is very easily scratched (problem with many audio and video hardware of the Philips "N" family) and nowadays is brittle in many cases, not to mention the lack of service parts and the huge prices when you can actually find them. Also terrible image if you want to hook it up to a modern display, not impossible but not really worth the hassle unless you have some old tapes that you really need to salvage. You're better off watching videos about them on KZbin.

[@trax8864]

@@caradinegeorgeI had one at the time and didn’t know if it was worth anything

[@northernplacecorporation]

Uhh... what's with the silence at 23:53-23:57?

[@Fader2003]

it loads the same way U-Tape or U-Matic loads

[@video99couk]

A loading ring system, used on Umatic, Betacam and variants, Betamax, some V2000 machines, a few (Philips) VHS machines and CVC format. The alternative is M-wrap used on most VHS, Video8, miniDV. Loading rings are usually very robust but a bit bulkier than M-wrap.

[@sfjoos]

If I only could find a N1500 in good working condition

[@video99couk]

Very rare and expensive now. I have two working N1502 machines (with A/V outputs) but no working spares. Lots of dead N1500 machines though! I do have three N1700 machines and of course the super-rare SVC model, all with A/V outputs.

[@sfjoos]

@@video99couk My N1500 which I bought in 1993, when I was 17, from a former engineer of BASF, which used different VCR machines for testing their tape science. I fixed the broken loading mechanism by using springs and thread. The loading was working well again, but I never tested the machine for fully function nor playback. But it looks pretty nice. The other I bought from the same guy was a N1502 with AV output where I just needed to fix the broken erase head. The N1502 was recording and playback well after that. But this was 25 years ago. I put it in the shelf on the attic - along with a ITT 240 Color (SVR 4004), Video 2x4plus in nearly new condition, a Video 2x8 Stereo VPS and a Philips VR2414. I also have a N1700 and a seldom used new looking N1702, but both machines have degeneraded belts and are not working at the moment. And I own a working SVR 4004 AV EL too along with an VCR4000. And some Philips VR2350 and VR2840

[@video99couk]

@@sfjoos Nice selection! Let me know if you might like to part with any of those, they would make interesting KZbin videos.

[@WF203]

The Video you show looks a bit wobbly. Don't you use a TBC when digitizing them? Or was the instable picture already like that on the tape?

[@video99couk]

Unfortunately an external TBC doesn't help much with lateral wobble. I do use TBCs but they mainly help the frame stability. Internal TBCs as installed in some SVHS, Hi8 and professional equipment, can help with lateral wobble, but of course they are all many years after this equipment was built. This effect is fairly well documented.

[@WF203]

@@video99couk Hmm, i have a Video 2x4 by Grundig which has much of similar wobble sometimes which gets invisible with my panasonic hdd recorder with built in TBC, and i assume thats not even a really professional one. Haven't had a VCR machine yet though so maybe its different.

[@mstdesign5835]

This video player was connecting to black and white TVs, right?

[@video99couk]

No, it is a proper colour format, they would normally have been connected to a colour TV.

[@mstdesign5835]

@@video99couk Was there video players connecting to black and white televisions?

[@video99couk]

@@mstdesign5835 Yes, in the late 1960s there were open reel video formats that were black & white only. You could always connect an N1500 machine to a black & white TV but of course that wouldn't be getting the best from the machine. Considering how expensive one of these video recorders was, it's unlikely that they were often used on black & white TVs. Colour had been available in the UK for at least five years when the N1500 was released. The N1500 did have a special trick though: If used with black & white recordings, it would recycle the bandwidth which would have been used for colour, to give a higher resolution black & white recording. I'm not aware of any other video format that could do this.

[@mstdesign5835]

@@video99couk Thank you for The information you provided. Were they connected to the black and white television with VHF antenna output? Because the VHF output was different from the different UHF output.

[@video99couk]

@@mstdesign5835 They were connected with UHF or (where available) Composite Video signals. By 1972, in the UK the old VHF transmissions were heading towards end of life, and anyway used the old monochrome 405 line television standard. All these machines use 625 line PAL colour signals.

[@millomweb]

"Motors sometimes squeal so might need replacing. I think not - just lubricate the bearings - like an engineer would !

[@video99couk]

One of the bearings is inaccessible.

[@millomweb]

@@video99couk Got a bike with a 'bottle' dynamo. Knowing one bearing does all the work, I drilled into the side of the bearing so I can grease it. Decades later, the cheap dynamo still works fine.

[@dv_vid]

Is Scott your son or grandson?

[@video99couk]

I have three sons, Alex is the eldest (wears glasses), then Scott (appears most in my videos), then little Max (appears from time to time such as DVCPRO, CO Detector and Soap Machine).

[@millomweb]

1:20 I spy with my little eye - an EVS800 !

[@montana01971]

The Vcr system was great for its time. Actually, its successor V2000, while technologically much more advanced, in reality was a step back compared to Vcr in terms of raw image quality. Also, primitive Vcr was much more sturdy and reliable than iffy V2000. I really like the N1520, as it has video and audio in/out instead of going through rf which is almost unusable now, stereo capability, and lacks the nowadays totally obsolete analog tuner.

[@video99couk]

V2000 enthusiasts used to rave about quality, but to me it's about the same as VHS of the same vintage, possibly even slightly worse if that's possible. Mainly it suffers from picture noise and lacklustre audio. I should try to get the N1520 going at some point, but I think has the same unreliable lacing system as the N1500.

[@montana01971]

@@video99couk Exactly wat you said, and it had bleeding colors too. And worse they broke down all the time, very unreliable. Also I think Philips made a misjudgment with the reversible cassette, it looked cool and provided 8 hours recording time, but it came at a cost, the tape width was half the size of Betamax or Vhs, with magnetic tape that has inevitable consequences for bandwidth and signal quality. If memory serves me well the head to tape speed was lower too. In hindsight Philips would have better stuck to Vcr system and developed that further. They had an advantage since it had been on the market for some years already. V2000 was hardly an improvement in real-world quality. Seems to me that all these new systems one after the other didn't help building customer trust either. Oh well, water under the bridge ;-) Back to the N1520, as I said for me the best model because of the crucial composite a/v connections. Also the stereo sound and 4 heads are great. Since it was for professional use and came out a year later, I hope it has better servo and lacing than N1500!

[@dv_vid]

Quintessentially European. Not Japanese. No NTSC models were produced I suppose.

[@video99couk]

Only a trial run of NTSC machines was made. The running time was shorter and it couldn't compete with VHS and Beta.

[@bobdimarzio3972]

actually a vid on the car might be more interesting ...and more relevant !

[@video99couk]

Got that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmWtXpqoi8R2qbM

[@ChannelWackadoo]

📼

[@CrosbyMagic]

Lorenskog - Norway, 05. 03. 2021. Hello. My name is Jan Krosby. I was one of the first to buy a Phillips VCR video recorder in Norway, back in 1973. During the time before Betamax and VHS arrive the market, I did a lot of recordings. I have been a entertainer (magician), and have done many TV performance I recorded. At that time it wasn¨t so easy to transfer (copying) the tapes, specially when the recorder break down, and nobody could repair it. Suddently it was to late to do something, other than take care of the tape cassettes. On the tape it was many personly shots of my family as well, and other important recording. What I¨m looking for is a VCR N 1500 or N1700 to buy, or have some of the tapes transfer ti a DVD or memory stick. If you can help me, I looking forward to hear from you. My E-mail address are: [e-mail] - www.jancrosby.no ( my "stage name" spell my surname with "C"). Thank you. Best regards, Jan Krosby

[@video99couk]

Note that an N1700 will not play N1500 recordings. Machines are now very hard to obtain and fetch huge money. It's best to get them transferred by a business such as mine who can handle this format.

[@CrosbyMagic]

@@video99couk Thanks for your reply. I reckon it¨s a N1500 I¨ve got. Ok, if you should do the job, how muct will it cost to copy a 30 minute, 45, or 60 minutes tape? Anyway, I have to look them up in a far-off storeroom.

[@CrosbyMagic]

Sir, Have you look in to my last questions, about the price for tranbsferring different type: 30, 45 and 60 minute tapes. I'm not sure if it's a type 1500 or 1700 I record my tapes. The machines is long gone.

[@millomweb]

Rather too much action takes place off shot !

[@a68k_de]

it was an interesting but also a really horrible format