Oddity Archive: Episode 164.75 - Ben’s Junk: Tyco VideoCam (Another Kiddie Camcorder)

[@AestheticFunk]

A 9V battery is usually never better than stacked up AA batteries and here's why: For 3 times the weight, you get 4.6 times the energy, while only taking up 2 times the space. So as long as you can find the space it's almost always better. And if I know cheap things like this it's almost always empty space inside. Might as well make use of that empty space.

[@robfriedrich2822]

9 V Batteries are pretty expensive. When i got my first calculator, it was with LCD and 9 volt batteries. In East Germany the cheapest battery, what was literaly a battery, was a 4.5 volt latern battery (IEC name is 3R12), in fact 3 naked mignon cells in a carton housing and connected in series, so the voltage will be added. We used it for many things, I had a model railway as starter kit, that needed 9 volts by two of these 3R12. We had a portable radio, battery compartment was designed to be compatible to 6 R14 batteries, but soon we discovered, that R14 is expensive (was more expensive, than R20 batteries) and that it can be also used with the 3R12 batteries.

[@OM19_MO79]

9V batteries are not quite what they seem. Most of the times, they don't deliver full 9 volts, the average is 6 volts, 7.8 at most. The current they deliver is also lower compared to what 6x1.5 volt batteries deliver as well as is the lifespan of the batteries. Because of those shortcomings, 9v batteries were not widely used in appliances that needed full 9 volts for long periods at high consumption rates, like boomboxes or portable videogames with backlighted screens. They were used in devices that required high voltages with low consumption at short periods, like VFD calculators and old tabletop videogames, instant cameras and electronic flashes. In the late 70's and early 80's they tried to use them for all kinds of portable electronics but soon found out that they either gave to much voltage or didn't give enough energy (amperes) or last too little. It wasn't just the high price.

[@jamesbennettmusic]

Love how the lens is only really focused in the middle. Tyco Migraine Simulator 3000

[@askjacob]

I bought one of these on closeout back in the day, maybe for $15. I got it to raid it for the camera module... but it was really low res and fuzzy as you found... one surprising "feature" was that it had no IR cut filter and could see through certain materials - I found that out originally when I could see my speaker cones for the 1st time - it was like my speaker grill cloth wasn't there. For some reason my friends wanted to borrow my camera from me after that.

[@TYTDReviews]

Oh man! you just resurfaced a long forgotten memory! this was the first video camera I ever owned EVER! I remember it being an absolute nightmare trying to navigate the wire so I could film outside (I settled for feeding it out of my bedroom window so I could film on the front of the house and the kitchen window for the back garden) I made some small documentaries on it and a few stop motion bits but the battery's and the fact it was on a cable never really sat right with me...I had this for about a year or 2 before trading up to one of the (Then modern) trendy flip cameras that ran on 2 AA's and had no cables at all, but I did always miss the shape and feel of this one...I may need to go and try to dig one out :)

[@lutello3012]

Still got any footage? I'm pretty bittier I lost my favorite PXL footage.

[@TYTDReviews]

I think I have one tape with some material on it from around 2003-2004 :) its mainly me talking to family members if I remember correctly

[@TheOwenstube]

So from what I can tell, the blurry, grainy B&W image makes this thing fairly suitable for recreating late ‘40s-early ‘50s TV images. In case you want to parody Milton Berle or something.

[@mr3urious]

I'd like to see you do a review of the VideoNow player, that low-cost alternative to portable DVD players that Tiger put out in the early 2000s. They used their own proprietary discs that were in B&W, but color was introduced later.

[@OddityArchive]

That was the first-ever (albeit initially unreleased) Ben's Junk video (only covered the B&W model though). kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZ21mp6frt15npI

[@OM19_MO79]

I think you should take your time to make a proper video, not only on the VideoNow, but also other qwirky portable video formats from the early 2000s and earlier.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

I love that 'durable' is one of the selling point, knowing full well how kids would handle the thing ontop of reassuring the grownups it would take some rough handling better than their own camcorder.

[@TheRealPentiumMMX]

I remember begging my parents for one of these back in the day. Sadly never got it, but I probably would have broke it by trying to take it apart and see how it works

[@puzzleetpuzzles7951]

I still have one in box. LMK if you need one.

[@JohnHolton]

That Earl of Old Town album is a classic! Fun episode!

[@vintagevhstreasures4058]

Hope you feel better soon, Ben! 😊

[@Anarchist86ed]

90's public access look.

[@TRLTheRandomLab]

This was definitely Tyco's attempt at trying to profit from extra B&W cameras that wouldve otherwise been used in their CCTV units

[@robfriedrich2822]

Recovering takes much time, when you do videos. Since Monday I have a cold and what I did was laying in the bed, trying to sleep, maybe using my smart phone to watch some KZbin stuff and stopping this, when I feel tired and this way, I feel pretty well now and may be on saturday be able, to do sound.

[@ProbablyOkay]

I actually have one of these! I'm planning on shooting a short film with it by running it into my Canon HV20 and capturing the footage to mini DV tape. I wish I could run it into a portable digital recorder but I haven't found anything that would work. It's a cool, weird little camera and a great low cost alternative to the PXL-2000.

[@OM19_MO79]

Better late than never. It took you a lot to get this archivism. When this was released, I was already a teenager but I wanted one badly, a real camcorder was very expensive where I live. Get well soon.

[@giauz]

When I was a kid I saw the commercial of this crap here on Italian television... Fortunately I didn't bought it

[@weasel2htm]

When you mentioned a "Sugar rush show" The following went through my head: "HAY! IT'S BEN!" Something tells me that Ben doing his version of Fred would result in something that would cause Ed to take some really, really drastic measures.

[@albear972]

Never heard of this thing, kids now have it nice! Their parent's throw away old cell phones have better than broadcast video cameras than the 90's TV broadcast giants and expensive ones would ever be.

[@lawrencegenereux8567]

I would say the depth of field goes from 4 feet at the nearest to 48" at the farthest. Of course, I might be a little overly generous with that estimate.

[@tannerin]

I had one of these as a kid but it some kind of purple and yellow shell that made it look more like a toy

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

I got one of these for Christmas in 1997. Sadly the footage I shot with it is now long gone. I also remember another kids camcorder that I got around 2000 or 2001, and it shot footage in color. I can’t even remember what brand it was, but it had some sort of transmitting device like a Sony Laserlink you hook to your VCR and that’s how it recorded the footage. Unfortunately the footage I shot with it is also long gone too.

[@sydwhitaker5776]

it really reminds me of b/w vidicon cameras except less bulky

[@aiberlane3390]

That looks rather creepy! You could shoot a retro slient horror film on that thing.

[@danthemanwiththegarbagecan]

really hope you get to feeling better soon ben.

[@JohnJohnson-fr5cx]

Back in my day calling you “Benny-Boy” would’ve meant something completely different than how u use it 😮 Benzedrine-Ben they would’ve called you and errybody wouldve thought yous a speed freek drugg addi.

[@JohnJohnson-fr5cx]

Speaking of the “medicine” your “doctor” gave u…..

[@siliconinsect]

Buddy of mine got a bunch of these from a discount store and with an AC adapter installed them as security cameras using the tripod mount. With a 4-channel 24-hour VCR they weren't terrible and a helluva lot cheaper than commercial products.

[@adrienfourniercom]

are you sure that there isn't "an out-of focus mode" put on?

[@JosephASobora]

I still have my "Tyco VideoCam" that I had as a Christmas gift back in 1996 and it was fun to use at that time! Anyway, feel better soon, your episodes are entertaining!

[@johnsmithson]

i hope you get better soon Ben, take care ;^)

[@TheBronxBunnyMan]

I always noticed when I used the kid camcorders, that no matter what, the picture was really dark.

[@lutello3012]

I felt bad for the kids in 96 that didn't have the ability to record in camera, they should have made an improved PXL. Yeah it's better to connect those to a VCR too, but recording video to an audio cassette, as awful as the quality was, was totally badass.

[@OfficialDJUnikittyYT]

Get better soon, Benny boy with the cardboard box

[@Squeetube]

No doubt they would use 6 AAs over a 9V because toys rarely use 9Vs - both from a parts perspective (using AA battery holders that other toys already use instead of 9V) and a consumer convenience perspective. I never understood the purpose of these cameras, having them constantly hooked up and therefore using what would most likely be the parents TV or VCR seems counter intuitive, regardless of how long the cable is that they package with the device.

[@shadowtheoblivious]

another "slightly" less shitty kiddie camcorder still rather janky but not as much as that first one

[@Morality124]

For some reason, despite being black and white it could pick up really strong reds.

[@djmajiktuch82]

Hahaha! That footage on that black n white Tyco camara looks like it has cataracts or at least the begining of a cataract. Lol! Wait a minute didn't Tyco used to make rc cars?

[@hulavaultboy5935]

Yes. Now they're Mattel's R/C car brand.

[@norbelbert1988]

Get well soon. (Or don't. No pressure.)

[@OddityArchive]

It's always that divide between the mind and body, ya know.

[@KylesDigitalLab]

Does it output the video as an audio signal? What if you record it onto a cassette tape or a WAV file on a PC?

[@robfriedrich2822]

You call a video camera "camcorder". That's pretty wrong. "Camcorder" is short for Camera/Recorder. In the toy camera is no recording.

[@iron1349]

Us model railroaders know Tyco as a manufacturer of locomotives known for being time bombs that self destruct within a year. Horrible motors, cheaply built and basically fall apart if you look at them funny.

[@JohnJohnson-fr5cx]

12:52 what’s a “farm arm” I figure is a midwestern saying. I’m from The South

[@randywatson8347]

10:20 SEXUAL MICROPHONE The audio is better with directfeed

[@neilforbes416]

Cameras like this have no real value. They shoot a poor quality monochrome image in 4:3 aspect ratio that a kid of the day this model was released would've turned his/her nose up at it. "Proper" video cameras of the day will shoot full colour onto VHS-C or Video-8/Hi-8 cassettes, some of which able to shoot in 16:9 wide-screen, even in analogue. And so dead-simple to use that a kiddie could operate one, so why would any kid waste his/her time with something like this silly little toy?

[@yotophonic]

The kinds of "proper" video cameras you're talking about weren't all that cheap in the mid-90s. Not something most kids could afford and not something most adults would let the kids play with, because kids are really good at breaking stuff, especially expensive stuff. Better that they had a cheap and rugged toy version, with which they could do anything they wanted without serious consequences, until they were old enough for a real camera.

[@carlklitzke9455]

Most of us didn't have a side gig gate keeping to afford a "proper" camera.

[@jamesslick4790]

Few camcorders in 1996 recorded in 16:9, A kid of that day expected 4:3 as most existing TVs then WERE 4:3! and the ones that did were in the $2,500 and up price range. Not exactly "kidde" territory. Even normal 8mm or VHS camcorders were $300-500. Who is handing one to a little kid. Sure this Tyco seems like crap video because we can now do 4K on our phones, Normal, Non Bentley drivers were not buying "proper" camcorders for our 6 to 10 year olds in the mid 90s.

[@neilforbes416]

Stands to reason it would be cheaper, it was nothing more than a toy after all.

[@neilforbes416]

The "kids" would not be buying these toy camera devices. They would get them as a birthday or Xmas present from their parents, more than likely. And as for the "proper" cameras, likewise. The kids would get them as birthday or Xmas presents, at least the more responsible kids would, certainly not the little "brats" of today(not all, but some kids) who respect nothing and no-one.

[@raymodg.8039]

Starving children in Africa could have ate those batteries smh

[@lutello3012]

Y U NO film your rtr and umatic running?

[@jeenkzk5919]

I wonder what happened to TYCO...

[@hulavaultboy5935]

Mattel bought them in 1997. Now they're just another brand of the company.

[@VectraQS]

Ben, you deserve a real capture device and real capture software, not Windows Movie Maker.

[@vwestlife]

Capturing using a Sony Digital8 camcorder with DV output generally provides better quality and stability than most video capture devices. And since it's DV, it doesn't matter what software you use to record it with -- the end result is the same.

[@bradleylogan7906]

Talk

[@ilovebeingtheultimatebrony6685]

i had one of these and we thought it was the greatest thing ever now after watching this i now see it was pure crap thanks ben for ruining my childhood XD and i hope you get better soon

[@raymodg.8039]

Starving children in Africa could have ate those batteries smh