Sony VO-2600 U-Matic VCR (from 1976?)

[@PeteVVI]

Used one of these for many years in the late 70’s and early 80’s. At least a couple of the tapes you referred to as being blanked were actually “Blacked”. To prepare for insert editing on an editing version of the recorder you would use a tape that you had previously recorded with a black signal. That provided a consistent sound od sync and you could then replace the black without destroying the sync track using the insert function on the editing deck. The mini U-Matic tapes were designed to be used in “portable” VCR ‘s that were used by ENG news crews between the use of film and the advent of betacam. The smaller tapes had a maximum recoding time of 20 minutes per tape and was a smaller version of the unit you showed weighing in at over 20 pounds, not including camera and battery belt. I still walk a little crooked from years of carrying one of those around. Great find and price! Enjoy.

[@probnotstech]

That's very cool about the "blacked" tapes, I didn't know that!

[@Bucksman36]

It just amazes me how well built these machines were. Im going to be 55 this year so this machine was made around the time i was 2!! To think how well it still operates is amazing. The quality that was built into this just doesnt exist anymore. Streaming cant hold a candle to the coolness of this!! Happy new year. Keep it up!!!

[@milkymarssnickers]

Nice ! I found the same unit in a basement when picking up a turntable. The seller wanted 50€ for it - so i took it. I was blown away from the massive construction. After a good cleanup, some belts and some grease it worked fine. I gave it to a fellow junior HAM radio operator who was very interested in old tech at the age of 14 in 2023. He also took a SIEMENS teletype to tinker with. Always happy to support the next generation of tinkerers.

[@grayfool]

What a blast from the past. I used these back in the early eighties to record training courses in the UK. In fact, I had three of them along with cameras and monitors in the back of a Volvo 245 in London. Driving in London is a bit of a race course. I saw a gap in the traffic and dropped the clutch to get across the junction. The car moved about 10 metres and then the clutch gave out. I was not very popular with the other drivers I can tell you. It took four of us to push that old Volvo out of the way. Yes, these things weigh a ton!

[@MarcelVanHoekElvis]

Fantastic machine that it still works afther all those years! Happy New Year!

[@teebodk3917]

Ahh, U-Matic, brings back so many memories. Back in the 80s I took a kind of all-medias education/course spanning some months. U-Matic was our video media and we learned to operate both cameras and editing machines for the studio. The "portable" machines for field recording were huge and weighed a ton, the cameras would then be connected to these bricks via cables. After finishing the course, I went on to work at a local tv station for a while - also using U-Matic - one of my main tasks there was to make danish subtitles for english language programs, using a Commodore Amiga, then transfering everything to tape, ready for broadcast.

[@cttv90108]

Awesome machine. When I think of Sony quality back in the day this is an example. Still showing great video 50 years later with original capacitors.

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

Essendo uno dei piu grandi appassionati del VHS,vedere quelle videocassette buttate è un colpo al cuore!

[@probnotstech]

Yeah, it was sad to see. I was not in any position to take them all, unfortunately. And what I did take went straight into a sealed garbage bag just in case!

[@vwestlife]

The UHF connector is also known as PL-259. And I'd love to see full transfers of those Ford tapes!

[@probnotstech]

I'll definitely be digitizing everything here (including the Ford tapes) for upload on my other channel. As soon as I find the time lol

[@micaelsilva]

Our favorite taking and fixing hand is back!

[@kelvinstokes996]

Hah! Fantastic! You're going to have to capture those Ford tapes. Super unique!

[@stupossibleify]

As a high schooler in 1990, working on a media project with the school's dual SVHS/MX10 in the edit suite, I found a dusty Umatic in a store room. I was absolutely blown away by the pucture quality of the tapes I found from the 1970s, and started using that same Umatic in place of the Panasonic SVHS decks. Got extra credit for explaining the early relevance of Umatic and the compromises of VHS for the home market.

[@twocvbloke]

In a Columbo episode I was watching recently, with Bill Shatner hamming it up as usual, a U-Matic machine is part of the plot to create a false alibi, taping a baseball game (I think, could have been american handbean) and time-shifting it with some clock-fiddling, very similar looking machine to this one but with manual controls, and later on in the episode they were playing with the camera option too with actual recording on set which was unusual for the time... :)

[@retro-reels5652]

Got one of these in the shed-it’s been in there 25 years, I saved it from my old college. These were made in their thousands of course, and there was a player only, VP-2030 I think and an edit model, the VO-2850. I loved the clunk of the solenoids. There were similar machines from Panasonic and JVC. Very few remain, as they bulky and over taken by the later front load decks.

[@princesswalt4010]

FYI: the colorbar “purple” is magenta,, a secondary color. It’s a combination of red and blue. The artifacts you were seeing on the edge I looks like ringing to me which is a result of poor high frequency response.

[@probnotstech]

Poor high frequency response wouldn't surprise me, since I usually see the issue on tape formats that all have pitiful chroma bandwidth.

[@Nokorola]

I have a Sony VP-2000 I rescued from an e-waste recycler-bound skid at my university surplus about 12 years ago. I cut my teeth transferring some tapes I got about 20 years ago from my high school at my university on their machines which were still being maintained at the time by the A/V department so I was ready for the challenge of working on mine. A few years later I got a newer model from the early ‘80s which is missing the top cover but records and otherwise works fine. My university threw out a bunch of tapes around the time I got the first player but due to tight privacy concerns they unfortunately were not available for procurement. Thanks for the great video, I’m now a subscriber.

[@raven4k998]

Remember Johnny Mnemonic when they said we would all be using VCR's lie they were personal Computer's today man did they get that one wrong🤣🤣

[@orihalcon8693]

The partial load I believe is to reduce head wear while also allowing time code to be shown live on machines that can display time code. As far as large and small tapes, I believe what keeps the small ones aligned is a center ridge in the lower tray that acts like a rail preventing crooked insertion

[@probnotstech]

That's what I originally thought with the partial loading. But it's not loaded to the ACE head for the tracking pulse, and I think the tape would needed to be fully loaded for SMPTE time code since it's in the vertical blanking, right?

[@orihalcon8693]

Might not be for the technical time code, could just be for a regular tape counter or for the machine to detect if the tape has snapped or otherwise isn’t moving maybe? Guess the way to test would be to unplug the ACE head and see if rewind/ff behavior changes?

[@parnellitube]

I used to work in a local access TV station in the early 90's and we did have one of these. The rest were newer front loading machines. As mentioned in other comments, you would lay down a control track before editing, then do "insert edits" where you would cue the source and destination machines to the edit point, push a button and both machines would automatically roll back about 3 seconds, start playing and lock together, and then the source would record on the destination without disturbing the control track. Also, the tape stays in contact with the head to read the control track for the counter on the editing controller. Fun fact: the counter won't work without a control track. I wonder if this model is fully capable of editing with the right controller.

[@idahofur]

Years ago I told myself no new video formats. I'm sort of happy. I passed up many U-Matic tapes. But the only few machines I ever saw was beat to garbage. But, I'm happy picking up Reel to Reel tapes to find out what is on them.

[@dazzfromaus4797]

Excellent find. I too have found and have 2 C format VTRs and they both came with thier own tapes. One machine had to be restored at an expensive price but it was well worth it.

[@RazTigerzz]

I actually just came into posession of TWO VP-2000's from an abandoned office (with a box of training videos) and they're both plagued with dried grease as well. I haven't worked up the courage to start working on them yet. They are so densely layered inside and weigh 65lbs a piece, and I'm just not ready for that 😅

[@unusualstuff]

I have a BVU-950, one of the last Umatic models. This is a professional model, so it has editing capabilities, much more connectivity and i belive it’s all-direct drive, so no belts. It’s heavy and noisy (fan cooled), but it’s working perfectly and the picture is still great after ~35 years. The tapes seem to hold up too - of the approx. 400 tapes i have digitized, i think 3 were unplayable.

[@ThePCTechChannel]

Amazing find at that thrift store! I’m always a little jealous since the most I can find in my local stores are used coffee makers and cheap dvd players. Never heard of umatic until now but it’s always cool to see these really old formats.

[@probnotstech]

That's usually all I see here too, this was very unusual

[@ThePCTechChannel]

@probnotstech that makes it an even better find. I typically have better luck with yard sales or estate sales surprisingly

[@MrNunna]

I worked on those Sony's for YEARS until they finally died or got obsoleted. Those plungers binding in their mating "cylinder" were VERY common. . If I didn't find them actually causing a problem, I'd lube them for a preventive maintenance step. Those sliding plates would sometimes bind too and needed fresh lube. Tese problems were caused by lubricants drying out than anything else. They were well built machines and were "state of the art" for the time period.

[@JacGoudsmit]

If you used that VHS VCR as modulator, there's a good chance that that was what was causing the blanking. It might have detected some signals in the video lines that are used for MacroVision and refused to pass the signal through to the TV.

[@randyr.parker2698]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I remember using one of these my freshman year in HS 1974. Thought they were the COOLEST thing ever made at the time. I have an old Sony Beta player that belonged to my F-I-L that I need to look at one of these days, in my 'spare' time..............yea, right, what spare time! LOL!

[@pileofstuff]

I learned to edit video on a pair of those back int eh early '80s.

[@IAmPaigeAT]

Diffuser; that’s the thing they use with incandescent to give it that even flood look

[@carlmannion708]

Glad you managed to drop on a find like thatb shame you didnt get all the tapes that were thrown out i love getting tapes with machines with old stuff news etc from back in the day on the look on mrs face when she came in and i had local news from 88 on 😂😂🤣

[@sam4power]

Really enjoying this video and the way you describe and show your progress. Subcribed 👍🏻👍🏻 "Surviving The 80's" 😂

[@davidbelleau776]

The tape you tried playing that was in the cream coloured case: DEMO REEL/ MODE: PAL is a PAL format for europe, asia, Australia. It would not play properly in a NTSC deck or display properly on a NTSC tv.

[@lusitaniafilms]

I have a 1975 RCA Vcr. It still works, I had to fix it. Now It's my pride, and joy :). I only paid 25.00 for it.

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

Is it the VBT200? That would be from 1977, their first VHS VCR.

[@lusitaniafilms]

@@crashbandicoot4everr No. The date on the label is 1975. VHS

[@TheHobbyShopFilms]

It is a security bit. You can find them at most hardware stores. Harbor Freight tools sell them.

[@probnotstech]

Security bits usually have the opposite though, right? Instead of a round part in the middle, the slot is interrupted so you can't fit a flat screwdriver in it. I do have a set of security bits, but none match these. A few other commenters mentioned that Sony sold a special screwdriver that fit this, which sounds like something they would do lol

[@TheFlaneur-up1ft]

I had these back in the day. Usually the solenoids would fail. That was the main issue for me at least.

[@Derpy1969]

I’ve never seen a working Umatic VCR.

[@atschirner]

You are correct! Sony did offer a specific screwdriver with a round pilot point and flat blade. In the late 80's we had over 100 rack mount U-matic players for cable tv local commercial insertion and a full time tech assigned to machine maintenance. Even had a direct account with Sony for Parts.

[@wheels2fun526]

Having three of these. There are a few things you can do to improve the picture quality for both record and playback. Demagnetise all the heads. But, considering the age of the tapes and not knowing how they were stored. It may also be the tape condition.

[@carlmannion708]

How thats built inside is very cool wow ! I know you will pay a premium but you may be able to source the nobs on craiglist

[@Cinemagic77]

U-Matic and Betacam came out at roughly the same time. U-Matic was intended for use by educational and industrial facilities like schools and factories, whereas Betacam was made more for Broadcast television applications, however I have seen and even worked at television stations that were U-Matic throughout the facility for on-air playback, dubbing and programme acquisitions. U-Matic tapes were of an epitaxial oxide tape formula, which tended to shed more than other tape formulas, which would result in frequent head clogs with just normal use and fresh tape stock, whereas the Betacams were of a metal oxide tape which did not shed anywhere near as much and could last many more passes than an U-Matic tape. As for picture quality, and TV station that ran Betacam could eclipse another TV station running U-Matic, the better picture quality in Betacam was that vast.

[@probnotstech]

I thought Betacam didn't come out until the early 80s?

[@psansom]

Betacam was a replacement for U Matic. Came out in early 80's. There was a PAL broadcast machine called the BVU series. These were industrial.

[@ihartmacz]

Happy new year, probnot! I hope you have a great 2025!

[@simtitan1]

Around the 30 minute mark, I noticed you had a cheapo Memorex VCR hooked up to your TV. I'm surprised your using that, especially since you really seem to prefer the much higher quality VCRs.

[@probnotstech]

It's small, light and easy to keep around when I need something quick. Not anything to write home about, performance-wise though.

[@tambarskelfir]

Whoa a U-matic belted tank. Seems like 1970s Sony had the technology to make plastics that didn't break and belts that didn't disintegrate over half a century. Damn that's a man's VCR, the two different sizes of cassettes without an adapter seems very unlike Sony as well. I adore this battleship of a VCR. Many thanks for sharing and happy new year! 📼

[@bob-s-bit-s]

hi got to say betacam 75p A500P walk right over this make the sony A500P has pre read i had time to get used to the deck because of all the things on the deck seeing what you have recorded and play back at the same time betacam has alot of heads on the drum alot bob

[@dontastodgh1067]

Ooooh, U got a U-matic!

[@ExperimentIV]

26:36 ohhhhh nice! lucky find! great music videos - and theres no good quality version of the video for visions of china by japan on youtube, so if you can ever transfer that, i’d be so grateful.

[@BGCB261]

The knobs are probably in bags on the vv wall .

[@probnotstech]

That sounds like something they would do

[@ThejasonJaw5442]

Nice machine when quality was quality picture was fantastic

[@12345678989814]

LOL I've got a 1980 F100 Ford ranger basically the full size Ford with smaller brakes and smaller lug pattern that was made over in Canada and your episode of Garfield I remember watching that one

[@robbieblackmon1801]

If the knobs are in good shape, and especially if they have shiny inserts called "brights" that are intact.. Those are worth more to some enthusiasts to complete their working machines than a complete, non-functioning machine. I have no doubt they strip them on purpose.

[@probnotstech]

What a shame. I've found really nice stuff at thrift stores that was fully functional and in great shape, other than the stolen knobs.

[@Shadepariah]

Thieves used to have to lift back in the day apparently

[@bob-s-bit-s]

hi nhave one some where hell it's heavy i have alot of betacam decks

[@robobobbert]

So... you're gonna digitize those ford videos, right?

[@robobobbert]

Digitize and upload, I should say

[@probnotstech]

That's the plan!

[@rock-steadi-cam5058]

I have one of these in my garage, except I have the editing recorder! Anybody want it? Too heavy to ship. Los Angeles.

[@RDavies73]

im a few minutes into your video, the machine looks late 70s or early 80s the circuit board has chips on it so it cant be '72 even though umatic came out in '71 the machine looks more modern. EDIT i googled it and this one is from 1978

[@probnotstech]

Hmm I think you're right about it not being 1972. The more I look into it, seems too early when compared to other stuff from that time. The website that says 1978 seems wrong to me as well (shows a ?, so I think it was an estimate). Oxford Duplication Centre has a webpage that lists a whole timeline of Sony U-Matic machines that seems like it would be the most accurate, showing 1976. Description fixed!

[@carlmannion708]

I use to carry large crts by tiping on side and carring with the screen agains my chest .hay you could always fit wheels to that small table thing you got it on . Or find something else more suitable to fit wheels to so you can just pust it away in a corner wjen not being ised for a while

[@doogie812]

Bake your tapes! Remove the reels from the cassette, through them in a food dehydrator for a day. After reassembly run them fast forward and rewind, preferably with some shamos on the oxide side.

[@probnotstech]

You know what's funny? I actually bought one to try baking some beta tapes I had trouble with. It didn't end up working for those particular tapes I had trouble with, so I got rid of it. And of course now I have u-matic tapes that could probably benefit from it lol

[@princesswalt4010]

Sony had a 200$ flat head screwdriver with little metal clips on either side of the blade that was used for those screws. It was bad practice to use magnetic screwdrivers in these machines.

[@probnotstech]

$200 flathead screwdriver sounds exactly like the Sony I know