The first VTR.

The Ampex VRX-1000.

Recording the CBS Evening News with Douglas Edwards.

A dedicated team of engineers at Ampex, headed by Charles Ginsburg and including Charles Anderson, Ray Dolby, Alex Maxey, Fred Pfost, and Shelby Henderson, created the world's first practical videotape system. They made it possible to record up to one hour of broadcast quality audio and video on a manageable reel of two-inch wide tape. Broadcasters were so eager for a videotape system that they literally stood up and cheered at the first Ampex demonstration in 1956. One vital development was the use of a rapidly rotating set of four recording heads that scanned across the tape rather than along it, making it possible first to record black-and-white images, then later color. The first on-air use was November 30, 1956, when CBS rebroadcast Douglas Edwards and the News via tape on the West Coast three hours after it had originated in New York. This particular Ampex VRX-1000 is the fourth built, and was used for that first historic broadcast at CBS Television City in Hollywood, where it continued to serve faithfully for twenty years.

Cleaning VPR-3 Scanner Guides

An example of the care we take with our equipment to insure you get the best results.