vintage technologies #Technology

RCA 1964 TR-4 Television Video Tape Recorder (1964)

An RCA promotional film with technical details on how the recorder works. The film quality is a bit rough, but the technical content is very good.

 The RCA TR-4 was a quadraplex or “quadruplex” (four-head) analog video recording machine, introduced in 1964, as part of RCA’s ongoing competing product line with its competitor AMPEX.


It was used for monochrome or color recording of television programs. RCA followed the TR-4 with many improved models and was a leader in recording technology for many years.


These early machines were extremely expensive and purchased primarily by large television stations.


The TR-4 cost over $35,000 in 1966, equivalent to over $283,300 in 2021.

Computer History Archive
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