JVC GR-C1
The JVC GR-C1 VideoMovie was a camcorder released in March 1984 by JVC. It was notable as the second consumer-grade all-in-one camcorder after 1983 Sony Betamovie, as opposed to earlier portable systems in which the camera and recorder were separate units linked by a cable, and as the first VHS-C camcorder.
The camera section was built around a 1/2" Saticon pickup tube,[1] while the recorder used a 20-minute VHS-C video cassette, which could be played back in a standard VHS VCR using an adapter. The camera was also capable of playback in the viewfinder or through a composite video cable. A separate RF modulator was available to enable connection to the aerial socket of domestic televisions.
It was also released under license and in a black finish by German company Telefunken as the 890 Movie and in a dark red by German company SABA as the VM 6700.[2]
The GR-C1 was voted one of the top 100 gadgets of all time.[3]
Unlike the GR-C1, the Sony Betamovie could record but not play back. In 1985 Sony released three CCD-based 8-mm camcorders and stopped using Beta cassettes for consumer-grade camcorders.
In popular culture[edit]
The JVC GR-C1 was famous as Doc Brown's video camera (operated by Marty McFly) in the film Back to the Future.[4]
It also featured in Stranger Things season 2 (set in 1984), as the camcorder Bob Newby hands over to Jonathan Byers to use when he takes Will and the other kids trick-or-treating and is used to record the Mind Flayer.[5]
The JVC GR-C1 was the subject of an episode of Marques Brownlee's YouTube Originals series 'Retro Tech'.[6][7]
It's shown in S7E13 of The Goldbergs titled: "Geoff the Pleaser". The "other" Adam Goldberg places it on the display towards the end of the episode.
References[edit]
- ^ "First Look: JVC VideoMovie GR-C1U Camcorder". Popular Photography. Vol. 91, no. 9. September 1984. p. 78.
- ^ "Kamera Nostalgie - Community - Google+". plus.google.com. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
- ^ "Rewind Museum. A museum of vintage camcorders. Betamovie, VHS C, first camcorders from Sony and JVC". www.rewindmuseum.com. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
- ^ "Total Rewind". www.totalrewind.org. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
Immortalised in Back To The Future [..] The GR-C1 was still a tube-based camera, and the incredible sensitivity of today's CCD camcorders [..] was still a distant dream.
- ^ "Spotern Stranger Things". spotern.com. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
- ^ RETRO TECH: CAMCORDER, archived from the original on 2021-12-19, retrieved 2019-12-02
- ^ Desk, TV News. "YouTube Premieres RETRO TECH, a New Learning Series Featuring Marques Brownlee". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
External links[edit]
- JVC GR-C1 page at the Total Rewind website
- JVC GR-C1 Videomovie Instruction Manual at the Wayback Machine (archived March 4, 2016)