Grundig SVR 4004

FORMAT: SVR

DATE: 1979

PRICE: £730
[1994: £1635]

xxcm

 
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The VCR format had yet another incarnation after VCR-LP, which was developed by Philips' German associates Grundig, and called SVR for Super Video Recording. SVR used chrome-dioxide tapes, which had finer particles and better magnetic properties, and allowed the tape to be run even more slowly than VCR-LP. An SVR machine could record for over three hours on the equivalent of a 60-minute VCR cassette. In fact four-hour SVR tapes were available, and five-hour cassettes were promised "soon".

The SVR 4004 was an amazingly sophisticated machine for 1979, with fully electronic controls, search-and-store tuning, and a timer which could be set up to ten days in advance - though only for a single recording.

The design shows some similarities with the earlier VCR and VCR-LP series machines, notably the tilting cassette carriage and sloping front fascia. However, the format was not compatible with the earlier systems, and neither could VCR / VCR-LP tapes be used - due to the different tape coating required for Super recording.

The format was mainly sold in Europe, but was available in the UK for about a year via mail order. However, with Betamax and VHS also on the market, and Philips and Grundig already working on the revolutionary Video 2000 format, SVR was an evolutionary dead end, and was effectively obsolete the moment it arrived.
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