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The JVC GR-C1 was a
JVC GR-C1 page
at the Total Rewind website * {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304233340/http://www.bttfstuff.com/media/JVC_GR-C1U_Manual.pdf, date=March 4, 2016, title=JVC GR-C1 Videomovie Instruction Manual GR-C1
The JVC GR-C1 was a camcorder
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...
released in March 1984 by JVC
JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood corporation. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for ...
and was notable as the first all-in-one VHS-C
VHS-C is the compact VHS videocassette format, introduced by Victor Company of Japan (JVC) in 1982, and used primarily for consumer-grade compact analog recording camcorders. The format is based on the same video tape as is used in VHS, and ca ...
camcorder
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...
, as opposed to earlier portable systems in which the camera and recorder were separate units linked by a cable.
It used a 30-minute VHS-C video tape, which could be played back in a standard VHS VCR
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...
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. By comparison, the camera's nearest competitor at the time, Sony's Betamovie
Betamovie is the brand name for a range of consumer grade camcorders developed by Sony for the Betamax format. By "camcorder" is understood a single unit comprising a video camera and a video recorder.
Betamovie records analog video on a standard ...
, could record but not play back. JVC invented the VHS format and released the first VCR of that type, the JVC HR-3300
The JVC HR-3300 VIDSTAR is the world's first VHS-based videocassette recorder, VCR to be released to the market, introduced by the president of JVC at the Okura Hotel on September 9, 1976. Sales started in Japan under the name Victor HR-3300 on 31 ...
, in 1976.
Unlike later CCD-based camcorders, the GR-C1 uses a 1/2" Saticon pickup tube.
It was also released under license and in a black finish by German company Telefunken
Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company').
The name "Telefunken" app ...
as the 890 Movie and in a dark red by German company SABA Saba may refer to:
Places
* Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea
* Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine
* Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras
* Saba (river), L ...
as the VM 6700.
The GR-C1 was voted one of the top 100 gadgets of all time.
In popular culture
The JVC GR-C1 was famous as Doc Brown's video camera (operated byMarty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox in all three films. McFly also appears in the animated series, where he was voiced ...
) in the film ''Back to the Future
''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...
''.
It also featured in ''Stranger Things
''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...
'' 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.
The JVC GR-C1 was the subject of an episode of Marques Brownlee
Marques Keith Brownlee ( ; born December 3, 1993), also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber and professional ultimate Frisbee player, best known for his technology-focused videos as well as his podcast ''Waveform''. As of Aug ...
's YouTube Originals
YouTube Premium, formerly known as YouTube Red, is a subscription service that provides advertising-free streaming of all videos hosted by YouTube, offline play and background playback of videos on mobile devices, access to advertising-free mu ...
series 'Retro Tech'.
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
External links
JVC GR-C1 page
at the Total Rewind website * {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304233340/http://www.bttfstuff.com/media/JVC_GR-C1U_Manual.pdf, date=March 4, 2016, title=JVC GR-C1 Videomovie Instruction Manual GR-C1