In a goodwill this afternoon I saw a small screen TV and mini video cassete recorder built into one unit. The only branding I could find on it was "technicolor" It was in a nice travel bag, and appeared to be in nice condition. Looks to me like it was made for business presentations or something like that. I have no use for it, but will happily go back to get it if someone wants it. They're asking $10.

Ghog

Here is a description from LabGuy, a collector of obsolete VT systems.

http://www.labguysworld.com/Technicolor_212.htm

This is the portable unit he shows. I had a variant of this beast that had a built-in 9" color monitor in a one-piece unit complete with shipping case. I sold it to an occasional contributor to AK near me.

Dave A

I've had a few of those, and they're very rare. $10 is probably a very good price, and that carry bag is probably MORE rare than the TV combo!

Charles

Sounds like a Funai "video showcase", Funai CVC deck and color monitor in a luggable case. You're right, they were intended for showing promotional videos to potential customers. From memory they don't have a tuner, so you can't watch TV on one as is.

The CVC 1/4" tape format is an oddball. They look like audio cassettes, but they are slighlty bigger and definitely not interchangable. I've seen a couple of CVC portapaks, but never the "video showcase" unit you saw. When these things came out they were the smallest out there, but more compact VHS units soon followed and they lost their only advantage.

I have one, complete w/the CRT built in, but only 1 tape. I'd like to get some more tapes but fat chance on that. Other than being rather odd, they don't have anything really to recommend them especially.

I have a hard time picturing Funai developing their own video tape format. They produce nothing but the cheapest junk possible now. This might be the only innovative product they have ever made. How is the build quality?

Muntz also sold those under their own label, if I am correct. I'm surprised than any Korean company like Funai would have done any engineering like that too at that time! Maybe it was an abandoned project by a Japanese firm?


Charles

This one had a UHF/VHF tuning knob. No detents, just a smoothly turning knob. The owners manual was tucked into the bag, and the whole thing looked like it had seen only very limited use. Even the bag was in very nice condition. I just may have to go back and see if it's still there.

If it is, get it, I'll take it if you decide that you don't want it....they are kinda neat to have just for the hell of it...

Around here there was a company making VHS TV/VCR combo units before the major manufacturers started making them themselves. I can't remember the name of the company though. They'd take a 14" TV, usually a Sharp or Toshiba and cram a Panasonic VHS portapak deck inside. To do this they removed both the UHF and VHF tuners, the speaker and cut away the front panel and side of the case. The top loading portpak was bolted in on it's side, the top loading cassette door now opening out the right side of the case. The speaker was the mounted in the top of the case above the CRT and a new back was fabricated. The looked incredibly amateurish, but they managed to sell them for a while. I should have picked up the last one I saw just for the hell of it, but after working on several Teac TV/VCR combos that week I didn't want anything to do with the damn thing. While ugly as all hell it was probably a better unit.