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I have a Philips N1500, said to be the worlds first home VCR as we know them today; it could be connected to any TV, it was easy to operate and it had a recording timer. It's driven by two brushless AC motors - the same type as used in record players. On each of the drive shafts there is a metal disc with a coil which is used to slow it down to the right speed. This is the same kind of electromagnetic brake system used on some trucks and other heavy vehicles. My N1500 is only partially working, missing the wire from the threading system and only displaying an unsharp B&W picture. I also have a N1502 in great condition and i also had a completely worn out N1700 which i gave away to another collector.
Then there's the VR2020; The Video Compact Cassette, also known as Video 2000. This was supposed to compete with Beta and VHS, but had some technical difficulties in its early days. The players still looks futuristic: LED-displays, a lot of buttons, brushed aluminium, brushless (and virtually noiseless) direct drive DC motors etc. By the time they got things sorted out, it was too late, and the format quickly died out. V2000 never got official stereo specs, and as far as i know were never made in NTSC version. I am not too impressed with the picture quality, but the system had other advantages. For instance, up to 16 hours recording time in SLP-mode, noise free still and picture search and incredibly well-built machines. Unusual to the format is the tapes that can be turned over and used on both sides. The cassette looks like a over sized audio cassette, and despite the "Video Compact Cassette"-name, these cassettes were a little bit bigger than VHS.
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