A Brief History of CCTV and Video Tape Recording
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1942: Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) is first used in Germany. German scientists
developed the technology so that they could monitor the launch of V2 rockets. Later,
this kind of video surveillance was used in the United States during the testing of Atomic
Bombs.
1951: The Video Tape Recorder (VTR) is invented. The VTR was used to record live
images from a television camera through the use of a magnetic recording strip. Five
years later, this technology would become commercially available, and would eventually
be coupled with CCTV to record surveillance for later viewing.
1965: Public surveillance cameras become more common. Press reports from the time
indicate that police had adopted the use of cameras in a number of public places.
1969: The first video home security system is born. Marie Van Brittan Brown received a
patent on her system which consisted of four peepholes and camera that could be
moved to look through any one of them. The camera would broadcast its images to a
monitor.
1970s: CCTV makes a splash in the non-government market. Banks and retailers began
to use CCTV as an added security measure against theft. This would continue through
the 1980s.
1976: Charge-coupled device (CCD) technology leads to the creation of cameras that can
be used in low light situations. These used microchip technology and made round-theclock surveillance possible.
Source: https://www.verizon.com/business/small-business-essentials/resources/edisoninternet-history-video-surveillance105000047/#:~:text=1942%3A%20Closed%20Circuit%20Television%20(CCTV,Recorder%20(VTR
)%20is%20invented. & https://tinyurl.com/2vzbpt28
Closed circuit TV monitoring at the Central Police Control Station, Munich Germany in 1973.
CCTV Footage Format
Based on my research, the most likely format of the CCTV footage was EIAJ-1 or 2-inch
quadruplex video. Circa 1970, the year of Joey’s death…
 VHS didn’t yet exist. JVS created the first functional VHS prototype in 1973.
 Betamax wasn’t released until May 10, 1975.
 U-Matic wasn’t released until 1971.
o “In 1969, JVC collaborated with Sony Corporation and Matsushita Electric…in
building a video recording standard for the Japanese consumer. The effort
produced the U-Matic format in 1971, which was the first cassette format to
become a unified standard for different companies. It was preceded by the reelto-reel 1/2" EIAJ format.”
About EIAJ-1:
 It was the first standardized format for industrial/non-broadcast video tape recorders.
Prior to that, “a reel of tape recorded on a Panasonic machine would not play on a Sony
machine, and vice versa. The EIAJ-1 standard ended this incompatibility, giving those
manufacturers a standardized format, interchangeable with almost all VTRs.”
 “The EIAJ-1 standard paved the way for consumer-oriented, non-professional analog
video recording technology to become more affordable and widespread, with many
businesses, schools, government agencies, hospitals, and even some consumers
adopting the format in the early 1970s.”
 “By 1971, Sony introduced the first successful videocassette system, the U-matic format.
The U-Matic system offered many advantages over EIAJ-1, including color recording as
standard, stereo sound, and automatic tape threading. However, EIAJ-1 equipment
remained in use for some years as it was less expensive than U-Matic machines or
tape, EIAJ-1 equipment was lighter and more compact, and portable battery operated
EIAJ-1 machines with companion video cameras were already available (such as the
AV-3400). It was not until the mid-1970s, that portable U-Matic machines and
compatible portable color cameras were introduced.
Another option: 2-inch quadruplex video
 “Those experimenting with the use of video in journalism, the arts, and industrial
applications were hampered by the inability to distribute and circulate video content, as
the lack of compatibility between VTRs made sharing tapes problematic. Strides towards
standardization came a lot quicker for a format like 2-inch quadruplex video, which was
the professional standard for television studios.”
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIAJ-1 &
https://miap.hosting.nyu.edu/program/student_work/2007fall_2/07f_2910_villereal_a1_y.pdf
&
https://miap.hosting.nyu.edu/program/student_work/2007fall_2/07f_2910_villereal_a1_y.pdf
Possible VTR Playback Devices
FOR USE WITH 2-INCH QUADRUPLEX VIDEOTAPE: AMPEX VR-3000
 It played back 2-inch quadruplex videotape, the first practical and commercially
successful analog recording video tape format.
 Invented in 1967, it was a suitcase-sized, portable video recording device meant for field
usage, including in military operations.
 The device needed to be connected to a separate video monitor for playback as shown
in a recent YouTube video below:
The suitcase could be worn as a backpack and could be attached to the BC-300 handheld
camera for video recording purposes, as seen here:
“Because the Ampex VR-3000 model was self-contained portable, the U.S. military used it in a
wide variety of reconnaissance applications in various vehicles and aircraft. Its ability to
accurately record a wide bandwidth of signals, especially high-frequency signals, was a definite
advantage for signals intelligence applications.”
“The Ampex VR3000 is a portable, record-only quadruplex VTR that was built for field
acquisition. Despite its Mark 11 ball-bearing head, the machine was quite capable of color.
Power was supplied by silver oxide rechargeable batteries. In use, the operator wore it on his
back while handling a heavy, bulky camera. (It took great strength to be a videographer in those
days! In fact, legend has it that the machine bent the dummy that was wearing it at the first
NAB show where it was exhibited!) Despite being in production a fairly long time, relatively few
were made, and there are only a handful of machines that I know of still in existence.”
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadruplex_videotape#Military_applications and
https://www.labguysworld.com/Ampex_VR-3000-Anniversary.htm and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1FtBkLkeA&t=687s and
https://www.bcs.tv/store/model_detail.cfm?id=815175
FOR USE WITH EIAJ-1 VIDEOTAPE: Sony AV-3400 (aka the PortaPak)
 It played back EIAJ-1 videotape
 Developed in 1969, “it was not the only portable video recorder around at the time, but
it was by far the most successful and it spawned a whole genre of video making.”
 “A portapak consists of a portable video camera with a built -in microphone
and electronic view finder, a VTR and a monitor all engineered into a batterypowered unit that weighs from 15 to 50 pounds and records up to 30
minutes of videotape.”
 The device needed to be connected to a separate video monitor for playback as shown
in photos below:
3 different portable cameras could be used with the AV-3400 and the device had a strap to be
carried over the shoulder and operated.
Sources: https://www.redsharknews.com/production/item/4457-a-long-time-ago-in-abrochure-far-far-away-we-found-a-video-recorder-like-the-sony-av-3400-portapak and
https://cool.culturalheritage.org/videopreservation/vid_guide/12/12.html and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portapak and https://tinyurl.com/2p8vteup