Beocord VX5000
| Product : | Beocord VX5000 |
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| Produced from : | 1989 - Jan 1992 | |
| Designed by : | David Lewis | |
| Finish : | Black, Grey, White | |
| Desirability : | 5 |
Late in 1986 JVC introduced its JVC HR-D570 video recorder, which was to become the world’s first VCR with digital special effects. The onboard Digital Effects were nothing to do with such special effects found in big movies, but were really ‘toys’ which were rarely - if ever - used. The most popular was Picture-in-Picture which could let the user view two programmess simultaneously. Two tuners were required in order to take advantage of the feature, like a VCR tuner and a TV tuner for example. Others digital effects included ‘trinkets’ like mosaic or pixilisation, which were fun to see once but were basically a waste of time and money unless you had plans to use them in home-made video productions.
The Beocord VX5000 VHS recorder was one such machine fitted with these so-called digital effects including the ability to view live pictures from up to nine different television channels simultaneously. A freeze-frame function was also incorporated for ‘pausing’ live TV and a choice of either four, nine or sixteen small TV images could be made. The most useful feature incorporated on the VX5000 was probably the visual tape index which made the access of previously-made recordings quicker.
Although it used Hitachi’s main components, Bang & Olufsen designed the video recorder themselves and gave it their own inimitable style in that it was long and slim and packed with useful features. Offering three video heads (producing exceptional slow motion and still pictures), index searching, HQ Video recording, video and audio over-dubbing functions and an electronic tuner the Beocord VX5000 was expensive to buy but represented Bang & Olufsen at its most innovative.
Digital effects on VCRs did not last long although the technology paved way for Bang & Olufsen’s later Picture-in-Picture module which could be purchased as an accessory for using with a BeoVision MX6000 or MX7000, for example.
Equipped with Hi-fi stereo sound, an onboard A2/NICAM decoder and Datalink, the machine was a good all-rounder. It could record eight programmes up to one year in advance and offered up to 4 hours TV recording or 8 hours hi-fi audio sound for playback through a music system. An on-screen user interface allowed for complete control of programming and a Beolink 1000 could be using it remotely through a suitably-equipped Bang & Olufsen television when combined with a SCART connection. Built-in front-facing switches also allowed for most of the VCR’s functions to be operated manually. Purchasers of the Beocord VX5000 were encouraged to buy a ‘VX sensor IR receiver’ separately in order to use it with an older Bang & Olufsen TV. Advanced as the VCR really was, later software made it possible to recognise the Beovision TV set with which it was connected and to set itself up automatically, removing the ‘tuning’ choice from the on-screen menu.
The video recorder was subsequently replaced by the much simpler to use and less expensive Beocord VX5500.
BeoCord VX 5000 types:
