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In the picture above, in the upper right, is a big-screen television shown playing a video that matches the music coming out of a jukebox. This system was the first commercial use of videotape recording in a coin-operated jukebox. Back in the eighties, Rowe International produced several generations of "VideoJukeboxes". These would be located in places where musical entertainment was commonly found, such as restaurants, bars, arcades, and similar venues. For a little extra money, patrons could watch their favorite artist(s) perform while the music was playing. The video didn't necessarily match or sync up with the song, but it did feature the group or singer. For viewing, a large television usually was mounted on a wall above the crowd, like in the picture above. (During this time in history, the jukebox was such a common fixture in American culture that it was even awarded its own US postage stamp, see insert.) To accomplish the synchronized video playback with music, Rowe engineers took advantage of the fact that Beta VCRs keep the tape threaded inside the path during rewind and fast-forward (something VHS couldn't do, only Beta). This fact meant that by using specially designed software Rowe could take advantage of blank passages inserted between individually recorded video selections. These could be used for location. The regular audio track on the tape wasn't being used for playback, that audio came from a record being played inside the jukebox. So the audio track could be used to locate selected passages and to trigger certain functions. The upcoming pictures show the various Beta recorders and how they were altered to carry out the commands of the software. Click on the picture and it shows an SL-2005 with a warning on top for service people to not mess with the VCR. Click to the next picture and it shows how the front buttons were blocked off to avoid tampering, which might confuse the software. The next picture shows some of the alterations made to the motor control board. The next picture is of a Toshiba V-X34 that was also used in some units. Next is an SL-HF450. Clicking on the picture again shows the labels that were on the VCR. The next picture shows the interface for this design that provided operation and outputs. The next picture is of another Beta model that was used. This one is the SL-HFR70. The next and last picture shows the interface used for it. The VideoJukeboxes faded away, but not too long after this, they did reappear later in England, but of coarse. they used a different technology. ©Misterßetamax go to homepage |