V-Cord was a analog recording videocassette format developed and released by Sanyo in 1974. V-Cord was released in two versions: V-Cord I (or just simply V-Cord), which could record a maximum of 60 minutes on one V-Cord cassette, and the later V-Cord II, released in 1976, which could record a maximum of 120 minutes on a V-Cord II cassette.

The V-Cord II machines were the first consumer VCR to offer two recording speeds.

Appearance[link]

The V Cord cassette whether large-hub (60-min V-Cord I with then-standard thickness tape) or small hub (120 min V-Cord II with then-thin magnetic tape, later the same thickness used for VHS-120 and Beta L-750) was rectangular in shape, however unlike its subsequent formats VHS and Betamax which loaded with the tape facing front on the long side of the cassette, the V-Cord cartridge was loaded in sideways with the narrow side serving as the `front' and the tape coming out the 'side'.

The tape was held in place in the machine by a notch halfway down the right side of the tape, similar to what holds an 8-track tape into its player.

Operation[link]

The earliest machines recorded only in black and white and had no internal rewind, same as the Cartrivision format of a few years earlier. An external rewinder was initially necessary to return the tape to the beginning after recording or viewing, a practice that would catch on later with both VHS and Beta as the rewinders were often considerably faster than the rewind mechanisms later included within the players themselves.

Recording Format[link]

The system had two recording modes, and standard mode (STD), and a long-play mode (LP) which sacrificed recording quality for extra capacity. In STD mode both recording and playback heads are used, writing both fields of each interlaced video frame. In long-play mode only a single head is used to record a single field from each video frame, with each field being read twice on playback, in a 'skip field' technique ^[1][2]. The heads scanned the tape in a helical scan fashion ^[2]

Tape was moved forward at 2.91 inches per second in STD mode, and 1.45 inches per second in LP mode ^[1]; this gave a recording time of one-hour in standard mode and two hours in long-play mode. . Horizontal resolution in color was quoted as 250 lines in advertising materials, stretching to 300 lines in black-and-white, with a video signal to noise ratio of 45db ^[2]. Audio response was categorized as 80 to 10,000hz at -6db in STD mode, dropping to 80 to 8,000hz in LP mode^[2].

The tape was a half-inch cobalt doped tape with a 550 oersted coercivity. The cassette measured 4 5/16" by 6 3/16" by 1". Two cassette types were available a V60 and V120 whose names matched their recording capacity in LP mode. The cassettes are physically similar to eight-track cartridges.

Conventional VHS and Beta formats recorded in a helical scan format, resulting in angled tracks running from the lower edge of the tape to the upper edge some distance down. Unlike these formats, the V-Cord format was closer to the 2-inch quadruplex videotape format used from the inception of video in the late 50's until 2-inch helical IVC videotape format came into being twenty years later in that its tracks ran nearly perpendicular to tape travel. This is why V-Cord cassette tape cannot be unwound from its shell, placed in a VHS or Beta shell and played to retrieve the television program material.

A portable four-head video recorder, the Sanyo VTC-7100 used a similar format of cassette, but produced incompatible recordings.

Video Hardware[link]

• Toshiba
  • KV-4000
  • KV-4100
  • KV-4200

• Sanyo

• • VTC-7300
  • VTC-8000
  • VTC-8200 V-Cord I/II VCR (1976)

References[link]

External links[link]

• V-CordII Vintage Video Format History & Description (from archive.org's Wayback Machine)
• A description of a V-Cord II VCR, a Sanyo VTC-8200

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The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (September 2011)

Gabrielle Ann Aplin (born 10 October 1992) is an English singer-songwriter from Bath, Somerset. Aplin first became recognised on Youtube over 3 years ago when she covered a song by the American rock band Paramore, called My Heart.^[1] She received a large amount of recognition when she posted a cover of the You Me At Six song "The Liar and the Lighter."^[2] As of August 2011, this cover has over 450,000 views. Gabrielle first recorded a version of this song when she was 13, and then rerecorded it 4 years later for her debut EP entitled 'Acoustic EP'. Her most successful, and recent EP, Home was released in early January 2012.

Background[link]

Gabrielle was born and brought up near Bath, the first of two children, and grew up listening to Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen. She self taught herself and began playing piano around aged 12 and the guitar at around 14. She attended Sheldon School^[3] in Chippenham and then in September 2009 decided to go to City of Bath College^[4] to gain a diploma in popular music.

Music career[link]

Early career[link]

Gabrielle used Youtube to gain a following, and as of December 2011 she has over 40,000 subscribers. Her most viewed videos include The Liar and the Lighter originally by You Me At Six, Teenage Dream originally by Katy Perry and Forget You by Cee Lo Green. At some point in 2009, Gabrielle uploaded her original songs to BBC Introducing. In 2010, Gabrielle set up her own website.^[5]

Gabrielle's first release was her 5-track acoustic EP which was made available to download on the iTunes store at midnight on the 13th September 2010. It reached the top 25 in the UK iTunes album chart. It features the song "Reverse" which was used on Made in Chelsea.

Never Fade EP[link]

Her second EP was entitled 'Never Fade EP' and saw Gabrielle expand her sound, showcasing a more folk/pop sound. On this EP she played all the instruments herself. A video for the title track was released in addition to this. The EP was released on the 9th May 2011 and reached the top 14 in the UK, top 50 in Australia and top 100 in America. This EP featured the track 'Panic Cord' which was also used on Made in Chelsea.

BBC Introducing[link]

Gabrielle uploaded her songs to BBC Introducing at some point in 2009, where they were noticed by her local radio show BBC Wiltshire.^[6] She was invited to play for them and has since done several sets with them.

In 2011 Gabrielle was invited to perform 4 songs along with a band at Maida Vale Studios where she sang 3 of her own compositions, Ghosts from her Acoustic EP, Never Fade and Puzzle Piece from her Never Fade EP, and finally a cover of the Coldplay song Fix You.^[7]

Home EP[link]

Gabrielle announced in the second half of 2011 that she was working on her third EP, 'Home EP', which was released on the 9th of January 2012 via iTunes. Her channel features her performing the songs from the EP in St Mary's Church in her home town Bath. She stated in a video near the release that "Although all my songs are autobiographical, this is the most honest thing I've ever written and recorded." ^[8] The EP was then release on the 9th of January at midnight and went to peak at #10 on the UK iTunes chart beating the likes of Ed Sheeran and Foo Fighters. In addition to the release, 'Home' was also featured on iTunes as the single of the week and was available to download for free as a part of iTunes' 'New Artists 2012' promotion. The feedback was generally positive amongst critics.

The music video for the lead track 'Home' reached more than 800,000 views in less than 6 months of being up on YouTube, and 'Home' also recieved Radio 1 airplay.

Debut album[link]

On 29 February 2012, Gabrielle announced on her Facebook page that she had signed to Parlophone Records. ^[9] She began recording her debut album in March, and expects it to be out in January at the latest. ^[10]

Tours[link]

Gabrielle, so far, has complete 3 Headline UK and Ireland tours. Her first headline tour, coincided with the release of her Acoustic EP in September 2010, taking in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Plymouth, Bath and Bristol. After the success of the first headline tour she then embarked on a further date headline tour in November/December 2010 taking in additional cities including Cardiff, Glasgow and Newcastle. Her next tour took place shortly after the release of her Acoustic EP and took place in November/December 2010 where she played at more cities including Leeds, Plymouth and Newcastle. Her third tour coincided with the release of her Never Fade EP and took place in May 2011, where she played abroad for the first time in Dublin.

Following this Gabrielle embarked on her first set of Festivals taking in Glastonbury's Acoustic Stage, Secret Garden Party, Kendal Calling, Barn On The Farm and many more. In addition to this, she supported Matt Cardle at the KOKO Club in October 2011 and as well as Charlie Simpson for two shows during his Young Pilgrim Tour in October 2011.

On November 14 she embarked on her next UK tour starting off with the Borderline in London. She played a few songs from her 'Acoustic EP' (with the likes of Ghosts), tracks from her 'Never Fade EP' (Panic Cord and Lying to the Mirror) alongside a few covers such as 'Sheila' and a rendition of 'Fix You' by Coldplay. In addition she showcased songs such as 'Home' and 'Keep Pushing Me' which will be featured on her new EP, Home.

For 2012, Gabrielle hopes she will not only be able to tour the UK; in which she is doing so again as of the 29th of February, starting off in Cardiff and finishing on the 31st of March in Belfast; she hopes to be able to tour more internationally and has hinted to there being tour dates in America, Australia and more via her Facebook page.

References[link]