Technology Connections Season 5, Episode 24: The VHS cassette was more clever than Beta

1

DVD-RAM: The Disc that Behaved like a Flash Drive

DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW ain’t got nothin’ on my man RAM. Oh yes, DVD-RAM, the format of mild obscurity which seems like it should have been friggin huge. Alas, it was but mildly useful.

2

The Odd History of the SD Logo

So, what’s the deal with the D? Why is it all, disclike? Last I checked, SD cards weren’t any sort of disc. What’s going on? In this video, we find out.

3

The Time-Lapse VCR

Analog video and frame-by-frame review don’t usually go nicely together (unless of course you’ve got a CAV Laserdisc onhand). So how did security camera systems stretch the normal recording time of VHS from a couple of hours to upwards of a week? Why, with ingenuity of course! Watch this video and find out the juicy secrets!

4

Space Heater Nonsense

Unless my understanding of the universe is deeply flawed, something about space heaters just doesn’t add up. In this video, I talk about that.

5

The Story of Disney's PeopleMover in Texas

This is the fun, weird, and surprisingly complicated story of Disney’s PeopleMover attraction and how it ended up somewhere unexpected. And maybe even somewhere *really* unexpected!

6

The Electromagnet in Your Toaster

Ya ever wonder about what’s in a toaster? No? Well, too bad ‘cause you’re gonna find out right now!

7

Exploring the World of E-Ink

It’s ink. But better!

8

E-Ink on Android, and other new things!

Big things are coming soon. In some ways, they already have!

9

The Antique Toaster that's Better than Yours

That title isn’t hyperbole or clickbait nonsense. This really is better than your toaster. At least, I think so. Seriously, can we make this the norm, please? If we figured it out in 1948, you’d think we woulda kept going with it. I mean, really.

10

Flexplay: The Disposable DVD that Failed (Thankfully)

Have you ever run across a cool idea that you desperately hope doesn’t catch on? Flexplay is one of those. In this video, we’ll talk about what it is, why it was crazy to think it would go anywhere, and why it’s probably a good thing it didn’t.

11

Thermostats: Cooler than you think!

Boy do I have a COOL topic for you today. We’re gonna turn up the HEAT with this one!

12

Automatic Record Changers: We used to like them

Hmm. What were these things? Why were some record sets made to work with them? When did we decide we hated them? Was that the right call? Will I ask another question? These are the things you’ll learn in this video, where we explore the humble record changer. Seriously. They didn’t suck!

13

Portable Air Conditioners - Why you shouldn't like them

Oh no. It’s a new version of a well-established product that trades efficiency for convenience. But this time, it’s more than just being cool. It’s about cooling. Seriously, either we need to get more awareness of how dumb single-hose portable A/C units are, or we need to just use window units whenever possible. While I know that there are times a portable unit is the only option (remember, I’m in that boat), it seems that only very high capacity, premium machines have the facility to use two hoses. Which is frankly stupid but then again that’s what I’m trying to tell you now.

14

The Best Easy Way to Capture Analog Video (it's a little weird)

After much annoyance dealing with fiddly capturing methods, I thought I’d show you the method I stumbled upon that works amazingly well, is fairly cheap, and awfully easy. I’ve been thrilled with it, and I think you’ll be too.

15

TOSLINK: That one consumer fiber optic standard

Well. Isn’t that strange. Digital data through fiber optics, and in the home no less! Let’s explore this a little, shall we?

16

Fiber vs. Copper; What do we really need?

Fiber optics. A DeLIGHTful technology. Ooh that’s a groaner. Well, why don’t we see them around more often? Let’s find out!

17

Switches are Clicky; Here's Why

Click clack I was taken aback. Wonderin’ ‘bout those switches of light, yeah. Let’s find out what the point is of all that clacking, shall we?

18

The Weird World in RGB

Have you ever wondered why the word looks so weird? Wait. Weird as in, like, all the time? Of course! We live in a weird world! But light, though! What about weird light? Ahhh, that's what this video is all about. This is the strangest vid. description I've written in a while. Cool.

19

The CED: RCA's Very Late, Very Weird Video Gamble (Pt. 1)

Bring the magic home… with RCA! Please? We really want you to buy this. Please. Buy it now. Right now. It’ll be great.

20

The CED: No really, it coulda made sense! (Part 2)

It’s seriously not that crazy of an idea. RCA might have pulled this off in a couple of ways, and in this video we explore those new angles.

21

LCCS: The LCD / CRT Hybrid from JVC

So. Ya want color, eh? But you don’t want any of them dots or stripes? We can do that.

22

The VFD that isn't

Wouldn’t it be nice if VFDs made a resurgence? Just put VFDs on everything, already! Make VFDs the new “blockchain” or “neural networks” or whatever. Priorities, people!

23

RCA's CED failed; their history can tell us why (Pt. 3)

Part three! It’s here! Huzzah! Let’s learn about what happened in the history of RCA that led up to the eventual failure of the CED.

24

The VHS cassette was more clever than Beta

“Oh nooo! Betah!” In this video, we discuss the endlessly discussed rivalry betwixt the Victorious VHS and the Bent-outa-shape Beta, but from an entirely new angle!

25

LED color experiments 2019; Beyond the Sharpie

Yeah, so if you're new here, this is a thing that happens because I'm a curmudgeon about holiday lighting. Let's see what this year brings!

26

Klaxons; What makes them sound like that?

ahOOOOOga! All aboard the HONK HONK express! We're gonna learn a few things about horns and then probably there will be bloopers or something.

27

One more thing: the VHS notch

This is not the same video you watched previously. I promise. It’s a whole new video.

28

Film: the reason some of the past was in HD

♫ last Christmas, I shot it on film ♫ ♫ but the very next year, I switched it to tape ♫ ♫ this year, to save me from tears ♫ ♫ I’ll just go and shoot in 4K ♫