Very near the beginning was Cartrivision. An American produced format that was developed to playback rental movies but also offered the ability to record. The units were big, assembled in sections and supposed to be mounted in custom cabinets along with television sets and sold by major department stores. The cassettes were square with supply and take up reels stacked on top one another. Click on the picture and the exterior features are identified. As we see it has the customary line up holes with one doubling as the reel lock release port, also there is a recording safety tab. The arm that regulates tape back tension enters the cassette through a slot. There is a strange reenforced knob in the lower right that rests against a lever inside the cassette door. The lever moves the reel spindles and pulleys into position when the compartment is closed. Click on the photo and you see the lid lock, there is one on each side, and the clear tape leader. The machine used a light bulb and a photocell to discover the ends of the tape. The cushion was just to keep the tape in position when the cassette was handled. Inside you see the top reel and the locks. Click and the arrows and the wording goes away. Click again and here we have examples of both the red "rental" and the black "purchase" versions of the cassette. They were identical except the rental had a special one-way locking lever so it couldn't be rewound. Yep, you guessed it. You could only view a movie one time then it had to go back to the rental store. Each newly purchased retail cassette shipped with the white retainer shown in the back. It was pressed into the bottom and kept everything in place so the tape didn't get damaged in shipping, it was to be discarded. To continue on to the next format click here. To go back to the previous page click here. ©Misterßetamax go to homepage