Panasonic NV-5120

Model Details

The NV-5120 was an EIAJ-2 (sometimes called EIAJ-M) cartridge recorder. The Electronic Industries Association of Japan came out with two important videotape-recorder standards. EIAJ-1 standardized half-inch black-and-white recorders and EIAJ-2 standardized color. This model put the supply reel inside a cartridge, with a stiff plastic leader used for automatic threading. Unlike cassettes, single-reel cartridges cannot be removed until fully rewound.

Note from LabGuy's World website on the NV-5110: "...an EIAJ-2 format, 1/2 inch Color Cartridge Video Tape Player. Shown, on the left, with two tapes and an EIAJ 8 pin video monitor cable. The signal recording format is identical to EIAJ-1, it's only the cartridge that makes this one different. Running time is only 30 minutes and the tape must be entirely rewound before it can be removed from the deck. This makes viewing multiple tapes time consuming if you take into account the time it takes to rewind each tape. Because the NV-5110 contains a complex threading system and a captive take up reel, tape jams are extremely difficult to clear. The picture, on the right, gives a clue to the complexity of this type of system."