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What the heck is this 8-track/film cartridge I found?
So I was wandering around a funeral home recently and ran across something that looked like a 8-track cassette combined with an 8mm film cartridge. The whole thing went into a player about the size of a desktop tower computer. I'm guessing it's pre-VHS/Betamax. What is it and where can I find more information about it?
Edit: Sorry, I need to make this a little more clear. It was a movie with audio about explaining death to your children, with a professional label and everything. I know what an 8-track is and it was definitely half an 8-track cassette, for the audio part of the movie I assume. The other part of the cartridge had actual 8mm film, not video tape. So the thing actually had separate things for audio and video. I wish I took a photo of it, but alas, I did not.
Edit: Sorry, I need to make this a little more clear. It was a movie with audio about explaining death to your children, with a professional label and everything. I know what an 8-track is and it was definitely half an 8-track cassette, for the audio part of the movie I assume. The other part of the cartridge had actual 8mm film, not video tape. So the thing actually had separate things for audio and video. I wish I took a photo of it, but alas, I did not.
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The 8-track tape. These tapes played songs just like a record or a cd. The best way I can describe it to you is that it came after a record and before the compact disc. It's main feature was that it could play in a loop, repeating the songs over and over again. It was very popular before the beginning of the 1980s. My household actually has an 8-track player and some tapes and we used them until the late 1980s to listen to a bunch of different bands.
Basically the 8-track tapes were not cost efficient and only stayed on the market when they were created with cheaper materials. Then when the compact disc was introduced they basically vanished and were banned to garage sales across the country.
Basically the 8-track tapes were not cost efficient and only stayed on the market when they were created with cheaper materials. Then when the compact disc was introduced they basically vanished and were banned to garage sales across the country.
It's one of two things - a continuous loop video tape, use for surveillance or an early Muzak catridge. A continuous loop video tape can be put in a video recorder and left there, recording images from a video camera (usually for security purposes). When the tape reaches the "end" it will start recording over the first image, and so on. I have seen many versions of these things. If the location you found it in has a video security system that was probably what it was used for.
If there's no video system nearby, then it's most likely an early Muzak tape. These tapes also ran on a continuous loop. Muzak owned the early patent on audio transmission, so they had a ton of innovative, pioneering technologies.
The real test will be the size of the cassette case and the size of the tape. Almost all tape media from before 1980 is 1/2 inch or larger. If the tape in the case is less than 1/2 inch then it could be a modern product, like a DAT back-up tape. If the tape is 1/2 inch or larger then it could only be one of these two custom products.
If there's no video system nearby, then it's most likely an early Muzak tape. These tapes also ran on a continuous loop. Muzak owned the early patent on audio transmission, so they had a ton of innovative, pioneering technologies.
The real test will be the size of the cassette case and the size of the tape. Almost all tape media from before 1980 is 1/2 inch or larger. If the tape in the case is less than 1/2 inch then it could be a modern product, like a DAT back-up tape. If the tape is 1/2 inch or larger then it could only be one of these two custom products.
That's not what it was, but thanks for the response. I've edited the question to make it a bit more clear.
I know of a Vintage Video History website that might be helpful to you.
Very informative site but unfortunately, they didn't have what I was looking for.
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