'80s flashback

Post by **film_idaho** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 5:24 am

I was just surfing the web when I came to one of these babies! The Fisher-Price PXL2000 "Pixelvision" camera first released in 1988 for $99.00! URL: http://www.retrothing.com/2005/11/fisherprice_pxl.html

Wow and then I got to thinking wait my friends and I used to play with one of our older brotherÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s camera when we were six (mid '90s). I also found that this camera has quite an indie cult behind it and has some real value if it still works. A black and white video camera that records on audiocassette tapes I need to hunt this baby down. Cool just thought I would share.

I love the Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ80s

-Alex Mason (film_idaho)

Post by **T-Scan** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 5:30 am

Interesting.. What do they watch the tapes on? That's Reflex's site and book if I recall. maybe he knows.

Post by **film_idaho** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 5:33 am

Plugs into a VCR if I recall. It had huge pixels. Cool stuff.

-Alex Mason (film_idaho)

Post by **etimh** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 5:42 am

Remember in Slacker:

"There ain't no film in that shit."

One of my favorite moments.

Tim

Post by **reflex** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 5:52 am

T-Scan wrote:Interesting.. What do they watch the tapes on? That's Reflex's site and book if I recall. maybe he knows.

The magic was that there were no pixels to be seen, because it was all analog.

The tapes have to be played back in the camera - there's no other equipment on earth compatible with it. There was a little 4" B&W video screen available as an accessory, or you could connect it to your TV (using the RF antenna input - you have to hack these suckers to get composite + audio out). These things now command a small fortune if you can find one in working condition. As I recall, board member Alan Doyle has two or three of them.

There was a significant issue with bandwith - linear recording on cassette tape doesn't offer what's required to capture respectable analog video (VCRs wrap the tape around rotary heads to maximize tape contact). They fudged it by restricting it to grungy B&W, running the tape about 4.3x regular cassette speed, slowing the frame rate to 15fps, underscanning, and cutting resolution to about 100 lines.

The secret to Pixelvision's cult success was that it was a distinctive analog format pushed to extremes (just like Super 8!). It just isn't the same with digital technology -- as the modern Mattel Vidster digital kiddie cam proves.

Post by **etimh** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 6:01 am

A bunch of people modify them for direct video output. Just google "Pixelvision."

Tim

Post by **onsuper8** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:07 am

Supposedly - there are big problems with unrefurbed Pixelvision cameras in terms of picture quality etc. There's a guy on ebay who offers refurbished ones with RCA out on the video and everything tweaked to get the best out of the unit, and I've seen others now being offered with a retro-fit dial to increase the gain.

From my knowledge of how the essentials for video to be recorded, that they ever got anything onto a chrome audio cassette is a feat in itself, especially when you consider it uses on one of the stereo pair on the cassette for vision, the other was audio!

Wiki here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PXL-2000
Mods here - http://www.speakeasy.org/~joem/Pxl/

Post by **freddiesykes** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:24 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7583705735

Post by **audadvnc** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:55 am

onsuper8 wrote:... there are big problems with unrefurbed Pixelvision cameras in terms of picture quality...

I thought that was the whole point :!:

The magic was that there were no pixels to be seen, because it was all analog.

I hear one of its favorite uses is making home porn. Maybe it should have been named Analvision :?:

I suppose the pinhole on-chip security cameras provide a modern equivalent of the Pixelvision experience. Anybody know of Pixelvision footage on the net?

Post by **onsuper8** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:04 am

As in rubbish rather than poor, I think its about it being glitchy rather than poor resolution - which is clearly the point!

Post by **gianni1** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 12:39 pm

A pixelvision that costs the same as a Beaulieu 4008 ZMII? If you have photoshop and premier, here is a url discussion about creating a pixelvision filter for video files. I would try using quicktime pro's (or premier's) export options to downsample to 100 lines(100x70), B&W, 15 fps...

http://whitetrash.net/cameras/pxlmail/a ... 00066.html

Gianni

Used to live in a trailer

Post by **Angus** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 12:55 pm

Back in the 80's I modified a hi-fi cassette deck to attempt to record B&W PAL video. I constructed a video amp to boost the high frequency signals but never got truly recognisable pictures from it.

I had better luck with 1/4 inch open reel...in that I probably succeeded in recording a fair unsynchronised B&W picture that occasionally displayed the odd recognisable frame on a TV. Oh to have owned a timebase corrector back then! But I was just a teenager tinkering in my spare time to see if it could be done.

Akai made a dual format 1/4 inch video and audio recorder in the early 70's...of course that used helical scan. No longitudenal video format has ever been successful due to the tape speed required to get the information onto the tape.

Pixelvision was breifly sold in the UK as "Kiddy Camcorder" but it was so awful it didn't last long. The units are unreliable and fragile...hence few working examples today. They must have a charm of their own though, as they command high prices.

can't imagine people making homebrew porn on them...the definition is so poor you'd hardly see anything. Surely they'd save up for a proper camcorder.

Post by **Freya** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:11 pm

Angus wrote: Pixelvision was breifly sold in the UK as "Kiddy Camcorder" but it was so awful it didn't last long. The units are unreliable and fragile...hence few working examples today. They must have a charm of their own though, as they command high prices.

Are you sure about this Angus? My understanding was that there was never a PAL version of the pxl 2000.

Using the NTSC pxl here in the u.k. is a whole world of pain!

I wonder if a pal version would be 12fps!

Have you seen one in real life? What did this camera look like? Did it look like a pxl 2000?

I'm very interested!

[sure you aren't thinking of the tyco kiddy cam we had here in the '90s?]

love

Freya

Post by **Freya** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:26 pm

onsuper8 wrote:Supposedly - there are big problems with unrefurbed Pixelvision cameras in terms of picture quality etc.

Actually there are big problems with picture quality on refurbished pxl's too.

The big problem with unrefurbished pxls is that generally they don't work at all! The lack of composite out is also a big problem, although I suppose in the states you can tune your video recorder to the rf out from the pxl.

Recording video onto the in built cassettes is horrible. You can get drop outs and mountains of video noise even on brand new chrome cassettes, which are of course getting harder and harder to find. The resolution is also very, very low and fuzzy.

If you can record to DV or directly to VHS, computer etc, then the quality is a whole world higher. Video is clean generally and at least twice as clear in terms of resolution than from cassette.

Audadvnc, I've never, ever, heard of people making porn with the pxl cam. You must move in different circles, or perhaps you were thinking of the PD-150? Easy mistake to make! ;)

love

Freya

Post by **Dr_Strange_Love** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:59 pm

Thanks Alex!

Very cool gadget, sort of reminds me of that ancient gameboy camera