Hard to believe that 50 years ago this month, the VCR was presented to what was then the NAB trade show. And it was invented by a total of six guys, not to mention the size of the first ones were enormous. Amazing that my lifetime has spanned such a tremendous change in technology.

The first VCRs weren't interoperable, indeed, they took a skilled team of people along with lots of careful adjustments to get a playable video tape. Not to mention "the smell of the tape coating as the heads literally tore into it." Now that is something your average DVD can't deliver on!