Ampex

With the advent of the Electronic Editor, it was possible to "splice" the tape with out physically cutting it. Electronic edits could be repeated, and they played back as smoothly as a camera switch.

Combined with the Electronic Editor, Editec gave frame accurate control to editing. It was now possible to preview and repeat edits as often as needed.

The RA-4000 was an editor designed to match the unrivaled speed of the Ampex AVR-1. Designed in 1970, the RA-4000 could control up to six VTR's and used a proprietary time code.

The RA-4000 supports five modes of operation:

Mode One:
The most complex of the systems provides full synchronization of two or more video tape recorders and is the primary operating mode.
Mode Two:
Allows for "A" and "B" roll mixing of signals from two recorders in synchronism to a third video recorder.
Mode Three:
Operates one video recorder in the assemblage of scenes or sequences from a studio or single camera.
Mode Four:
Operates one video recorder primarily for random access in playback.
Mode Five:
A variation of Mode Two, where the capability of "A"/"B" roll mixing is accomplished. The difference is that the "A" roll is a video signal source lacking time code data. In this mode, the the time code generator is providing timing data to accomplish an automatic pre-roll into full synchronization of the "B" video tape recorder, along with the external video signal.

Ampex produced the EDM-1 in 1976. It was Ampex's first computer based editor and included a small video switcher and audio mixer. The EDM-1 was designed to complement the Ampex AVR-3 (Ampex's last Quad VTR).

The price tag: $95,000.

Photo: Sadiq Mohamed

Evaluating an Ampex ACE editor and VPR-3