The Rise and Reign of Japanese VCRs

The Asianometry Podcast

Americans invented the video magnetic tape recorder.

But it was the Japanese who brought it to the masses as the VCR.

Throughout the 1980s, virtually every home VCR sold in America was made in Japan. Even the ones sold by American brands like RCA.

How did Japan come to dominate a device they didn’t create? Today, we are going to look at the rise and reign of Japanese VCRs.