FORMAT: VHS     DATE: 1978 PRICE: £620 [2005: £2400] x x cm

This machine reached the UK at the same time as the JVC HR-3300. They both became available in December 1978, and must therefore share the distinction of being the first UK VHS decks.

The 8600 bears an uncanny resemblance to the first UK Betamax, the Sony SL-8000, even down to the odd greenish-silver colour of the case, and wood-grain effect side-panels like the 8080. A closer inspection shows some features which are not normally found in a domestic machine: front-mounted camera and AV inputs, an input switch and tracking knob on the top rather than hidden away, and a timer module which can be set for timed playback as well as recording.

This last item is useful for demonstration use, and the machine was probably aimed at least partly at the professional user. This machine was found at a street market, and is remarkably good condition: apart from the video heads being heavily worn, it is in perfect working order.