![]() Cartrivision | |
Media type | Magnetic tape, ½-inch |
---|---|
Encoding | NTSC, PAL |
Standard | Interlaced video |
Usage | Home movies |
Cartrivision is an analog videocassette format introduced in 1972, and the first format to offer feature films for consumer rental.[1]
Cartrivision was produced by Frank Stanton's Cartridge Television, Inc. (CTI), a subsidiary of Avco,[2] which also owned Embassy Pictures at the time. Cartrivision was available in the form of a TV set with a built-in recorder for the format.[2] Cartrivision recorders and sets were manufactured by Avco, a company that CTI partnered with to manufacture and develop the format, as well as Admiral, Packard Bell, Emerson, Montgomery Ward, and Sears, the latter two marketing Cartrivision sets under their own brand names in their stores. While Montgomery Ward's TV used the Admiral chassis, as did all Montgomery Ward airline TVs, Admiral marketed their own Cartrivision with a different chassis.
The first model of Cartrivision-equipped TV set sold for US $1,350[3] (equivalent to $9,266 in 2023), and was the first videocassette recorder to have pre-recorded tapes of popular movies available for rent.