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television networks and large market stations were buying the brand-new quadruplex technology,
but by nineteen fifty nine Ampex needed to convince small and
medium market stations that videotape was affordable
and could turn a profit.
The solution:
drive and a quadruplex VTR
right up to a station's back door
and show the customer how simple and convenient the Ampex machines were.
The Ampex Cruiser
was born: a self-contained TV studio on wheels.
It traveled
throughout the United States
carrying not only a quad VTR and two cameras,
but also terminal equipment and an A.C. generator
that allowed videotaping while on the road:
The world's first camcorder!