![]() ![]() In 1978, the Mego Corporation launched the 2-XL toy robot, which utilized the tracks for determining right from wrong answers. Milton Bradley's (MB) OMNI Entertainment System was an electronic quiz machine game first released in 1980, similar to Jeopardy! or later entries in the You Don't Know Jack video game series, using 8-track tapes for questions, instructions, and answers, using audio playback as well as digital signals in magnetic-tape data storage on remaining tracks to load the right answer for counting the score. Early karaoke machinesĭaisuke Inoue invented the first karaoke machine in 1971 called the Juke-8. The 8-track format became by far the most popular and offered the largest music library of all the tape systems. Also by the late 1960s, prerecorded releases on the 8-track tape format began to arrive within a month of the vinyl release. With the availability of cartridge systems for the home, consumers started thinking of eight-tracks as a viable alternative to 33 rpm album style vinyl records, not only as a convenience for the car. "Boombox" type portable players were also popular but eight-track player/recorders failed to gain wide popularity and few manufacturers offered them except for manufacturer Tandy Corporation (for its Radio Shack electronics stores). By the late 1960s, the 8-track segment was the largest in the consumer electronics market and the popularity of 8-track systems for cars helped generate demand for home units. Home players were introduced in 1966 that allowed consumers to share tapes between their homes and portable systems. The 8-track format gained steadily in popularity because of its convenience and portability. Most of the initial factory installations were separate players from the radio (such as shown in the image), but dashboard mounted 8-track units were offered in combination with an AM radio, as well as with AM/FM receivers. By the 1967 model year, all of Ford's vehicles offered this tape player upgrade option. ![]() In September 1965, the Ford Motor Company introduced factory-installed and dealer-installed eight-track tape players as an option on three of its 1966 models (the sporty Mustang, luxurious Thunderbird, and high-end Lincoln), and RCA Victor introduced 175 Stereo-8 Cartridges from its RCA Victor and RCA Camden labels of recording artists catalogs. The popularity of both four-track and eight-track cartridges grew from the booming automobile industry. Little Lost Girl Media from Oregon is currently still making 8-tracks and runs a mostly 8-track rock-n-roll record label.įactory installed AM/FM radio/8-track unit in a 1978 AMC Matador with a Briefcase Full of Blues cartridge in "play" position Cheap Trick's The Latest in 2009 was issued on 8-track, as was Dolly Parton's A Holly Dolly Christmas in 2020, the latter with an exclusive bonus track. The 8-track tape format is now considered obsolete, although there are collectors that refurbish these tapes and players as well as some bands that issue these tapes as a novelty. The Stereo 8 Cartridge was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear, of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Motorola, and RCA Victor Records ( RCA - Radio Corporation of America). The only options the consumer has are play, fast forward, record, and program (track) change. After about 80 minutes of playing time, the tape would start again at the beginning. One advantage of the 8-track tape cartridge was that it could play continuously in an endless loop, and did not have to be "flipped over" to play the entire tape. The format was commonly used in cars and was most popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Japan. The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8 commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic-tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, which pre-dated the 8-track system, surpassed it in popularity for pre-recorded music. The black rubber pinch roller is at upper right. ![]()
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