Download the complete sales materials for the circa 1982 JVC 900 series of digital-audio-mastering products:
DOWNLOAD: JVC_900_Digital_Audio_System
Products covered, with text, specs, and photos, include: the JVC AE-900V Digital Audio Editor, the DS-DM900 Digital Audio Mixer, the VP-900 Digital Audio Processor (AFAICT, a duplex stereo A/D, D/A), the TC-900V timecode unit, RM-900 remote, CR-850U 3/4″ ‘umatic’ tape machine, DS-FC901 Digital Interface Unit, DS-SU900 Sync unit, and BR-8600 1/2″ tape machine AKA a real expensive VCR.
Contributor Tom Fine told us, “this was a competitor to the Sony 1600 system.” We’ve covered the early Sony units bit in the past (see here and here) – they were available early as 1978 – but I have never come across this JVC system before. As Richard Hess writes in his very thorough blog,
“JVC had a competing (with SONY -ed) and incompatible mastering system called the DAS-90 and later the DAS-900. …The processor in the DAS-90 system was called (at least at one point) the BP-90 while the processor in the DAS-900 series was the VP-900. The first version (DAS-90) used 3/4″ U-Matic video cassettes while the second version (DAS-900) used either U-Matic of VHS video cassettes (the latter to obtain longer playing time). I have not been able to confirm if tapes made on the DAS-90 can play on the DAS-900 or not. Early input says they are compatible and should interchange.”
But damn look at this lil 4×2 digital mixer! It’s like a lil baby SSL! And this is an actual digital mixer, btw – it’s just styled to look/feel like an analogue desk. Crazy.
Anyone out there still using this system for anything? Thoughts? Let us know!
