band and high-band. High-band recorded a greater
range of luminance. While low-band gave 250 lines
of resolution, high-band provided 400—a sharper
picture. VHS, Beta, and 8mm tapes and their sub-
types were low-band. In 1987, JVC developed a
camcorder using a high-band S-VHS tape with a 160-
minute length. Unlike the low-band format, high-
band enabled copying without loss of quality. Home
users were not as interested in this format, as it was
more costly, though it caught on with professional
and industrial users.
Camcorders quickly became very popular with
consumers, as they eliminated the chore of thread-
ing film into movie cameras and projectors. Other
attractive features of the camcorder included the in-
stant availability of the video; the possibility of eras-
ing, editing, and duplicating the video with relatively
inexpensive equipment; and the ease of viewing.
Moreover, a reel of film in home movie cameras al-
lowed only 3 minutes of filming; even the earliest
personal camcorders permitted between 40 and 120
minutes of video.
The low-band camcorders differed significantly
from the broadcast-quality camcorders. First, the
formers’ image quality was poorer, partly because
the recording drum heads rotated much more
slowly. Second, they recorded all information in one
signal. They were, of course, much smaller, lighter,
and less expensive than the broadcast models.
Impact The broadcast camcorder allowed for
greater flexibility in electronic news gathering
(ENG). By the end of the decade, Sony’s Betacam
had captured most of the ENG market. The highly
portable camcorders allowed for unobtrusive film-
ing of events as they happened and enabled a single
person to replace the three people needed by previ-
ous systems when filming on-site.
The camcorder had political uses. For example,
professional camcorder filming of the overthrow of
Nicolae Ceaulescu in Romania at the end of 1989 of-
fered an alternative perspective to the official ac-
count. The camcorder proved valuable for “guer-
rilla television,” films produced by political activists.
It also spawned new forms of entertainment and
shows, including reality programs such asAmerica’s
Funniest Home VideosandAmerica’s Most Wantedthat
began to appear in the late 1980’s.
Members of various professions also found uses
for the camcorder. A naturalist, for example, could
produce aerial films of a landscape under study. Ed-
ucators realized the potential impact the technology
could have in the classroom. Camcorders could be
used for filming medical procedures. Moreover, the
camcorder with the CCD permitted the develop-
ment of more useful surveillance and security cam-
eras for crime control.
Further Reading
Abramson, Albert.The Histor y of Television, 1942 to
2000.Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2003. A fairly
technical study of the history of the equipment
used to provide television programs.
Clifford, Martin.The Camcorder: Use, Care, and Repair.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1989. An in-
structional book from the 1980’s that describes
the equipment and add-on devices then available.
Explains the technology and science of the cam-
corder and provides instructions on how to use it.
Dovey, Jon. “Camcorder Cults.” InThe Television
Studies Reader, edited by Robert C. Allen and An-
nette Hill. New York: Routledge, 2004. Examines
the use of the camcorder both in home videos
and in surveillance.
Harding, Thomas.The Video Activist Handbook.2ded.
Sterling, Va.: Pluto Press, 2001. While most of the
discussion in this book focuses on events after the
1980’s, the book illustrates how the camcorder
changed reportage and permitted firsthand vi-
sual documentation for activists.
Kristen L. Zacharias
See also America’s Most Wanted; Hobbies and recre-
ation; Home video rentals; Infomercials;sex, lies, and
Children’s television.
Canada Act of 1982
Definition Act of the British parliament that
relinquished all control over Canada’s
governance and modified Canada’s constitution
Date Came into force on April 17, 1982
The Canada Act not only made Canada a sovereign coun-
tr y but also provided a codified, legal process for the func-
tioning of the countr y’s federal government and enacted an
explicit list of rights of its citizens.
The Canada Act of 1982 patriated Canada’s constitu-
tion from the United Kingdom. An act of the British
The Eighties in America Canada Act of 1982 173
