This High Definition Video of New York in 1993 Is Surreal

If you're old enough to remember VHS tapes, you remember video quality that was abysmal by today's standards. However, even in the late 80s and early 90s, manufacturers were working to bring HD tech to consumers, and this demo reel is a surreal example of such tech.

I never realized how much my sense of time was tied to video quality until I watched this. It's a bizarre anachronism seeing New York in 1993 through a video that feels like 2017, but it's also supremely neat to look into the past with such clarity. The footage was shot by JVC likely for a LaserDisc demo in the Japanese market. The uploader, YouTube Pedant, notes it was likely shot with a HDVS camera, possibly a Sony HDC-500 attached to a HDV-10 portable recorder (which used video cassette tapes). You can tell the exact year both by the car models and by the advertisements in Times Square, in case the corny easy listening soundtrack wasn't a giveaway. Sony first developed the technology that could shoot 1,125 lines of resolution on analog media in the 80s, giving the first demonstration as early as 1981. The first films and television shows were shot on it in 1987. It's a very neat look at history. Be sure to select the 1080p option when you watch it! 

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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