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Popularly known as the  Kihara's School, the 2nd Development Division operated with the goal of nurturing talented personnel while creating new technologies. Kihara created an environment where young engineers could think freely and apply the latest technologies to create new products.
Kihara was involved with all of Sony's magnetic recording technology developments--the wire corder, audio tape recorder and VTR. All of these products became the leading electronics products of their time. Kihara emphasized to his prot ge the importance of setting a clear target and then focusing one's energies on achieving that target.
Engineers Akinao Horiuchi and Yoshimi Watanabe were given the difficult task of developing the new cassette tape system. Their first step was to reduce the amount of tape required to display video images. In other words, their goal was to compress as much information on to the shortest length of tape possible. Horiuchi and Watanabe began by looking for a tape with a higher recording density than the gamma-iron tape that was widely used for recording video at the time. The answer was provided by the Sendai factory in the form of chrome-oxidized tape, which the development team was able to adapt for video use. The supply and take-up reels that had traditionally been placed in a side-by-side arrangement were instead placed in a slightly overlapping configuration, saving space and enabling a cassette tape of more compact design.
The next hurdle was to develop an automatic loading system. Nothing too complex, urged Kihara, try to find a simple and reasonable design. Remember that it must be easy for people to use. With this request in mind, Horiuchi and Watanabe began to build a sturdy, uncomplicated loading mechanism that was easy on the tape and would automatically pull it from the cassette case and feed it over the rotary drum heads without damaging nor putting excess tension on the tape. Many ideas were proposed for the new loading mechanism, including those with unique names such as the Cast Net system and the Ranch system. After exhaustive research, the development team was confident it had devised a mechanism that could be used for cassette tape VCRs, the U-loading system. The name was derived from the U-shaped figure the tape followed when seen from above. Since its design minimized the amount of tension applied to the tape during record and playback, this loading system was able to truly cut tape vibration that caused jittering. Moreover, the new design ensured that the tape would play at a constant speed.
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 | The U-loading system-a simplified
loading system. |
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The only remaining hurdle was to provide color. A color system called the Y/C Signal Separation System, which recorded luminance and color signals on different tracks, already existed. But the development team decided to devise a new system based on an idea conceived by Toshihiko Numakura. Called the Color-Under System, this recorded color and luminance signals on the same track by employing a frequency modulator. Also known as the Numakura Patent, it became the system on which subsequent VTR color-recording systems were based.
Enthused by the passion of Kihara and supported by the contributions made by the Sendai factory, the 2nd Development Division solved their three major tasks and achieved the goal of placing the awkward seven-inch size reel tape into a cassette tape.
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