1927 creation to World War II JVC was founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan, Limited, a subsidiary of the United States' leading
phonograph and
record company, the
Victor Talking Machine Company of
Camden, New Jersey. In 1929, the
Radio Corporation of America purchased Victor and its foreign subsidiaries, including the Japan operations. In the late 1920s, JVC produced only phonographs and records; following the acquisition by RCA, JVC began producing
radios, and in 1939, Japan's first locally made
television. In 1943, amidst the hostilities between the United States and Japan during
World War II, JVC seceded from
RCA Victor, retaining the 'Victor' and "His Master's Voice" trademarks for use in Japan only. After the war, JVC resumed distribution of RCA Victor recordings in Japan until RCA established its separate distribution in Japan during the late 1960s. Today, the record company in Japan is known as
Victor Entertainment.
Post-war In 1953, JVC became majority-owned by the
Panasonic Corporation. Panasonic released its ownership in 2007. In the 1960s, JVC established the Nivico (Nippon Victor Corporation) brand for Delmonico's line of console televisions and stereos. In 1970, JVC marketed the
Videosphere, a portable
cathode-ray tube (CRT) television inside a space-helmet-shaped casing with an
alarm clock at the base. It was a commercial success. In 1971, JVC introduced the first discrete system for four channel
quadraphonic sound on vinyl records -
CD-4 (Compatible Discrete Four Channel) or
Quadradisc, as it was called by the
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in the United States. In 1973, the JVC Cutting Center opened (in the USA) to provide mastering for CD-4 discs. The Mark II 1/2 speed system was used until mid-1975 when it was replaced with the Mark III 1/2 speed system. In 1978, Mobile Fidelity began using the JVC Cutting Center to 1/2 speed master Stereo/Mono discs. In 1975, JVC introduced the first combined portable battery-operated radio with inbuilt TV, as the model 3050. The TV was a black-and-white CRT. One year later, JVC expanded the model to add a cassette recorder, as the 3060, creating the world's first
boombox with radio,
cassette and TV. In 1976, the first VCR to use VHS was the
Victor HR-3300, and was introduced by the president of JVC at the
Okura Hotel in
Tokyo on September 9, 1976. JVC started selling the HR-3300 in
Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan on October 31, 1976.
Other notable achievements In 1979, JVC demonstrated a prototype of its
video high density (VHD) disc system. This system was capacitance-based, like
capacitance electronic disc (CED), but the discs were groove less with the stylus being guided by servo signals in the disc surface. The VHD discs were initially handled by the operator and played on a machine that looked like an audio LP
turntable, but JVC used caddy-housed discs when the system was marketed. Development suffered numerous delays, and the product was launched in 1983 in Japan, followed by the
United Kingdom in 1984, to a limited industrial market. In 1981, JVC introduced a line of revolutionary direct-drive cassette decks, topped by the DD-9, that provided previously unattainable levels of speed stability. During the 1980s JVC briefly marketed its portable audio equipment similar to the
Sony Walkman on the market at the time. The JVC CQ-F2K was released in 1982 and had a detachable radio mounted to the headphones for a compact, wire-free listening experience. JVC had difficulty making the products successful, and a few years later stopped making them. In Japan, JVC marketed the products under the name "Victor". In 1986, JVC released the HC-95, a
personal computer with a 3.58 MHz
Zilog Z80A processor, 64 KB RAM, running on
MSX Basic 2.0. It included two 3.5"
floppy disk drives and conformed to the graphics specification of the
MSX-2 standard. However, like the
Pioneer PX-7, it also carried a sophisticated hardware interface that handled video superimposition and various interactive video processing features. The JVC HC-95 was first sold in Japan, and then
Europe, but sales were disappointing. JVC video recorders were marketed by the
Ferguson Radio Corporation in the UK, with just cosmetic changes. However, Ferguson needed to find another supplier for its camcorders when JVC produced only the
VHS-C format, rather than
video8. Ferguson was later acquired by
Thomson SA, which ended the relationship. JVC later invented
hard drive camcorders.
21st century video camera (2006) In October 2001, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented JVC an
Emmy Award for "outstanding achievement in technological advancement" for "Pioneering Development of Consumer Camcorders". Annual sponsorships of the world-renowned JVC Tokyo Video Festival and the JVC Jazz Festival have helped attract the attention of more customers. JVC has been a worldwide football (soccer) supporter since 1982, having a former kit sponsorship with
Arsenal and continuing its role as an official partner of
2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. JVC made headlines as the first-ever corporate partner of the
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. JVC has recently forged corporate partnerships with
ESPN Zone and Foxploration. In 2005, JVC joined
HANA, the
High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance, to help establish standards in consumer-electronics interoperability. In 2005, JVC announced its development of the first
DVD-RW DL media (the dual-layer version of the rewritable DVD-RW format). In December 2006, Matsushita entered talks with Kenwood and
Cerberus Capital Management to sell its stake in JVC. In 2007, Victor Company of Japan Ltd confirmed a strategic capital alliance with Kenwood and SPARKX Investment, resulting in Matsushita's holding being reduced to approximately 37%. In March 2008, Matsushita (Panasonic) agreed to spin off the company and merge it with Kenwood Electronics, creating JVCKenwood Holdings on October 1, 2008. In April 2008, JVC announced that it was closing its TV plants in
East Kilbride (
Scotland) and Japan. This left it with one plant in Thailand. It stated it would outsource European production to an
OEM. JVC TVs for North America are now being manufactured by AmTRAN Video Corporation along with distribution, service, and warranty under license from JVCKenwood. In Europe,
Currys plc, owner of
Currys, has a similar arrangement with JVCKenwood. In Europe, JVC sells mainly some audio accessories, like headphones, and until recently DIN-type car audio. Also in Europe, JVC is present with camcorders, security cameras, audio systems, and with its emblematic boom box, projectors. JVC TV sets in Europe are manufactured mainly by Turkish manufacturer
Vestel but are unavailable in all countries. JVC manufactures car audio head units and speakers for the aftermarket car audio market. ==Sponsorship==