VideoPlus+

The Numbers in TV Listings That Programmed Your VCR

Forgotten Technology · 1991–2010

Archived on

Associated With

Dr Henry Yuen / Gemstar - inventor, developer or manufacturer

Defining Feature

Printed TV-listing codes converted into recording date, channel, time and duration

Status

Discontinued - Obsolete in mainstream recording practice

Overview

VideoPlus+ let UK viewers program compatible recorders using short codes printed in television listings.

Entering the code replaced manual entry of the programme’s date, channel, start time and duration. Compatible equipment converted the printed digits into the required recording settings.

The related system appeared as VCR Plus+ in North America and G-Code in Japan. British reporting places the UK rollout in late 1991, while later DVD/VCR combination equipment continued to document VIDEOPlus+ operation.

Why It Mattered

VideoPlus+ made timer recording far less fiddly. A row of digits in a television guide replaced several separate settings on the recorder, making scheduled recording a practical part of reading the listings.

Information Encoded by PlusCode

  • A PlusCode could set a programme’s date, channel or programme position, start time and duration.
  • Code length varied by implementation: G-Code could use up to eight digits, while a Philips VIDEOPlus+ manual referred to up to nine.

From Listings to Recorders

  • Philips instructed users to enter the VIDEOPlus+ code printed beside a programme’s start time in a television guide.
  • A Los Angeles Times report of 16 November 1990 recorded VCR Plus on sale for about US$60, with participating newspapers and TV Guide due to publish codes.
  • A UK report of 26 July 1992 said VideoPlus had been introduced eight months earlier and had sold at the preceding Christmas for nearly £70.

Scheduling and Broadcast Control

  • VIDEOPlus+ set recording details from scheduled listing information rather than from a broadcast signal.
  • PDC/VPS was a separate broadcast-control feature intended to let compatible recorders respond to actual transmission timing.
  • A recorder could provide both VIDEOPlus+ and PDC/VPS.
Sources & Records

Gallery

Retail packaging for the black VideoPlus+ Instant Video Programmer, UK Version, is photographed on a red-and-white checked cloth. The window shows a handheld keypad device surrounded by printed television-listing columns.
Source
Credit

VideoPlus+ retail packaging; listing photograph supplied via eBay, photographer not identified

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The handheld VideoPlus+ programmer offered a shortcut around entering channels and recording times separately, making printed programme codes into a consumer product.

Front view of a silver VHS video cassette recorder on a wooden surface, with a black remote control resting on top. The front panel has a cassette slot, circular playback control, buttons, and a VideoPlus+ logo on the dark display area.
Source
Credit

VHS recorder photograph; original photographer and source page not established

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

A VHS recorder carrying the VideoPlus+ mark shows how the code-based recording system became a feature of everyday television hardware.

Close-up of the front of a silver Daewoo VHS/DVD recorder. Text beside the VHS cassette door includes “VideoPlus+,” and the display reads “VCR GO PLAY.”
Source
Credit

Daewoo recorder product; listing photograph supplied via eBay, photographer not identified

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

VideoPlus+ appeared alongside the controls of combined VHS and DVD machines, surviving into a period when home-video formats overlapped.

Angled overhead photograph of the cover of a Times television guide dated 27 November–3 December 1993, resting on a kitchen appliance beside a power strip. The cover carries the text “with VideoPlus+ codes” along the top and shows three Coronation Street actors beneath several cover lines.
Source
Credit

The Times television-guide cover, 27 November–3 December 1993; photograph supplied via eBay, photographer not identified

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The Times guide advertised VideoPlus+ codes on its cover in late 1993, signalling that an ordinary listings magazine could now help programme a recorder.

Photograph of a TV Times England listings page for Sunday 16 November, arranged in columns for Five, BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4, with programme times, titles and multi-digit codes; a Channel 4+1 advertisement appears near the bottom.
Source
Credit

TV Times listings page; photograph preserved by an Internet Archive contributor not identified

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

VideoPlus+ numbers sat alongside programme titles in TV Times, translating a choice made on paper into a timed recording at home.