also known as Bush BV6900A
Introduced in 1979 this was a "piano key" deck, i.e. the tape transport buttons were directly linked to the deck via mechanical levers. This meant remote control was not possible, although there was a jack for connecting a wired pause switch or camera trigger. Lack of remote control was the only feature missing. For such an early machine this one had everything - Picture search, variable speed play (still frame, slow motion and up to 2x normal speed adjustable by a wheel under the front of the machine), index search (Toshiba called this Quick Select) that works by recording a cue signal at the start of each recording. The deck can be set to auto-stop when it comes across a cue signal during fast forward or rewind.
The timer was quite advanced too. Three events could be programmed either as one-off events (e.g. movies) or on at the same time each day (soaps). The timer can select the TV channel to be recorded but being a mechanical deck, you have to remember to leave the "Record" button depressed after setting the machine to timer mode or nothing gets recorded!
Unusually for VCRs, the timer display is liquid crystal - black digits on a yellow background. The clock display continues to function for at least half an hour after the deck is unplugged from the mains supply.
The digi-photos were taken from the demonstration tape that (possibly) came with the machine or may have been an in-store promo. The tape, called "Toshiba V5470B for the Modern Lifestyle" sounds like something only the Japanese could have dreamt up. It tells the story of an air hostess who uses the VCR to avoid missing her favourite TV shows. She also hooks up a camera to the VCR and sends "video correspondence" to her friend - an idea that never caught on.
One factor that hinders international video correspondence is differing TV broadcast systems (PAL, SECAM, NTSC). The appearance of home video recorders highlighted these differences. There was a multi-system (PAL-SECAM) version of the Toshiba V5470B that I used to have (can't remember the model number). It also had a VHF/UHF tuner (the British PAL model is UHF only, since the UK does not use VHF for TV broadcasting).
The British electronics company "Bush" marketed the V-5470B under their own name, as they did with a number of other Toshiba products. The Bush model BV6900A comes in a metallic silver cabinet; the original Toshiba has a simulated woodgrain finish, otherwise the two machines are identical. I was given a Bush machine by somebody who told me that in 1979 it cost a staggering 800 UK Pounds ( about $1,200 US Dollars without allowing for inflation), and the demo tape supplied with it starred the British TV quiz show host Magnus Magnusson.