Someone replied quoting the "curse of knowledge" wiki article and deleted their reply.
With regards to why video recording FDRs aren't in place, look no further than the FAA [1]. The original request from the National Transportation Safety Board (in pdf) from 2000 is also available [2] although I'm sure the issue has come up since then. However, the FAA doesn't govern Malaysian aircraft except when they fly to the US (I'm guessing 777s were up to code though)
With regards to why video recording FDRs aren't in place, look no further than the FAA [1]. The original request from the National Transportation Safety Board (in pdf) from 2000 is also available [2] although I'm sure the issue has come up since then. However, the FAA doesn't govern Malaysian aircraft except when they fly to the US (I'm guessing 777s were up to code though)
[1] http://www.ntsb.gov/safetyrecs/private/history.aspx?rec=A-00...
[2] http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2000/A00_30_31.pdf