I grew up in this era. We had a bank of VHS tapes, numbered and referenced in a book, and my mom would plan out the week using TV Guide so we could record the shows and movies we might want to rewatch. I remember the revolution that was the "commercial skip" button.
In the late 70s, when my parent were deciding on which machine to get for our house (I was in high school at the time), Beta may have been technically better, but on TVs of the day, the difference wasn't apparent. On today's setups, the difference is noticeable. On the TV we had (and it was a very good TV for it's day), you couldn't see, and definitely couldn't hear, the difference. And VHS machines may have been available for 200 bucks in the mid 80s, but in 77 or 78, when my folks got theirs, it was less than a Beta machine, but still quite a bit more than 200 bucks, as I remember. Great analysis of the formats! Thanks.
There was a third format in the UK as well, called Video 2000 (aka V2000). It was a double sided video cassette (like a large VHS sized black audio cassette). It was great for recording from TV, because you could get 6 hours from a 3 hour tape, or 8 from a 4 hour). A limited number of movies also got released for rental & retail, but it died off in 1988 after VHS won the war.
Yeah, but it only sold somewhat in the Netherlands and Belgium. In other countries like uk it never was a serious competitor. in the us it wasn't even released. It had advanced technology and was supposed to be better, but in real life image and sound quality during normal playback were lacking and machines were unreliable and broke down often.
I grew up long after this particular format war, but my Stepfather remained sore about the loss of Betamax for decades. He used to bitch for hours at a time about how superior Beta was compared to VHS. Finally I asked him why if Beta was so much better that it lost to the inferior VHS. Without hesitation, he said: "Because Sony was stupid and couldn't read the damn market!" Now I see what he was talking about.
The best product doesn't always win the market. *Far* from it in fact. The most easily-accessible, often the cheapest product wins. Consumers are an ignorant and often stupid lot.
*I remember when my friend showed me if you recorded in Long-play "LP" it would double the amount of time you could record. That rocked my world at the time lol*
Sound quality on VHS improved massively when Hifi Stereo was introduced. It was a vast improvement over the original linear stereo and really brought your tapes to life. It was better than CD quality on an analog tape.
It wasn’t really a format war as extended as Beta/VHS. Sony got smart after the Betamax debacle in that Sony bought up several Hollywood studios so they had a lot of movies to release on Blu-ray. What was not good about HD DVD, as well as DVD and Laserdisc was that there were two physical substrates glued together. Laserdisc suffered from “Laser rot” in that the air trapped between the two sides oxidized and eventually ruined many discs. Blu-ray like the CD only had one substrates with several separate layers.
The one thing I miss about VHS was hooking up 2 VCR's, renting movies, then copying them at home. We had TONS of bootlegged movies back in the 80s/90s. And if you didn't really care about the quality, you could get 3 movies on 1 tape.
Sony has a history of trying to invent proprietary formats which died because they were too expensive and/or not open. Betamax, Mini-disc, Memory Stick. Only when they created or collaborated on open standards did these succeed, such as CD and Blu-ray. The story of Betamax has parallels with Digital Audio Tape (DAT) - another Sony product which failed miserably in the consumer space but lived on in the professional arena for a long time. I'm from the UK but lived in Holland in the late 70s and VCRs were huge amongst the English-speaking community as it offered a way, via rental stores, of accessing English-language programming. There was a definite 'snobbery' surrounding Betamax with those who opted for this system touting its superior technical quality and higher price as a kind of status symbol. The Apple of its day you might say :D
Betamax did not live on in broadcast for decades. Sony developed a new format with a similar name and identical cassette called Betacam, which recorded much higher quality video compared to any consumer format.
We got our first VHS deck in 1978 because my dad was a doctor, and he wanted a monthly series of medical tapes. So little 12 year old me would sit next to him to watch full on operations; chests getting cracked open and blood squirting out of veins in ER’s. But back then each movie would be crazy expensive because they would be priced out for rental stores, around a hundred dollars or more. So the only actual movie we had for a couple years was the two free ones that came with the player, The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The very first movie that broke the price barrier was Star Trek’s The Wrath of Khan. It came out at $39.99 and that’s really when VHS took off.
Even when movies on vhs became cheaper few people would buy them. It's not like music, seeing once is enough, so people would rent the tapes. They would be able to watch the movie again if they wanted when it would eventually air on tv. So the reason vhs took off is because the rental stores started taking off.
VHS was such a big part of my childhood (in fact, I was buying videotapes well into my twenties) that I feel like it was around forever. Even though I've been collecting Blu Rays for way longer in real-terms. Great stuff Jeff!
-VHS also had two heads. The only one I know of that used only one was VX. -The broadcast industry used the Betacam family which is related but higher quality and incompatible with Betamax.
Jeff, I can’t remember did you ever do VHS vs laserdisc? Yes, please if you were ever going to consider if you haven’t already. Laserdisc is my favourite Home video format of all time.
@@davidrembert2682 without laserdisc, I don’t think DVD would’ve been the way it was. I mean laserdisc had chapter selection and supplemental material/special features before DVD, not to mention between 95-99 in the US and 95-2000 in Japan you had digital audio on an analog format, it was definitely the impetus to DVD, whereby DVD was both digital video with digital audio.
@@davidrembert2682Just everything about it, from the packaging and artwork, to the diversity of titles. There are a million music video releases that came out on Laserdisc that never made the jump forward to other formats. And far as the disc itself, the main player I have plays both sides, so no need to move. Might take 10-15 seconds for the movie to change sides and start up again. Doesn’t bother me, I’m usually getting distracted from my movie by dogs, other people, or the need to pee 😂
I remember Betamax in the 1980s, we had few video stores that rented out Beta tapes, they did have Disney movies on Beta, I remember seeing Mary Poppins and Pinocchio, but I got VHS format, a Magnavox VCR. The ability to record long television shows was the main factor that VHS won, not necessarily the movies, since studios like Disney, Warner Bros, and Paramount supported both VHS and Beta in the early days of the format war.
Yes, it was Betacam. The confusion is understandable because both formats look similar and both are called "beta-something". But they're two completely different formats, and for betamax, its higher quality vanished ever since Sony got rid of the Beta I recording speed. And even with SuperBeta, neither its color and luminance resolution were enough to be considered as broadcast quality.
Probably because the homevideo format caught on years later in Brazil and by then VHS was already dominating the market. In the Balkans (in South East Europe) the Japanese car boom never happened because everybody drives locally produced licensed Volkswagen models and used German cars. They're too poor to afford anything else than "proven, rugged cars".
@@McLarenMercedes Not exactly. There was a brief Betamax era here, but it didn't last long. I'm not old enough to remember this. I'm old, but not enough for this. Lol. I imagine it's something like HDdvd and Blu Ray. The first one had a very short life around here.
I work in broadcast and was surprised how long beta held on. Well into the HD days. But those super small market stations used their equipment until it died. Wasn’t really until the analog to digital signal switchover that their hands were finally forced.
Betamax was NOT what this video states being used in professional or broadcast industries to record or contain broadcast quality standard definition (SD; NTSC/PAL/SECAM) or HD; High Definition video and audio. In 1982 Sony used the Betamax cassette shell design to create a totally different format called Betacam. While it used the same Betamax cassette, Betacam recorded analog component video in that the luminance (Y) or B&W part of the picture was recorded on the tape using a separate video head in the drum and the color difference "channels" (R-Y + B-Y) were recorded on a separate track using different video heads on the rotating video head drum. A Betamax tape that record at the Beta I, Beta II and Beta III tapes speeds (an L-500; 1 hour, 2 hours or 3 hours respectively) recorded only 20 minutes of component broadcast quality pictures. This is the format adopted by most of the broadcast industry and of course cable industry. Betacam is NOT Betamax. In fact a tape recorded in a Betamax or a tape recorded in Betacam are totally incompatible. Panasonic followed with a VHS cassette recording exactly the way Betacam was called "M." Sony a few years later created Betacam SP (Superior Performance) which used Meta Particle tape rather then Betamax and VHS's metal-oxide tape. Panasonic followed suit with their "MII" format but by that time almost all broadcasters had adopted Betacam/Betacam SP and the MII format was only used by NBC. Betacam SP besides using Metal Particle tape which produced better broadcast quality video was able to use a larger sized Betacam SP tape allowing for 90 minutes of broadcast quality video. The larger tape design wise (two windows like VHS cassettes) was much larger than a VHS tape compared to a VHS tape size versus a Betamax or small Betacam/Betacam SP tape. in the 1990's Sony created Digital Betacam that recorded the video and audio digitally compared to Betacam/Betacam SP that recorded video and audio as an analog signal. Digital Betacam was able to recorded 124 minutes on the large Betacam SP sized tape. Betamax and VHS recorded only analog video and audio and it was composite video meaning that the Y (B&W) and color difference signals (R-Y, B-Y) were all recorded using one head on the video drum and both the luminance and color signals were recorded on a single video track. After Digital Betacam Sony created Betacam SX and another format also using the small and large Betacam tapes called IMX. When high definition video came to be, Sony created HDCAM using the same small and large Digital Betacam tapes. However because of its highly compressed video and recording of only 1440x1080 resolution the broadcast industry adopted Panasonic's HD D5 format developed by NHK (the BBC of Japan) which used JPEG single frame compression and recorded on tape the full HS resolution of 1920x1080. These cassettes were somewhat like a VHS cassette but were quite different. Within several years Sony designed the HDCAM SR (Superior Resolution) HD format which unlike HDCAM and HD D5 could record the full bandwidth of the HD signal using what is known as 4:4:4 color sampling compared to HDCAM and HD D5's 4:2:2 color sampling and could also recored video as RGB which is what computer graphics his based on. But in the last decade prior to today broadcasters moved away from tape formats to first compact SSD type storage similar to the cards used in consumer digital cameras and ultimately to hard drive RAIDS and latter SSD RAIDS. SSD "drives" are like computer memory in that they are simple "silicon chips" which unlike hard drives have no moving parts. Today virtually no one continues to record new media on video tape. Everything is now digital data files instead of video frames on video tape. To "record" or backup up this data for financial firms, accounting and media and other data, an open format tape cartridge called LTO tapes are used. LTO stands for Linear Tape Open, and "open source" standard that has been adopted by IBM, HP, Fuji, Quantum, and others. Unlike a cassette a cartridge has NO "take up" reel in its "container." The take up reel =is in the LTO tape drive. The current LTO9 format can hold up to 18TB (Terabytes) of uncompressed data. Think of it as 18 Trillion dollars worth of data. I have worked in the Film. and Video Post Production industry since 1985. And it has come a very long way from 2" and 1" wide open reel video tape machines that were huge (2") and big, but smaller 1" VTRS to today's LTO data cartridges which are small square cartridges.
We had a Betamax VCR (Sears brand: Sony did open up its license) that my dad recorded movies off HBO (it had the option for up to 3 hr recording with mode III). Our first VHS recorder was for an early camcorder unit (where there were separate VCR components that were suspended from a shoulder strap, and the camera portion was very small). We continued to record movies on Beta: most thing that was obvious was better chroma. Note that TV networks weren't using Betamax much, but another system that had some relation to Betamax-Betacam. Betacam would continue to be used on to digital recording.
To be honest I remember being a kid when beta and VHS was competing with each other and they looked and sounded almost identical on the older TVs. Realistically nobody can tell the difference on 99% of the TVs. My parents had both and we had a really good TV at the time, not the absolute best but a really good one and we couldn’t tell the difference. We ended up choosing to support VHS more because it was more convenient and more regularly available, especially with the rental stores having a larger selection of movies.
Good Evening Jeff from a UK viewer👋 I have fond memories of watching predator on Betamax when I was very young and probably shouldn’t have been watching it 😀 fun times. I’m really loving these additional dives into the history of home movies etc that you have recently started doing much more of. Keep up the great work ❤
*I dont care how many time I've heard the story before, if Jeff discusses it I will be listenin!* 🤙🏽🤟🏽👌🏽 Always great to hear from you on these topics, please do more! ❤ I learnt a lot that others never mentioned. 👏🏽👏🏽
I've been buying quite a lot of old tapes, and I really like the Betamax quality. I also think some of the earlier VHS tapes (before the market was saturated) do, when stored well, also hold up very well.
This was overall a pretty good video. However, there is one thing in it that I feel needs to be addressed. The porn industry being the deciding factor of the VHS/Beta format war is actually a misconception. JVC and Sony had no control over what was being put on their tapes because neither VHS nor Beta was made to sell content. However, in the early 80's, there was a short-lived disc-based format called Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) that failed in part due to the fact that RCA (the format's inventor) DID control the content being put on the discs, and RCA did not allow porn on their format. Somehow, VHS/Beta got mixed up with this whole thing, resulting in an urban legend that persists even to this day.
My family had a top loading Betamax for what seemed like a very short time. Next thing I knew there was a VHS in its place. And of course there was laserdiscs which I was aware of but never used.
Thanks Jeff. I remember the dilemma. I chose VHS in 1984 simply because VHS was the cheaper way to go and I liked the 6 hour tapes so I could record a lot of stuff. Thanks HBO.
Fabulous video! Can you imagine the store you went to in 2011 to get a Betamax tape? "Yes, sir isle 3 beside the Super8 film and 8-inch Floppy disks !"
I grew up in a house that had both and, beta sure was the better format…. Thanks JEFF for this informative and trip down memory lane video… hey, can you do an updated blu-ray vs HD DVD video???? Keep the amazing content coming.
Jeff, I'm getting older and I was there during that time. I spent a long time trying to figure out which direction to go. In the end I bought a mid tier RCA VHS. It cost $1500. Helping solidify VHSs long run.
Excellent resume of the analog video home and studios recording formats. I was a teen when Beta entered my house and ±2 years after, the VHS was also added to the family home electronics. Indeed, Beta tape and machine was superior in all departments, it was obvious, even on the CRT TVs of that time. At least, Sony learn their lessons with Blu-ray vs HD-DVD.
I remember growing up in the 80s, my parents had many vhs tapes they copied movies onto, I didn't see an actual studio produced VHS tape until I was an adult and bought my own.
I also have the view that in the case of a format war, player availability can also be a factor. If only one company is making the player and it can produce 100 players per day that is all it can sell, if 10 companies are each producing 20 of the rival format players per day, although each is producing far less, there are twice as many overall available to consumers.
I remember the codes in TV Guide to help setup show recordings. For a while there in my home theater I had VHS, Laser Disc and DVD players on a 50" CRT rear projection TV. I also remember how the Networks and Studios hated home taping and fought tooth and nail against it. I believe that is one of the few times that the government went all in supporting the consumer over business. There was something fun about going to blockbuster and browsing all of the tapes to find a movie to watch on Saturday night. Be kind, rewind
There is one more reason. On automated technological lines, even by the standards of the 70s, the production of M-type mechanisms used in VHS was slightly cheaper and at a lower cost, durable VCR,s models were obtained.
Sony used what they called “U” loading like the well established tape wrap of the 3/4” U-matic industrial and later broadcast VCRs. As far as durability Betamax had a better tape threading mechanism. Although more complex than the “M” wrap, I have, since my first VCR, a Sony Betamax SL-8600 purchased in June 1978, now have a collection of 10 still working Betamax (two portable Betamax) VCRs and eight SuperBeta HiFi VCRs (six of which are Sony’s second to last Betamax model sold from 1991 - 1993 (SL-HF2100) which also recorded Super HiBand SuperBeta I SHB speed! I also have over 10 VHS/S-VHS HiFi VCRs and when I record test tapes in all the VCRS at the slowest record speeds I have no interchange compatibles with Beta VCRs recorded at the BIII speed. However I have uncorrectable tracking issues playing of VHS/S-VHS HiFi tapes recorded in the EP or SLP speed. And I can still play Betamax tapes as old as June 1978 recorded on my first Betamax VCR. I did not buy a VHS VCR until fall 1988 and all are S-VHS HiFi models with the exception of combo VHS/DVD Recorders which with Panasonic models can play S-VHS HiFi tapes in only VHS quality. Other brand combo VHS/DVD Recorders cannot play S-VHS tapes. I also have no problems playing my oldest S-VHS HiFi tapes if recorded in SP speed. All my VHS VCRs only have the SP/EP record speeds but can play LP tapes, which I don’t have any of. I clearly cannot playback in every single VHS/S-VHS HiFi VCR I own tapes recorded in EP/SLP speed without have tracking problems uncorrectable even manually adjusting the tracking control. As far as tape compatibility in the slowest record speed, Betamax/SuperBeta HiFi VCRs that I own have NO tracking problems. Some Beta models don’t even need manual tracking adjustments but some Beta VCRs need manual tracking adjustment but I ultimately obtain a noise free picture. Not so with a few VHS/S-VHS HiFi tapes recorded in the slowest EP/SLP speed. Several VHS/S-VHS HiFi VCRs with manual tracking adjustments play with no tracking issues but not on every of those VCRs.
@@fred36956 I do not deny your words. But based on my experience and conversations with service technicians and on technical literature, I state that when it comes to reliability in the sense of lower susceptibility to failure of mechanical deck systems and tape stretching, the M-type mechanism performed better in cheap VCRs. It was simpler and therefore cheaper to produce and at a lower cost it was possible to obtain high reliability of systems and the M tape path itself was easier to run. Yes, after some time, Japanese domestic U-type mechanisms, in terms of durability and then also costs, caught up with the M load, which Sanyo showed. But they were always slightly behind. I also recall what Beta service technicians reported from 1976-78, some of even the early Beta models did not withstand such frequent shifting of the U load belt rings as the M-type belt mechanisms. This was added to, but it took time. And the M load did it faster and cheaper.
@@fred36956 I agree with you that Beta is good at playing old recordings and that not all early Betas broke down. But when it comes to reliability in terms of mechanics breaking down, M load was ahead with a few exceptions in cheaper devices and the quality to price ratio was better. And it was simply more beneficial for producers and for those who wanted to have a home VCR as cheaply as possible at that time.
@@janmos5178The tape wrap used in the earliest Betamax VCRs, although rubber belt driven is the same, of course direct driven tape threading wrap used in broadcast quality much more highly used for tape editing with frame accurate edits of Sony’s broadcast quality Betacam, Betacam SP, Digital Betacam, Betacam SX, HDCAM and HDCAM SR VCRs. These broadcast VCRs using the “U” wrap, which really resembles a “C” wrap when looking at the threaded tape from the front of the unit, experienced much, much more tape threading/unthreading and overall tape movement at much higher tape speeds than either Betamax or VHS home VCRs. A Betacam and all its variants could rewind a Betacam small tape (the same as a Betamax tape) of the L-500 length (a BCT-20 (20 minute record time) in far less time. Of course one can’t compare a $160,000 HDCAM SR broadcast VTR with a home VCR, but clearly the “C” wrap was used in all broadcast Beta/HDCAM formats because it is superior to the M wrap although in Sony’s “Professional” Betacam series VTRs used a M wrap because it was obviously cheaper. On newer much smaller portable and table top Betamax series VCRs Sony had to make the tape wrap much more compact than the “C” wrap. In doing so Sony basically flipped that C wrap 180 degrees and some of the tape guides retracted under the threading ring. These reverse C wrap threading mechanisms were definitely less durable than the VHS M wrap.
@@fred36956 Agreed. But that doesn't change the fact that at the end of the 70s, in the cheap of course for those times M load video recorders had fewer elements, a simpler tape path and required a slightly less advanced production infrastructure. It was therefore cheaper to produce and generated a lower cost of obtaining high mechanical reliability with mass production spread over many manufacturers. . Which Beta made up for but too late. VHS not only gained an advantage after 1977 but also thanks to this gained an advantage and at the beginning it got cheaper faster without a glaring deterioration in the quality of VCR production. Which then ended up in service less often and were a bit cheaper to repair. Difficulties in reducing costs and immediately obtaining high reliability contributed greatly although they were not the only reason for the failure of the European Video 2000 system, in theory better in some aspects even than Beta which was also fixed too late. Although Philips used M load and Grundig C load decks in it. Not only that, but also thanks to its simplicity, VHS had already achieved the most favorable ratio of quality (well, less the image) to price and production costs in the early 80s, and no home VCR system has ever outdone it in this respect. And this was an important element of its success.
Consumers always choose convenience over quality. This is why MP3 was chosen over SACD and DVD Audio. This is why streaming movies is preferred to owning superior quality physical media 4k discs.
Mp3 was never competing with audiophile formats like sacd and dvd audio, they are in a totally different league and targeted at other audience. Streaming movies can be done for free at very acceptable quality, hard to compete with that.
Back in the day, my choice was for Beta over VHS. There were three setting for the Beta. Beta 1, 2, 3. I preferred the Beta 2 version as the tape could be used for recording two hours with a Beta 500 tape. Sadly the VHS won out so I had to adapt.
Still have a Betamax and VHS in full working order, hooked up in my mancave. Composite video into a nice 60cm CRT. Actually the VHS is a VHS/DVD recorder combo, that might be via hdmi. But regardless, both formats look great on that tv. I watched Empire Strikes Back, from a new VHS tape the other night. Looked very good. Was it 4K quality? Of course not. But not everything has to be pristine like that. And I’m a big 4K collector. But I never shy away from those old formats. Have a Laserdisc and CED player hooked up in there as well. Takes me back to a different time (I’m 54). Quite often I’ll come across some old WWF vhs from the 80s/90s. Still a lot of fun to be had with these old formats.
Maybe Beta tapes were limited on recording time (initially) but eventually tapes were sold that you could record up to 5 hours (sometimes 3 movies). But a VHS tape was released that you could record 8 hrs (4 movies) and i THINK there was even a 12 hr tape if recorded at the really slow/terrible resolution speed. I used to have a Betamax and all the original Star Trek episodes. I also had a Amiga 500 and a HD DVD player. Life hates me.😢
Jeff, have you considered making a vsh vs laser disc video? There are some places that still support laser disc. One of the old video stores that I used to go to alot when I was a kid even allows renting for a laser disc player which requires a security deposit and the price is reasonable. I'm still looking for a place that supports mini disc since some retro stores that I go to still sells mini discs and casette tapes. I'm a huge fan of retro stuff and fiio is already selling the fiio cp13 portable cassette player on amazon that was originally designed from sony engineers 30 years ago. The portable fiio cassette player has usb c just for charging only and the usb c does not support usb c for external devices and there is no support for bluetooth since it's completely old school in the modern era. I wonder what it would be like to record 6 hours like vhs tapes like for movies and tv shows but in the 4k format.
Columbia never gave Beta special preference. All the major studios were still making Beta releases of their films well into the nineties. Mission Impossible and Jurassic Park were both released on Beta.
Hi Jeff here in Sydney we got our first Pansonic (actually it was a National Pansasonic VCR here in the very early 80s. A little while later my dad brought home the Panasonic NV-180 Porta Pak deck with camera.Took this bulky set up with me to airshows etc. I thoght I was the best!
Laserdisc was better than both 😜 I like Betamax but that’s just me that’s how I originally managed to watch Star Wars a new Hope because I had it recorded from ITV (channel in the UK)
Columbia was not owned by Sony at the time of the VHS vs Betamax war. I believe it was owned by coca-cola in a good part of the 80s. Sony did not take over Columbia until 1989 well after Sony had lost the format war.
First thing i recorded in 1981 on our Betamax was Rainbow, UK people will know what that is 😅. Always remember going to the video rental and seeing limited Beta movies, untill we got a shop called Betas Best, 100% Beta across from our school. The blanks were a different thing, i remember 1 hour 5 minutes 2 hour 10 minutes and 3 hour 15 minute tapes
You could record 4 hours with beta 3 speed, so it could record a whole 2 average length movies. So beta could record for 4 hrs while the average ep vhs could for 6. But certain VHS could record for 8 or even 9. Also, BetaMAX was almost never used commercially, although betaCAM was. Many people think betacam and Betamax are the same but they are completely different formats. So Betamax was a failure in any market
@ Jeff Russo great video but JVC did go away quietly the mad one last push with DVHS D-THEATER digital tape using MPEG 2 1080i resolution it was great it blew DVD out of the water but ant the end of the day it’s still tape . Laserdisc players a big part as well.
So I also grew up in this era. The funny thing is, traditionally, the format that wins is the one the Porn industry embraces. I understand how messed up that is but go look it up. J.
I still own both formats in spite I have got DVD,Blu Ray,Ultra HD 4 K and Streaming,one does not have to cancel the other,exterminate is for prejudiced people.
hi there's still alot of betacam gear a round that is still working ace you are right about pro gear love the sony A500p decks my mate has a 950 i have 10 A500P still working ok vhs the M load they called it the only place is for ADAT recorders now note alot of them around i all ways offered them all the time yes i had a vhs as well till i go in betacam
The Beta max with the 4 head player had a better picture quality, but eventually the vhs was just as good, but you jad to use them 2 hour recording speed..........
I grew up in this era. We had a bank of VHS tapes, numbered and referenced in a book, and my mom would plan out the week using TV Guide so we could record the shows and movies we might want to rewatch. I remember the revolution that was the "commercial skip" button.
In the late 70s, when my parent were deciding on which machine to get for our house (I was in high school at the time), Beta may have been technically better, but on TVs of the day, the difference wasn't apparent. On today's setups, the difference is noticeable. On the TV we had (and it was a very good TV for it's day), you couldn't see, and definitely couldn't hear, the difference. And VHS machines may have been available for 200 bucks in the mid 80s, but in 77 or 78, when my folks got theirs, it was less than a Beta machine, but still quite a bit more than 200 bucks, as I remember. Great analysis of the formats! Thanks.
There was a third format in the UK as well, called Video 2000 (aka V2000). It was a double sided video cassette (like a large VHS sized black audio cassette). It was great for recording from TV, because you could get 6 hours from a 3 hour tape, or 8 from a 4 hour). A limited number of movies also got released for rental & retail, but it died off in 1988 after VHS won the war.
The same in Germany, where Video 2000 was pushed by Grundig.
There was another format too, laserdisc
@@marccadec6978 Yes, but LaserDisc wasn't a tape format.
Yeah, but it only sold somewhat in the Netherlands and Belgium. In other countries like uk it never was a serious competitor. in the us it wasn't even released.
It had advanced technology and was supposed to be better, but in real life image and sound quality during normal playback were lacking and machines were unreliable and broke down often.
I grew up long after this particular format war, but my Stepfather remained sore about the loss of Betamax for decades. He used to bitch for hours at a time about how superior Beta was compared to VHS. Finally I asked him why if Beta was so much better that it lost to the inferior VHS. Without hesitation, he said: "Because Sony was stupid and couldn't read the damn market!"
Now I see what he was talking about.
The best product doesn't always win the market. *Far* from it in fact. The most easily-accessible, often the cheapest product wins. Consumers are an ignorant and often stupid lot.
@@McLarenMercedesYeah; agreed. Similar to optical disks and streaming.
You should do a video on the history of Laserdisc - a format well ahead of it's time.
*I remember when my friend showed me if you recorded in Long-play "LP" it would double the amount of time you could record. That rocked my world at the time lol*
Sound quality on VHS improved massively when Hifi Stereo was introduced. It was a vast improvement over the original linear stereo and really brought your tapes to life. It was better than CD quality on an analog tape.
I believe Beta HiFi sound appeared before VHS HiFi.
You should make a video about a format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
He did.
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He did.
It wasn’t really a format war as extended as Beta/VHS. Sony got smart after the Betamax debacle in that Sony bought up several Hollywood studios so they had a lot of movies to release on Blu-ray. What was not good about HD DVD, as well as DVD and Laserdisc was that there were two physical substrates glued together. Laserdisc suffered from “Laser rot” in that the air trapped between the two sides oxidized and eventually ruined many discs. Blu-ray like the CD only had one substrates with several separate layers.
The one thing I miss about VHS was hooking up 2 VCR's, renting movies, then copying them at home. We had TONS of bootlegged movies back in the 80s/90s. And if you didn't really care about the quality, you could get 3 movies on 1 tape.
6:07 Ain’t no way one of the biggest reasons VHS succeeded was because of gooners. 💀
Sexytime content drives technology to an extent but I heard it's the other way around. The industry chose VHS because more people had it.
Sony has a history of trying to invent proprietary formats which died because they were too expensive and/or not open. Betamax, Mini-disc, Memory Stick. Only when they created or collaborated on open standards did these succeed, such as CD and Blu-ray. The story of Betamax has parallels with Digital Audio Tape (DAT) - another Sony product which failed miserably in the consumer space but lived on in the professional arena for a long time. I'm from the UK but lived in Holland in the late 70s and VCRs were huge amongst the English-speaking community as it offered a way, via rental stores, of accessing English-language programming. There was a definite 'snobbery' surrounding Betamax with those who opted for this system touting its superior technical quality and higher price as a kind of status symbol. The Apple of its day you might say :D
Betamax did not live on in broadcast for decades. Sony developed a new format with a similar name and identical cassette called Betacam, which recorded much higher quality video compared to any consumer format.
We got our first VHS deck in 1978 because my dad was a doctor, and he wanted a monthly series of medical tapes. So little 12 year old me would sit next to him to watch full on operations; chests getting cracked open and blood squirting out of veins in ER’s. But back then each movie would be crazy expensive because they would be priced out for rental stores, around a hundred dollars or more. So the only actual movie we had for a couple years was the two free ones that came with the player, The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The very first movie that broke the price barrier was Star Trek’s The Wrath of Khan. It came out at $39.99 and that’s really when VHS took off.
😅 that's some crazy shit.
Even when movies on vhs became cheaper few people would buy them. It's not like music, seeing once is enough, so people would rent the tapes. They would be able to watch the movie again if they wanted when it would eventually air on tv.
So the reason vhs took off is because the rental stores started taking off.
Sony did not by Columbia Pintures until 1989.
VHS was such a big part of my childhood (in fact, I was buying videotapes well into my twenties) that I feel like it was around forever. Even though I've been collecting Blu Rays for way longer in real-terms. Great stuff Jeff!
-VHS also had two heads. The only one I know of that used only one was VX.
-The broadcast industry used the Betacam family which is related but higher quality and incompatible with Betamax.
I was born in 1991 so i was in the vhs craze from the beginning of the 90s! How many people collect VHS tapes for a living?
Jeff, I can’t remember did you ever do VHS vs laserdisc?
Yes, please if you were ever going to consider if you haven’t already.
Laserdisc is my favourite Home video format of all time.
Right there with ya….👍
Respectfully, why? I think DVD. The pain of having to flip or put in a new disc messed up the flow of the movie.
@@garrypeak4277Respectfully, why?
@@davidrembert2682 without laserdisc, I don’t think DVD would’ve been the way it was.
I mean laserdisc had chapter selection and supplemental material/special features before DVD, not to mention between 95-99 in the US and 95-2000 in Japan you had digital audio on an analog format, it was definitely the impetus to DVD, whereby DVD was both digital video with digital audio.
@@davidrembert2682Just everything about it, from the packaging and artwork, to the diversity of titles. There are a million music video releases that came out on Laserdisc that never made the jump forward to other formats.
And far as the disc itself, the main player I have plays both sides, so no need to move. Might take 10-15 seconds for the movie to change sides and start up again. Doesn’t bother me, I’m usually getting distracted from my movie by dogs, other people, or the need to pee 😂
I remember Betamax in the 1980s, we had few video stores that rented out Beta tapes, they did have Disney movies on Beta, I remember seeing Mary Poppins and Pinocchio, but I got VHS format, a Magnavox VCR. The ability to record long television shows was the main factor that VHS won, not necessarily the movies, since studios like Disney, Warner Bros, and Paramount supported both VHS and Beta in the early days of the format war.
Wasn't the Beta-format used by professional studios Betacam instead of Betamax? Similiar tape, but not 1:1 compatible standard...
Yes, it was Betacam. The confusion is understandable because both formats look similar and both are called "beta-something". But they're two completely different formats, and for betamax, its higher quality vanished ever since Sony got rid of the Beta I recording speed. And even with SuperBeta, neither its color and luminance resolution were enough to be considered as broadcast quality.
I'm 42 and I never got to know a betamax. VHS was the winner in Brazil since the very beginning.
Probably because the homevideo format caught on years later in Brazil and by then VHS was already dominating the market. In the Balkans (in South East Europe) the Japanese car boom never happened because everybody drives locally produced licensed Volkswagen models and used German cars. They're too poor to afford anything else than "proven, rugged cars".
@@McLarenMercedes Not exactly. There was a brief Betamax era here, but it didn't last long. I'm not old enough to remember this. I'm old, but not enough for this. Lol. I imagine it's something like HDdvd and Blu Ray. The first one had a very short life around here.
I work in broadcast and was surprised how long beta held on. Well into the HD days. But those super small market stations used their equipment until it died. Wasn’t really until the analog to digital signal switchover that their hands were finally forced.
Betamax was NOT what this video states being used in professional or broadcast industries to record or contain broadcast quality standard definition (SD; NTSC/PAL/SECAM) or HD; High Definition video and audio. In 1982 Sony used the Betamax cassette shell design to create a totally different format called Betacam. While it used the same Betamax cassette, Betacam recorded analog component video in that the luminance (Y) or B&W part of the picture was recorded on the tape using a separate video head in the drum and the color difference "channels" (R-Y + B-Y) were recorded on a separate track using different video heads on the rotating video head drum. A Betamax tape that record at the Beta I, Beta II and Beta III tapes speeds (an L-500; 1 hour, 2 hours or 3 hours respectively) recorded only 20 minutes of component broadcast quality pictures. This is the format adopted by most of the broadcast industry and of course cable industry. Betacam is NOT Betamax. In fact a tape recorded in a Betamax or a tape recorded in Betacam are totally incompatible. Panasonic followed with a VHS cassette recording exactly the way Betacam was called "M." Sony a few years later created Betacam SP (Superior Performance) which used Meta Particle tape rather then Betamax and VHS's metal-oxide tape. Panasonic followed suit with their "MII" format but by that time almost all broadcasters had adopted Betacam/Betacam SP and the MII format was only used by NBC. Betacam SP besides using Metal Particle tape which produced better broadcast quality video was able to use a larger sized Betacam SP tape allowing for 90 minutes of broadcast quality video. The larger tape design wise (two windows like VHS cassettes) was much larger than a VHS tape compared to a VHS tape size versus a Betamax or small Betacam/Betacam SP tape. in the 1990's Sony created Digital Betacam that recorded the video and audio digitally compared to Betacam/Betacam SP that recorded video and audio as an analog signal. Digital Betacam was able to recorded 124 minutes on the large Betacam SP sized tape. Betamax and VHS recorded only analog video and audio and it was composite video meaning that the Y (B&W) and color difference signals (R-Y, B-Y) were all recorded using one head on the video drum and both the luminance and color signals were recorded on a single video track. After Digital Betacam Sony created Betacam SX and another format also using the small and large Betacam tapes called IMX. When high definition video came to be, Sony created HDCAM using the same small and large Digital Betacam tapes. However because of its highly compressed video and recording of only 1440x1080 resolution the broadcast industry adopted Panasonic's HD D5 format developed by NHK (the BBC of Japan) which used JPEG single frame compression and recorded on tape the full HS resolution of 1920x1080. These cassettes were somewhat like a VHS cassette but were quite different. Within several years Sony designed the HDCAM SR (Superior Resolution) HD format which unlike HDCAM and HD D5 could record the full bandwidth of the HD signal using what is known as 4:4:4 color sampling compared to HDCAM and HD D5's 4:2:2 color sampling and could also recored video as RGB which is what computer graphics his based on. But in the last decade prior to today broadcasters moved away from tape formats to first compact SSD type storage similar to the cards used in consumer digital cameras and ultimately to hard drive RAIDS and latter SSD RAIDS. SSD "drives" are like computer memory in that they are simple "silicon chips" which unlike hard drives have no moving parts. Today virtually no one continues to record new media on video tape. Everything is now digital data files instead of video frames on video tape. To "record" or backup up this data for financial firms, accounting and media and other data, an open format tape cartridge called LTO tapes are used. LTO stands for Linear Tape Open, and "open source" standard that has been adopted by IBM, HP, Fuji, Quantum, and others. Unlike a cassette a cartridge has NO "take up" reel in its "container." The take up reel =is in the LTO tape drive. The current LTO9 format can hold up to 18TB (Terabytes) of uncompressed data. Think of it as 18 Trillion dollars worth of data. I have worked in the Film. and Video Post Production industry since 1985. And it has come a very long way from 2" and 1" wide open reel video tape machines that were huge (2") and big, but smaller 1" VTRS to today's LTO data cartridges which are small square cartridges.
We had a Betamax VCR (Sears brand: Sony did open up its license) that my dad recorded movies off HBO (it had the option for up to 3 hr recording with mode III). Our first VHS recorder was for an early camcorder unit (where there were separate VCR components that were suspended from a shoulder strap, and the camera portion was very small). We continued to record movies on Beta: most thing that was obvious was better chroma. Note that TV networks weren't using Betamax much, but another system that had some relation to Betamax-Betacam. Betacam would continue to be used on to digital recording.
To be honest I remember being a kid when beta and VHS was competing with each other and they looked and sounded almost identical on the older TVs. Realistically nobody can tell the difference on 99% of the TVs. My parents had both and we had a really good TV at the time, not the absolute best but a really good one and we couldn’t tell the difference. We ended up choosing to support VHS more because it was more convenient and more regularly available, especially with the rental stores having a larger selection of movies.
Loving these new videos
Loving it! Thanks for the history session.
Love these kinds of videos, really interesting!! You think you could do more videos of the Home Video History of Horror movies??
He did one about the "video nasties."
More segments like this please.
4:24 IRONIC, considering that Columbia didn't become a part of Sony until 1989.
Good Evening Jeff from a UK viewer👋 I have fond memories of watching predator on Betamax when I was very young and probably shouldn’t have been watching it 😀 fun times. I’m really loving these additional dives into the history of home movies etc that you have recently started doing much more of. Keep up the great work ❤
Amazing video essay, Jeff. Very informative and nostalgic. Thank you for putting it out.
I had that Sony Betamax when I was a kid. We had many movies taped off of HBO throughout the 80’s. My parents didn’t adapt to VHS until 1989.
*I dont care how many time I've heard the story before, if Jeff discusses it I will be listenin!*
🤙🏽🤟🏽👌🏽
Always great to hear from you on these topics, please do more! ❤
I learnt a lot that others never mentioned. 👏🏽👏🏽
There's a big mistake in the video, about Columbia pictures, sony bought them only in 1989
I've been buying quite a lot of old tapes, and I really like the Betamax quality. I also think some of the earlier VHS tapes (before the market was saturated) do, when stored well, also hold up very well.
Excellent mini documentary brilliant ❤❤❤
This was overall a pretty good video. However, there is one thing in it that I feel needs to be addressed.
The porn industry being the deciding factor of the VHS/Beta format war is actually a misconception. JVC and Sony had no control over what was being put on their tapes because neither VHS nor Beta was made to sell content.
However, in the early 80's, there was a short-lived disc-based format called Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) that failed in part due to the fact that RCA (the format's inventor) DID control the content being put on the discs, and RCA did not allow porn on their format. Somehow, VHS/Beta got mixed up with this whole thing, resulting in an urban legend that persists even to this day.
Thanks for making this video- great history lesson on another format war!
Awesome! maybe one for laserdisc too
My family had a top loading Betamax for what seemed like a very short time. Next thing I knew there was a VHS in its place. And of course there was laserdiscs which I was aware of but never used.
Thanks Jeff. I remember the dilemma. I chose VHS in 1984 simply because VHS was the cheaper way to go and I liked the 6 hour tapes so I could record a lot of stuff. Thanks HBO.
Fabulous video! Can you imagine the store you went to in 2011 to get a Betamax tape? "Yes, sir isle 3 beside the Super8 film and 8-inch Floppy disks !"
The format war that started it all!
I grew up in a house that had both and, beta sure was the better format…. Thanks JEFF for this informative and trip down memory lane video… hey, can you do an updated blu-ray vs HD DVD video???? Keep the amazing content coming.
I had a huge pile of VHS tapes back in the day. It was mostly for recording wrestling shows during the Attitude Era.
Jeff, I'm getting older and I was there during that time. I spent a long time trying to figure out which direction to go. In the end I bought a mid tier RCA VHS. It cost $1500. Helping solidify VHSs long run.
I remeber, in the 90s, the gov. tv channel in India used to invite program contents in beta format. Anyway, thank you very much for making this video.
Excellent resume of the analog video home and studios recording formats. I was a teen when Beta entered my house and ±2 years after, the VHS was also added to the family home electronics. Indeed, Beta tape and machine was superior in all departments, it was obvious, even on the CRT TVs of that time. At least, Sony learn their lessons with Blu-ray vs HD-DVD.
I remember growing up in the 80s, my parents had many vhs tapes they copied movies onto, I didn't see an actual studio produced VHS tape until I was an adult and bought my own.
Most Americans did not know that the PAL/SECAM versions only had ONE single tape speed.
I also have the view that in the case of a format war, player availability can also be a factor. If only one company is making the player and it can produce 100 players per day that is all it can sell, if 10 companies are each producing 20 of the rival format players per day, although each is producing far less, there are twice as many overall available to consumers.
In film school, their decision was shooting with betamax right up to the 2000s.
Are you sure it wasn’t beta cam?
Had both machines and formats. Tapes were expensive. 10-20 dollars apiece. Good for recording shows when you weren’t home.
Very interesting visit down memory lane. I grew up during the Betamax and VHS hey days. That was the start of the video rentals.
It’s always the format that holds more space which wins.
i remember recording the simpsons every day onto vhs - running up to the tv to pause the tape when the adverts starting playing. haha
I remember the codes in TV Guide to help setup show recordings. For a while there in my home theater I had VHS, Laser Disc and DVD players on a 50" CRT rear projection TV. I also remember how the Networks and Studios hated home taping and fought tooth and nail against it. I believe that is one of the few times that the government went all in supporting the consumer over business. There was something fun about going to blockbuster and browsing all of the tapes to find a movie to watch on Saturday night. Be kind, rewind
There is one more reason. On automated technological lines, even by the standards of the 70s, the production of M-type mechanisms used in VHS was slightly cheaper and at a lower cost, durable VCR,s models were obtained.
Sony used what they called “U” loading like the well established tape wrap of the 3/4” U-matic industrial and later broadcast VCRs. As far as durability Betamax had a better tape threading mechanism. Although more complex than the “M” wrap, I have, since my first VCR, a Sony Betamax SL-8600 purchased in June 1978, now have a collection of 10 still working Betamax (two portable Betamax) VCRs and eight SuperBeta HiFi VCRs (six of which are Sony’s second to last Betamax model sold from 1991 - 1993 (SL-HF2100) which also recorded Super HiBand SuperBeta I SHB speed! I also have over 10 VHS/S-VHS HiFi VCRs and when I record test tapes in all the VCRS at the slowest record speeds I have no interchange compatibles with Beta VCRs recorded at the BIII speed. However I have uncorrectable tracking issues playing of VHS/S-VHS HiFi tapes recorded in the EP or SLP speed. And I can still play Betamax tapes as old as June 1978 recorded on my first Betamax VCR. I did not buy a VHS VCR until fall 1988 and all are S-VHS HiFi models with the exception of combo VHS/DVD Recorders which with Panasonic models can play S-VHS HiFi tapes
in only VHS quality. Other brand
combo VHS/DVD Recorders cannot play S-VHS tapes. I also have no problems playing my oldest S-VHS HiFi tapes if recorded in SP speed. All my VHS VCRs only have the SP/EP record speeds but can play LP tapes, which I don’t have any of. I clearly cannot playback in every single VHS/S-VHS HiFi VCR I own tapes recorded in EP/SLP speed without have tracking problems uncorrectable even manually adjusting the tracking control. As far as tape compatibility in the slowest record
speed, Betamax/SuperBeta HiFi VCRs that I own have NO tracking problems. Some Beta models don’t even need manual tracking adjustments but some Beta VCRs need manual tracking adjustment but I ultimately obtain a noise free picture. Not so with a few VHS/S-VHS HiFi tapes recorded in the slowest EP/SLP speed. Several VHS/S-VHS HiFi VCRs with manual tracking adjustments play with no tracking issues but not on every of those VCRs.
@@fred36956 I do not deny your words. But based on my experience and conversations with service technicians and on technical literature, I state that when it comes to reliability in the sense of lower susceptibility to failure of mechanical deck systems and tape stretching, the M-type mechanism performed better in cheap VCRs. It was simpler and therefore cheaper to produce and at a lower cost it was possible to obtain high reliability of systems and the M tape path itself was easier to run. Yes, after some time, Japanese domestic U-type mechanisms, in terms of durability and then also costs, caught up with the M load, which Sanyo showed. But they were always slightly behind. I also recall what Beta service technicians reported from 1976-78, some of even the early Beta models did not withstand such frequent shifting of the U load belt rings as the M-type belt mechanisms. This was added to, but it took time. And the M load did it faster and cheaper.
@@fred36956 I agree with you that Beta is good at playing old recordings and that not all early Betas broke down. But when it comes to reliability in terms of mechanics breaking down, M load was ahead with a few exceptions in cheaper devices and the quality to price ratio was better. And it was simply more beneficial for producers and for those who wanted to have a home VCR as cheaply as possible at that time.
@@janmos5178The tape wrap used in the earliest Betamax VCRs, although rubber belt driven is the same, of course direct driven tape threading wrap used in broadcast quality much more highly used for tape editing with frame accurate edits of Sony’s broadcast quality Betacam, Betacam SP, Digital Betacam, Betacam SX, HDCAM and HDCAM SR VCRs. These broadcast VCRs using the “U” wrap, which really resembles a “C” wrap when looking at the threaded tape from the front of the unit, experienced much, much more tape threading/unthreading and overall tape movement at much higher tape speeds than either Betamax or VHS home VCRs. A Betacam and all its variants could rewind a Betacam small tape (the same as a Betamax tape) of the L-500 length (a BCT-20 (20 minute record time) in far less time. Of course one can’t compare a $160,000 HDCAM SR broadcast VTR with a home VCR, but clearly the “C” wrap was used in all broadcast Beta/HDCAM formats because it is superior to the M wrap although in Sony’s “Professional” Betacam series VTRs used a M wrap because it was obviously cheaper. On newer much smaller portable and table top Betamax series VCRs Sony had to make the tape wrap much more compact than the “C” wrap. In doing so Sony basically flipped that C wrap 180 degrees and some of the tape guides retracted under the threading ring. These reverse C wrap threading mechanisms were definitely less durable than the VHS M wrap.
@@fred36956 Agreed. But that doesn't change the fact that at the end of the 70s, in the cheap of course for those times M load video recorders had fewer elements, a simpler tape path and required a slightly less advanced production infrastructure. It was therefore cheaper to produce and generated a lower cost of obtaining high mechanical reliability with mass production spread over many manufacturers. . Which Beta made up for but too late. VHS not only gained an advantage after 1977 but also thanks to this gained an advantage and at the beginning it got cheaper faster without a glaring deterioration in the quality of VCR production. Which then ended up in service less often and were a bit cheaper to repair. Difficulties in reducing costs and immediately obtaining high reliability contributed greatly although they were not the only reason for the failure of the European Video 2000 system, in theory better in some aspects even than Beta which was also fixed too late. Although Philips used M load and Grundig C load decks in it. Not only that, but also thanks to its simplicity, VHS had already achieved the most favorable ratio of quality (well, less the image) to price and production costs in the early 80s, and no home VCR system has ever outdone it in this respect. And this was an important element of its success.
This was a very interesting one. Thank you!
Love it, Jeff
Consumers always choose convenience over quality. This is why MP3 was chosen over SACD and DVD Audio. This is why streaming movies is preferred to owning superior quality physical media 4k discs.
Mp3 was never competing with audiophile formats like sacd and dvd audio, they are in a totally different league and targeted at other audience.
Streaming movies can be done for free at very acceptable quality, hard to compete with that.
A perfect example of survival of the fittest. It's not which one was the higher quality technology, it's which one was adopted by the consumer.
Back in the day, my choice was for Beta over VHS. There were three setting for the Beta. Beta 1, 2, 3. I preferred the Beta 2 version as the tape could be used for recording two hours with a Beta 500 tape. Sadly the VHS won out so I had to adapt.
Still have a Betamax and VHS in full working order, hooked up in my mancave. Composite video into a nice 60cm CRT. Actually the VHS is a VHS/DVD recorder combo, that might be via hdmi.
But regardless, both formats look great on that tv. I watched Empire Strikes Back, from a new VHS tape the other night. Looked very good. Was it 4K quality? Of course not. But not everything has to be pristine like that. And I’m a big 4K collector. But I never shy away from those old formats. Have a Laserdisc and CED player hooked up in there as well. Takes me back to a different time (I’m 54).
Quite often I’ll come across some old WWF vhs from the 80s/90s. Still a lot of fun to be had with these old formats.
8:47
Beautiful!
Oh, informative video, I was distracted by the beauty of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
😊
Love the video essays!
Do lazerdisc next. This was a fantastic video
Greta video! I love these deep dives. I have a small Betamax collection.
Maybe Beta tapes were limited on recording time (initially) but eventually tapes were sold that you could record up to 5 hours (sometimes 3 movies). But a VHS tape was released that you could record 8 hrs (4 movies) and i THINK there was even a 12 hr tape if recorded at the really slow/terrible resolution speed. I used to have a Betamax and all the original Star Trek episodes. I also had a Amiga 500 and a HD DVD player. Life hates me.😢
Great video. I still have my betamax and VHS and my laser disc player and my vintage super 8mm projector. Thank you for the throwback video. 👍
The better product doesn't always win. LCD vs plasma
Sony weren't the only manufacturers,
Toshiba,Sanyo,nec, and a few more also made them.
great video, I grew up in this era and it's weird hearing it called Betamax though.....back then everyone just called it Beta
Jeff, have you considered making a vsh vs laser disc video? There are some places that still support laser disc. One of the old video stores that I used to go to alot when I was a kid even allows renting for a laser disc player which requires a security deposit and the price is reasonable. I'm still looking for a place that supports mini disc since some retro stores that I go to still sells mini discs and casette tapes. I'm a huge fan of retro stuff and fiio is already selling the fiio cp13 portable cassette player on amazon that was originally designed from sony engineers 30 years ago. The portable fiio cassette player has usb c just for charging only and the usb c does not support usb c for external devices and there is no support for bluetooth since it's completely old school in the modern era. I wonder what it would be like to record 6 hours like vhs tapes like for movies and tv shows but in the 4k format.
Great Video! One small correction though, Sony didn't buy Columbia until 1989 when the home video format war was basically over.
True. They were still closely connected and that must have played into it
Columbia never gave Beta special preference. All the major studios were still making Beta releases of their films well into the nineties. Mission Impossible and Jurassic Park were both released on Beta.
@@ReachForTheSkyVideo did not see any beta movies in rental stores anymore in the 90's.
Hi Jeff here in Sydney we got our first Pansonic (actually it was a National Pansasonic VCR here in the very early 80s. A little while later my dad brought home the Panasonic NV-180 Porta Pak deck with camera.Took this bulky set up with me to airshows etc. I thoght I was the best!
Amazing video. Missed this
More to come!
Can you do the home video history of the movie Twister since it’s coming out on 4k this year and its sequel?
These videos are so interesting and great fun.
Glad you like them!
BASF had manufactured a T-200 VHS tape (non S-VHS). At the EP slowest speed one could record 10 hours on a T-200 tape.
Beta was better !
Laserdisc was better than both 😜
I like Betamax but that’s just me that’s how I originally managed to watch Star Wars a new Hope because I had it recorded from ITV (channel in the UK)
@@Eva_H
Yeah but it was way more expensive and you can’t record onto Laserdisc which was the main sticking point with it.
Nah, VHS had longer recording times, easier to produce decks and was more affordable.
@battra92 it was about picture quality....which beta had
@@jonsingle1614 Another 13 lines of picture quality sounds insignificant to make any difference. S-video however makes a difference.
In Europe there was a 3rd format, Video 2000 from Philips. It didn’t catch on!
Good video and ironically my Sony VHS recorder is still going strong.
Columbia was not owned by Sony at the time of the VHS vs Betamax war. I believe it was owned by coca-cola in a good part of the 80s. Sony did not take over Columbia until 1989 well after Sony had lost the format war.
First thing i recorded in 1981 on our Betamax was Rainbow, UK people will know what that is 😅. Always remember going to the video rental and seeing limited Beta movies, untill we got a shop called Betas Best, 100% Beta across from our school. The blanks were a different thing, i remember 1 hour 5 minutes 2 hour 10 minutes and 3 hour 15 minute tapes
Great programme
I was born in 1980, I thought vhs came out first, interesting
What about Super VHS or S-VHS as it was known?
Sony lost the 1st round(VHS vs BETA) but won the 2nd (HD vs Blu-ray)!
You could record 4 hours with beta 3 speed, so it could record a whole 2 average length movies. So beta could record for 4 hrs while the average ep vhs could for 6. But certain VHS could record for 8 or even 9. Also, BetaMAX was almost never used commercially, although betaCAM was. Many people think betacam and Betamax are the same but they are completely different formats. So Betamax was a failure in any market
Darn, I’m still not sure which one to buy.🤔
@ Jeff Russo great video but JVC did go away quietly the mad one last push with DVHS D-THEATER digital tape using MPEG 2 1080i resolution it was great it blew DVD out of the water but ant the end of the day it’s still tape . Laserdisc players a big part as well.
So I also grew up in this era. The funny thing is, traditionally, the format that wins is the one the Porn industry embraces. I understand how messed up that is but go look it up. J.
Beta is the best hands down !!!
I still own both formats in spite I have got DVD,Blu Ray,Ultra HD 4 K and Streaming,one does not have to cancel the other,exterminate is for prejudiced people.
Yes do vinyl records vs cds
hi there's still alot of betacam gear a round that is still working ace you are right about pro gear
love the sony A500p decks my mate has a 950 i have 10 A500P still working ok
vhs the M load they called it the only place is for ADAT recorders now note alot of them around i all ways offered them all the time
yes i had a vhs as well till i go in betacam
I had both formats starting with beta
Nice video
The Beta max with the 4 head player had a better picture quality, but eventually the vhs was just as good, but you jad to use them 2 hour recording speed..........