Why Sony's Beta Videotape System Failed--and failed hard (Part 1)

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The late 1970's and early 1980's were a frightening time to be a video enthusiast. Two formats are duking it out and trying to assert their dominance, and although Sony was first* to market with their Betamax machine, they were caught off guard by JVC's competing VHS system which, rather than focus on pedantic details like cassette design and technical perfection, strived to make a cheap, versatile format that worked.

This is part one of the story of the VHS and Betamax format war. Part two will be following shortly.

Part Two:

Was the quality of Beta really better?

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*Beta was the first consumer format to achieve somewhat widespread adoption. Other formats predated Beta, as discussed in the beginning of the video.

Image credits:

Cassette images:














U-Matic machine:

U-Matic Cassette:


Betamax ad:
VHS Hitachi Ad:
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