How Sony's Betamax lost to JVC's VHS Cassette Recorder
- Thread starter joeinid
- Start date
Dizzie
Well-known member
I think the video left out one extremely important point. Sony and proprietary empire building. Did any other company build Betamax machines and tape? I had several VCRs of different brands and could buy tape from different manufacturers.
They did the same thing essentially with SACD and the DuoPro memory for Sony cameras. I can use SDC cards in many cameras and other devices. If you don't play nice with others they will leave you out of their club.
They did the same thing essentially with SACD and the DuoPro memory for Sony cameras. I can use SDC cards in many cameras and other devices. If you don't play nice with others they will leave you out of their club.
Shadowfax
Well-known member
Yes, Dizzie is correct. The main difference was that VHS Machines were cloned and built by any MFG. Sony did not sell the rights for any other MFG to produce Beta Clones. The second thing that was not helpful was the shorter length of recording time. But, even after consumer beta faded away, didn't most news agencies and similar continue to use the Pro Beta?
I sold my SLF75 Hi-Fi Beta Machine still working about 2 years ago. I still have 11 blank tapes I have been trying to sell and I also still have the original Demo Tape that came with it.
The sound quality of Beta was far superior to VHS as it used more tape (Beta Tape is wider than VHS) with for the audio band. Long before Mix Tape (cassettes) were a thing, I was making 5 hour Music Mixes on the Beta.
It is interesting how he leads us to believe that the very first models of each machine were of any determining factor in what happened many years later. He should have given just a little more history and details, but I get that all he was trying to say was what his last sentence was....First to market is not always the winner. Is Sony hurting today because of it all? Is JVC any further ahead of Sony?
My Brother in law actually had one of those JVC units before the crowd. It was a monster.
I sold my SLF75 Hi-Fi Beta Machine still working about 2 years ago. I still have 11 blank tapes I have been trying to sell and I also still have the original Demo Tape that came with it.
The sound quality of Beta was far superior to VHS as it used more tape (Beta Tape is wider than VHS) with for the audio band. Long before Mix Tape (cassettes) were a thing, I was making 5 hour Music Mixes on the Beta.
It is interesting how he leads us to believe that the very first models of each machine were of any determining factor in what happened many years later. He should have given just a little more history and details, but I get that all he was trying to say was what his last sentence was....First to market is not always the winner. Is Sony hurting today because of it all? Is JVC any further ahead of Sony?
My Brother in law actually had one of those JVC units before the crowd. It was a monster.
Betamax was a superior format and was the professional editing choice.
The parallels drawn in the video above raise an interesting question in relation to the commercialisation of new technologies that is just good enough to create just in time demand to win out on standardisation.
Just good enough.....A paradigm of profit that is incompatible with hi-end hi-fi longer term.
Fast forward to today, the digital format that will ultimately prevail will be the one that is most compatible with the subscriber model. Not necessarily the best playback format, but the one that will prove to be the most profitable.
The future of media playback is software delivery onto mid-fi hardware.
Another example is HHO power generation technology. 71% of the Earth covered by freely accessible water. Yet we have regulated a society that prefers to profit from fire.
The parallels drawn in the video above raise an interesting question in relation to the commercialisation of new technologies that is just good enough to create just in time demand to win out on standardisation.
Just good enough.....A paradigm of profit that is incompatible with hi-end hi-fi longer term.
Fast forward to today, the digital format that will ultimately prevail will be the one that is most compatible with the subscriber model. Not necessarily the best playback format, but the one that will prove to be the most profitable.
The future of media playback is software delivery onto mid-fi hardware.
Another example is HHO power generation technology. 71% of the Earth covered by freely accessible water. Yet we have regulated a society that prefers to profit from fire.