Betamax

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Betamax
Media typeMagnetic cassette tape, ½-inch
EncodingNTSC, PAL, SECAM
CapacityUp to 5 hours
Read mechanismHelical scan
Write mechanismHelical scan
Standard525 lines, 625 lines
Developed bySony
Dimensions15.6 × 9.6 × 2.5 cm
(61⁄7 × 33⁄4 × 1 inch)
UsageHome movies, Home video
Extended toVHS
ReleasedMay 10, 1975;
49 years ago (1975-05-10)
DiscontinuedRecorders discontinued August 2002; 22 years ago (2002-08);
Blank cassettes discontinued March 2016; 8 years ago (2016-03)

Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975,[1] followed by the US in November of the same year.

Betamax is widely considered to be obsolete, having lost the videotape format war[2] which saw its closest rival, VHS, dominate most markets.[3] Betamax tapes initially had higher quality images over VHS if recorded at the base β1 speed (However, the speed was rarely offered on Beta VCRs manufactured after 1979, as the recording time of β1 on a standard Betamax tape was only 1 hour. Sony removed the β1 speed in favor of the slower speeds to closer compete with VHS’s base 2 hour record time. Because of this, the image quality advantage of Betamax over VHS was essentially removed throughout most of the format war).

Despite this, Betamax recorders continued to be manufactured and sold until August 2002, when Sony announced that they were discontinuing production of all remaining Betamax models. Sony continued to sell blank Betamax cassettes until March 2016.[4][5]

  1. ^ McDonald, Paul (August 6, 2007). Video and DVD Industries. British Film Institute. p. 33. ISBN 9781844571673. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  2. ^ "Betamax". Pcmag.com. December 1, 1994. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  3. ^ Owen, Dave (2005). "The Betamax vs VHS Format War" (video). Mediacollege.com. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  4. ^ "Beta Video Cassette and Micro MV Cassette Tape End of Shipment Announcement". Sony Japan (in Japanese). Sony. November 10, 2015. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015. ソニーは2016年3月※をもって、ベータビデオカセットおよびマイクロMVカセットの出荷を終了いたします [..] ※ 需要状況によっては予定時期以前に終了する場合もあります。 [Sony will discontinue shipping of beta video cassettes and micro MV cassettes as of March 2016 [..] Depending on the demand situation, it may end before the scheduled time]
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc_discont was invoked but never defined (see the help page).