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| Media type | Magnetic cassette tape, 1⁄2-inch |
|---|---|
| Encoding | NTSC, PAL, SECAM |
| Capacity | Up to 5 hours |
| Read mechanism | Helical scan |
| Write mechanism | Helical scan |
| Standard | 525 lines, 625 lines |
| Developed by | Sony |
| Dimensions | 15.6 × 9.6 × 2.5 cm (61⁄7 × 33⁄4 × 1 inch) |
| Usage | Home movies, Home video |
| Extended to | Betacam |
| Released | May 10, 1975 |
| Discontinued | Recorders discontinued August 2002; Blank cassettes discontinued March 2016 |
Betamax (also known as Beta, as stylized in its logo) is a consumer-level analog video recording and cassette format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war against its primary rival, VHS. Betamax was introduced in Japan on May 10, 1975,[1] and launched in the United States later that year.
Betamax was widely regarded, in part due to Sony's marketing, as offering superior picture quality compared to VHS. Its initial β1 speed provided 250 horizontal lines of resolution, compared to VHS's 240 lines, but early Beta tapes were limited to 60 minutes of recording time, making them impractical for recording movies or sporting events. To address this, Sony introduced the β2 speed, which doubled recording time to two hours but reduced resolution, negating its technical advantage.
VHS's commercial success over Betamax was also driven by JVC's strategy of licensing the format broadly, spurring competition and lowering prices among manufacturers. In contrast, Sony initially resisted licensing Beta, limiting its market reach. By the late 1980s, Betamax’s decline was evident, and in 1988 Sony tacitly acknowledged defeat when it announced it would add VHS models to its VCR lineup.
Despite losing the format war, Sony continued producing Betamax recorders until August 2002 and sold blank Beta cassettes until March 2016, marking the end of the format’s commercial lifespan.[2][3]
- ^ McDonald, Paul (August 6, 2007). Video and DVD Industries. British Film Institute. p. 33. ISBN 9781844571673. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "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] - ^ Cite error: The named reference
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