Betamax vs VHS: The Battle for Home Video Tapes
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2024
- Betamax and VHS were the first two mainstream home video formats, and they would battle it out for home video dominance throughout the 1970s and 1980s in a serious effort to own living rooms across the world!
Each tape had its own pros and cons, market strategies, and studio support that would shape the home entertainment market for years to come. And the loser might have stuck around a lot longer than you thought…
Join me for a deep dive into the first home video format war in this episode of Home Video History!
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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.
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.
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.
You should do a video on the history of Laserdisc - a format well ahead of it's time.
You should make a video about a format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD
He did.
th-cam.com/video/-OZjdZZnuAg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dsn5QWqLgQJzffCc
He did.
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
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 😂
Loving it! Thanks for the history session.
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.
Thanks for making this video- great history lesson on another format war!
Amazing video essay, Jeff. Very informative and nostalgic. Thank you for putting it out.
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.
More segments like this please.
Awesome! maybe one for laserdisc too
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."
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!
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 ❤
Loving these new videos
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.
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.
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?
This was a very interesting one. Thank you!
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.
Excellent mini documentary brilliant ❤❤❤
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
Love the video essays!
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.
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.
Sony did not by Columbia Pintures until 1989.
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.
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!
There's a big mistake in the video, about Columbia pictures, sony bought them only in 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. 👏🏽👏🏽
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. 👍
8:47
Beautiful!
Oh, informative video, I was distracted by the beauty of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
😊
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.
It’s always the format that holds more space which wins.
6:07 Ain’t no way one of the biggest reasons VHS succeeded was because of gooners. 💀
Very interesting visit down memory lane. I grew up during the Betamax and VHS hey days. That was the start of the video rentals.
Love it, Jeff
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.
Amazing video. Missed this
More to come!
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.
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.
Greta video! I love these deep dives. I have a small Betamax collection.
I had a huge pile of VHS tapes back in the day. It was mostly for recording wrestling shows during the Attitude Era.
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.
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.😢
These videos are so interesting and great fun.
Glad you like them!
The better product doesn't always win. LCD vs plasma
Great programme
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.
Sony weren't the only manufacturers,
Toshiba,Sanyo,nec, and a few more also made them.
Had both machines and formats. Tapes were expensive. 10-20 dollars apiece. Good for recording shows when you weren’t home.
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.
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 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.
Do lazerdisc next. This was a fantastic video
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.
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.
Can you do the home video history of the movie Twister since it’s coming out on 4k this year and its sequel?
@ 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.
Wasn't the Beta-format used by professional studios Betacam instead of Betamax? Similiar tape, but not 1:1 compatible standard...
The format war that started it all!
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.
great video, I grew up in this era and it's weird hearing it called Betamax though.....back then everyone just called it Beta
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.
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.
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.
Nice video
Yes do vinyl records vs cds
VHS 📼 is much better. 😀👍📼
Darn, I’m still not sure which one to buy.🤔
I was born in 1980, I thought vhs came out first, interesting
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..........
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.
Sony lost the 1st round(VHS vs BETA) but won the 2nd (HD vs Blu-ray)!
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
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.
What about Super VHS or S-VHS as it was known?
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.
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.
I had both formats starting with beta
funny how even the winner eventually lost and then that winner (DVD) is still king but is having to fight 2 other formats now🤣. also goes to show nothing lasts forever whether you win a war or not, a lot of governments could take a lesson from this
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.
Beta is the best hands down !!!
Vhs i love the horror franchise ❤❤
I was so gungho for beta.
Beta was way better but Joe Q. Public wants cheap. That’s why DVD is killing Blu ray and 4K. Also people settle for soundbars and tv speakers. Sad
It’s not sad, it lost fair and square. VHS was more robust and was superior in recording times at every stage, that wins it outright. Why should people spend more money for something that only gives a negligible benefit in picture quality?
I wouldn’t expect people to care so much about sound to the point of purchasing a whole system over a sound bar or picture quality to the point of re-purchasing films that they already had on DVD. You can only expect the average consumer to go so far. If you don’t cater the mainstream product for them, you lose. You either target a niche market like Laserdisc or Ultra HD Blu-ray or you target mainstream like VHS, DVD, and streaming services. Betamax didn’t do either.
@@qasimmir7117 said no home theatre enthusiast ever. I upgrade my phone and computers because I want the best. I would much rather watch movies at home with the best reproduction possible.
That format war is laughable compared to today's standards.
Always buy the losing format player and sell them for a fortune 30 years later 🤑
Or purchase them after they’ve lost so that they are dirt cheap. Like HD-DVD. High definition films and TV shows for 50p a pop.😜
Inferior & superior are subjective terms. You need to clarify what is superior or inferior. VHS was the superior system, if consumers prized playtime.
Also, a few other systems were released around the same time, like Sanyo's V-Cord & V-Cord 2 systems.
Betamax also had one major disadvantage over VHS: when rewinding the tape, Betamax machines kept the tape wound around the player's head. VHS dud not. Thus Betamax tapes & players were subjected to more wear & tear than their VHS counterparts.
Betamax didn't just go away; Sony kept making tapes till about 10 years ago. And a modified version, Betacam, was used in TV studios for decades. They may still use digital versions today, tho I'd have to check on that.
VHS was more robust and was superior in recording times at every stage, that wins it outright. Why should people spend more money for something that only gives a negligible benefit in picture quality?
I wouldn’t expect people to care so much about sound to the point of purchasing a whole system over a sound bar or picture quality to the point of re-purchasing films that they already had on DVD. You can only expect the average consumer to go so far. If you don’t cater the mainstream product for them, you lose. You either target a niche market like Laserdisc or Ultra HD Blu-ray or you target mainstream like VHS, DVD, and streaming services. Betamax didn’t do either.
I'm sorry, but this video contains quite a lot of misinformation.
Betamax wasn't used in the professional world as an archival format. Instead Sony used the cassette shell of Betamax tapes and created the Betacam format. Later followed by Betacam SP and Digi Beta (amongst others). Apart from the shell these were completely different video formats, which couldn't even play a Betamax recording.
Then you claim that only Sony manufactured Betamax machines, which isn't true. Even in your own video you show a Sanyo Betamax VCR. It is true that Sony wasn't as forthcoming as JVC when giving other manufacturers a license to produce Betamax VCRs, but there were machines by other brands (Sanyo, Toshiba, Fisher etc.)
Likewise you stuck with the 90 minutes recording time for Beta. But Sony quickly introduced Beta II and Beta III speeds to increase the recording capacity (just as JVC did with the EP recording mode).
And of course prices for Betamax VCRs did drop as well and didn't remain at a $1000. That's pure economics of scale, as the manufacturing ramped up in the 80s.
And don't get me started on the Porn-Myth. The adult industry delivers to its consumers on any format they prefer. And there was porn on Betamax (even on LaserDisc).
There are many more errors in this video and you should re-edit it after doing thorough research.
This video isn't a good source if you want to learn about the format war.
The specs were all from launch time, the start of the war. Most of the “war” was over by the time they changed the specs up. Same with the licensing.
@@JeffRauseo So by that logic a VHS VCR was $200 at launch?
Sorry, that is just not true. VCRs in the 70s were expensive items.
And if you refer to your data as "all from launch time" then VHS should be at 2 hours recording time.
LP and EP were introduced later. Just as Beta II and Beta III.
VHS had longer play times at launch. That’s just a fact. If the numbers are off then fine, but it was still a major factor.
There you go, look at all those positive comments. Good Job!
This video is full of so many errors.
Can you elaborate? I’d love to learn more. It’s hard doing all the research on your own, you’re bound to miss something.
@@JeffRauseo Third try now. Find Ray King Glasser.
What?
One big glaring error is the recording time. The L-500 tape could record up to 3 hours, the L-750 up to 4.5 hrs, and the L-830 up to 5 hrs using the Betamax III recording speed (similar to how VHS had multiple recordings speeds).
@@chillindylan6497but was that available at launch?
In 1980's all porn was on VHS!
It was cheaper. Hence reached more consumers.
Absolutely untrue. There was plenty of porn on Beta