betamax

Betamax is a consumer videocassette recording format developed by Sony and introduced in 1975. It uses a 1/2-inch magnetic tape housed in a compact cassette designed for home recording and playback.

Betamax competed with VHS, which was developed by JVC and released in 1976. Betamax offered high quality at launch, but VHS provided longer recording times and broader licensing, leading to greater market adoption.

Sony later expanded Betamax into professional derivatives, notably Betacam (1982) and Betacam SP (1986), which became standard in television production and news gathering for many years.

In consumer markets, Betamax gradually declined as VHS gained dominance; production of Betamax home recorders faded in the late 1980s, although Betamax technology continued in professional formats for some time.

Today Betamax is regarded as a historical home video format and a case study in the early videotape format wars; its influence persisted in professional broadcast formats and in the transition to digital video.