Shows
Dead TechBetamax vs. VHS: Why Betamax lost the format warsIn the debut episode of Dead Tech, we explore the legendary showdown between Betamax and VHS. Despite being technically superior, Sony's Betamax lost the battle for dominance in home video. What went wrong? We’ll break down the key differences, the marketing strategies, and how VHS ultimately won the war. Join us as we uncover the forgotten story of Betamax and its place in the tech graveyard.
Support Us
2024-10-1307 min
Hypnotic HistoryE52: BetamaxThe first method for recording live television that sparked an infamous lawsuit with Disney and Universal Studios.
Instagram and More: https://linktr.ee/hypnotichistory
Sources:
“Betamax and VHS.” NYU Stern, 28 August 2002, https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~lcabral/teaching/betamax.pdf.
DeMain, Bill. “How Mister Rogers Saved the VCR.” Mental Floss, 7 June 2018, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/29686/how-mister-rogers-saved-vcr.
Elliott, Elaine. “5 Things You Might Not Know about BetaMax Tapes.” Kodak Digitizing, https://kodakdigitizing.com/blogs/news/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-betamax-tapes.
Gre...2024-04-1531 min
Failures Flops and FiascosBetaMax/Laser disc flopThere's a belly flop. There's also a betamax flop.
Williams, Nate (August 7, 2023) “The Real Reason Betamax Failed Spectacularly”. History Computer. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
Williams, Nate (August 7, 2023) “The Real Reason LaserDisc Failed Spectacularly”. History Computer. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
Weber, Jeff (January 4, 2021) “What is a Betamax (Beta) video cassette tape? Heirloom Cloud. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
2024-02-0727 min
What SCOTUS Wrote UsSony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. (1984) Copyright, Contributory Infringement, Betamax, Recording Broadcast TVAudio of the 1984 opinion of the Supreme Court in Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
Do you remember Sony Betamax?
Back in the 80s, Sony Corporation of America manufactured and sold the "Betamax" home video tape recorder (VTR). Since Universal City Studios owned the copyrights to many of the broadcast tv programs that consumers used Betamax to record, Universal sued Sony for copyright infringement - seeking monetary damages, an equitable accounting of profits, and an injunction against the manufacturing and marketing of the VTR's. The District Court ruled against Universal, holding that th...2022-12-111h 09
Product AgilityIs LeSS Betamax to SAFe's VHS - Ben Maynard Live From the LeSS Conference 2022Send us a textThis is the uncut version of the talk Ben gave at the LeSS conference 2022 in WarsawIs Large Scale Scrum (#LeSS) Betamax to #SAFe's VHS (or perhaps S&S LaserDisc)? Betamax was a videotape (remember those) format that was superior to its main competitor VHS. History tells us that the customers mainly cared about cost rather than image, sound and build quality and, to compound this, JVC (creators of the VHS format) allowed anyone, regardless of their manufacturing quality to create VHS machines. The result? VHS was increasingly affordable, proliferated and...2022-09-2238 min