Betamax Is Finally Discontinued

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Robin

Robin

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Today Sony has officially killed Betamax. They have been supporting the format since 1975 and will now stop producing tapes.

lv1901p.jpg


It was and still is widely used in the professional market in small TV stations and in emerging countries.

There goes my hope of a PS4 Betamax backwards compatibility add on :indiff:
 
If you had a Dad like mine then you knew this format well - my Dad was Betamax Man. It was a sensible choice; better quality and seemingly the videos were always in stock down at the video shop.

Sadly, Sony have finally discontinued their production of this cassette, it was undoubtedly far superior technologically if not socially.

BBC.

EDIT: Sorry mods, I genuinely didn't see @Robin's post! :)
 
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TenEightyOne
my Dad was Betamax Man.
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NO WAY! :eek:

Betamax Man.jpg


TenEightyOne
It was a sensible choice; better quality and seemingly the videos were always in stock down at the video shop. Sadly, Sony have finally discontinued their production of this cassette, it was undoubtedly far superior technologically if not socially.
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Yes it was the better format which is why it was used extensively in the professional market for video production and editing but it's price was what made it a tough sell to the consumer market. It's a bit like the market today where DVD's, a technology not even in the same generation, keeps outselling Blu Ray because it's cheaper. It might even outlive Blu Ray and sell alongside its successor (probably BD-XL).

One thing which was confusing was Video 8. It was basically a miniaturisation of Betamax and dominated the video camera market for decades. Maybe this was due to the dominance Sony had in the portable electronics market at the time.

Dennisch
I blame Porno.
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It has often embraced new formats way before everyone else and as a result has paved the way for format success. I'm sure you could download porn on the internet before you could even download music! :lol:
 
Robin.
Today Sony has officially killed Betamax. They have been supporting the format since 1975 and will now stop producing tapes.

lv1901p.jpg


It was and still is widely used in the professional market in small TV stations and in emerging countries.

There goes my hope of a PS4 Betamax backwards compatibility add on :indiff:
Click to expand...
Don't feel bad. Everyone knew the Xbox One, which is a VCR, would outsell an addon.
 
Naveek Darkroom
Don't feel bad. Everyone knew the Xbox One, which is a VCR, would outsell an addon.
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Seeing all the pictures of old videocassette recorders off the back of this news it really is comical how much the Xbox One looks like an early VCR. Make it Aluminium fronted with wood sides and it would fit right in :lol:
 
It should have been discontinued along time ago.

Sony has been claiming they are losing money, yet they are supporting a dead format.
 
RACECAR
Wait a minute. These were still made?
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First thought in my head was a bad Chris Rock joke.

I always heard these were better except in price than VHS, aaand as abusive to media as small children are, that would have been appreciated on the few cassettes I've owned in life as after a few viewings the picture quality started waning.

I WOULD be surprised, but I seem to recall something about the Dreamcast and it's support ending just a few years ago and I could swear I saw a Walkman cassette player in a store a short time back, so maybe supporting a product until grass is growing on the grave is something the Japanese companies do. God knows the American ones won't.
 
BKGlover
First thought in my head was a bad Chris Rock joke.

I always heard these were better except in price than VHS, aaand as abusive to media as small children are, that would have been appreciated on the few cassettes I've owned in life as after a few viewings the picture quality started waning.

I WOULD be surprised, but I seem to recall something about the Dreamcast and it's support ending just a few years ago and I could swear I saw a Walkman cassette player in a store a short time back, so maybe supporting a product until grass is growing on the grave is something the Japanese companies do. God knows the American ones won't.
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Wait a damn minute. The Dreamcast still had support? :confused: I thought it all stopped when they stopped selling the console.
 
BKGlover
I could swear I saw a Walkman cassette player in a store a short time back, so maybe supporting a product until grass is growing on the grave is something the Japanese companies do. God knows the American ones won't.
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They would if there was demand, and in Japan there's still big demand. Tech uptake in Japan is surprisingly low, I've dealt with Japanese companies whose reps have still sent faxes. Faxes! :D
 
BKGlover
I WOULD be surprised, but I seem to recall something about the Dreamcast and it's support ending just a few years ago and I could swear I saw a Walkman cassette player in a store a short time back
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The Sega Master System is still produced today, in Brazil. You can still buy it brand new off-the-shelf. At 29 years it is the longest-lived games console.
 
BKGlover
I saw a Walkman cassette player in a store a short time back, so maybe supporting a product until grass is growing on the grave is something the Japanese companies do. God knows the American ones won't.
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You gotta love Sony for beating a dead horse for decades. This was their last ever cassette Walkman....

sony-walkman-wm-gx788-lpa.jpg


Is funny how it literally looks like they have bolted new technology all over it to keep it alive :lol: Mutton dressed as lamb.
 
Sony is stupid.

They claim their mobile phone section is losing money, then sony release a MP3 player worth $1,100 and say it is for audiophiles.
They keep old tech alive.

I will give them credit, they have made some amazing tech.
They made a digital cassette tape back in the 90s that was about the size of a postage stamp.

 
I never got to see Betamax only VHS, I remember those days trying to watch some p... err... I mean movie and then hearing this awful noise, having the picture go all crazy due to the VCR "swallowing" the tape (no pun...). Hated that. Did that happen with Betamax as well?
 
Grayfox
Sony is stupid.

They claim their mobile phone section is losing money, then sony release a MP3 player worth $1,100 and say it is for audiophiles.
They keep old tech alive.
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Did you read the article I posted about Japan's tech-habits? Just because they're inventing things doesn't mean they're using them. Also, I just finished reading Lord Sugar's book, one of the interesting things about Japanese developers is how much they do purely for UK/US markets rather than their own.
 
Grayfox
They claim their mobile phone section is losing money, then sony release a MP3 player worth $1,100 and say it is for audiophiles.
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That is actually a smart move because audiophiles will pay much more than $1000 bucks for premium portable audio tech. Sony's ones are considered budget models compared to stuff from Astell & Kern for example.
 

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