Videotape Format War (jan 1, 1970 – jan 1, 1989)
Description:
-The videotape format war was a period of intense competition or format war of incompatible models of consumer-level analog video videocassette and video cassette recorders.- The first consumer-grade VCR to be released was the Philips N1500 VCR format in 1972, followed in 1975 by Sony's Betamax. This was quickly followed by the competing VHS format from JVC.
-Subsequently, the Betamax–VHS format war began.
-While Betamax seemed to have the upper hand due to its superior recording, playback and sound quality, VHS machines were cheaper and would soon offer three-hour tapes.
-Before long, those three hours could be doubled to six using VHS’s long play setting, allowing people to record entire films and sporting events for the first time.
-A wider array of rental titles also began to appear on the VHS format as the Betamax section of the video store began to dwindle.
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 1970
jan 1, 1989
~ 19 years