Fascinating little clip even for those of us who remember. I was on 2nd shift so we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
OMG, I remember our Betamax machine and it looked just like that one in the article. Bloody amazing machine!
Fondest memory was having a Betamax tape with Forbidden Planet on one side and then Blazing Saddles on the other. As a nipper I knew ALL the dialogue from both films off by heart. The Id monster used to give me the heebie jeebies, whilst Mungo had me in stitches. Strangest double-bill you can think off, but…ah, the memories!
But on the subject of a successful product, its a shame. Sometimes the better performing product isn’t quite enough to get the majority onboard. Blu-Ray is a good example of this, as although it has done well to stick around for so long, its not taken over from DVDs as everyone expected. Apart from “better quality”, Blu-Ray was far too expensive for the majority of customers: bloody expensive players(The PS3 was pure face-palm), a new HD TV was required, a new cable and the Blu-Ray films themselves were frigging expensive compared to normal DVDs. At a time of economic difficulty - many people fearing for their jobs - it was poorly timed.
There were other issues with Blu-Ray, but hell, I suppose its best to remain on topic which is Betamax. Sigh, its such a tragedy that there should be a song about it by The Buggles. Speaking of other victims of the progress of technology…
Both of them were a technical solution in search of a problem – which never found it. Beta was an obviously-better video format that didn’t need better, except in broadcasting. Blu-Ray is a better way to store video on discs in a world that wants to dispense with discs entirely and store everything on the Internet and hard drives. And, both of them forgot the retail reality of “shelf space.” There was no room for competition between what the retail store owner (and the customer) would merely perceive as “two versions of the same thing.”
I was an HD guy until Sony had more money to push Blu ray. sadface.