http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34776424

I heard about this on the radio yesterday and was surprised to learn they were still being produced.

Far superior to VHS and the Sony machines were much better quality wise than any Ferguson or Sharp we ever owned.

Only one I ever saw in person was in junior school.

I was also surprised they were still produced.

Only one I ever saw in person was in junior school.

I was also surprised they were still produced.

IIRC most schools back in the 80's plumped for the Philips Video 2000 system which was on a par, if not even better than Betamax (and more costly). You could even flip the tape over and play the other side like an audio cassette tape.

Only one I ever saw in person was in junior school.

I was also surprised they were still produced.

School- even in my last days all we got was projectors. Great for having a nap to, if alone , or OTHER things if not, hen left alone .

I heard about this on the radio yesterday and was surprised to learn they were still being produced.

Far superior to VHS and the Sony machines were much better quality wise than any Ferguson or Sharp we ever owned.

 

Ditto. I thought it disappeared totally 25yr ago.

 

We actually had one back around 82/83. Remote control had a wire and the whole machine was the size of a suitcase and weighed a ton. It had to get serviced every year with new belts.

There was no blockbuster etc so you rented videos from the local telly shop. Selection of maybe 100.

Edited 18 November, 201510 yr by Aspman

I may have it wrong but I'm sure they were still used for TV recording up until very recently.

 

I know the sound quality was better and the tape ran 15 mins longer than VHS.

 

Ten points if anyone can tell me why VHS won the format war in the 80's ??

I may have it wrong but I'm sure they were still used for TV recording up until very recently.

 

I know the sound quality was better and the tape ran 15 mins longer than VHS.

 

Ten points if anyone can tell me why VHS won the format war in the 80's ??

 

Because the format was adopted by the P**n industry?

 

As repeated in DVDs and Blu-ray I believe (although blu-ray may have had more to do with the fact it was packaged with the PS3)

Edited 18 November, 201510 yr by Thisday

Because the format was adopted by the P**n industry?

 

 

Give that man a C-gar 

 

Well done, now how many fingers am I holding up ??

Give that man a C-gar 

 

Well done, now how many fingers am I holding up ??

erm...3?

erm...3?

 

 

Good man just checking the eye sight as you seem too know a lot about the pr0n industry.

 

 

Until the broadcast guys switched to digital, they were one of the formats used.

 

That was a few years ago now though, so you can see why they're stopping.

Because the format was adopted by the P**n industry?

 

As repeated in DVDs and Blu-ray I believe (although blu-ray may have had more to do with the fact it was packaged with the PS3)

Sony also has a studio with Bond in the back catalogue, so were able to offer Blu-ray versions of a lot of popular films from the start, whereas Toshiba couldn't.

 

The early Bond films re-mastered for Blu-ray look very detailed and impressive (as does Connery's hair!).

re question in post #9,

Just watched the video and there where more than 3 fingers.

A lot of semi-pro video producers use/used Betamax due to its better video quality than VHS, so I am assuming that some parts of the world were still doing this until recently; China springs to mind due to the fact that VCDs are very popular and DVDs very rare, as Betamax edited film quality is still higher than VCD.(VCD makes VHS look pretty good).

I may have it wrong but I'm sure they were still used for TV recording up until very recently.

 

I know the sound quality was better and the tape ran 15 mins longer than VHS.

 

Ten points if anyone can tell me why VHS won the format war in the 80's ??

 

Betamax had a shorter recording time on the initial release - it was like 60m campared to 120m on the VHS.  They only caught up / exceeded VHS towards the end.

 

Initially, Sony didn't licence the technology to other companies whereas JVC sold the tech to anyone that wanted it, therefore VHS was a lot cheaper than Betamax due to economies of scale.  When Sony finally started licencing the tech, it was too late & VHS had stolen the bulk of market share where it mattered - North America.