So Long Sony Betamax Tapes

Sony will stop selling Betamax video cassettes in March 2016.

16:50 11 November 2015

Sony started selling Betamax tapes in 1975, but rival JVC's VHS cassette became the market leader after a long battle between the two brands.

 

"The reason VHS won out in the UK was that most people chose to rent their video machines in the early days and most of the rental chains were owned by Thorn EMI which made VHS machines under various names," commented Tony Miles, who used to work in a Sony store.

 

"Some independent chains rented both, but many people went for 'the same type as my friends' - so VHS triumphed."

 

The BBC still has Betacam in some of its archives but most broadcasters have stopped using them.

 

"It's sad when the consumables of a format dies because then you can never go back to it," said BBC video editor Pete Doherty.

 

"I remember watching Michael Jackson's Thriller on Betamax. It represents the time when we were just beginning to watch things on demand.

 

"If you missed a programme on TV before that, you just had to wait for the repeat.

 

"Having said that, I don't think many people will miss Betamax. I can't imagine there are many machines left to play them on."