Betamax Video, 1980s

One of history’s losers! A local resident donated this video recorder to the museum service in November 2006. It will forever be remembered for losing the video ‘format’ wars in the 1980s.

Video has revolutionised how we watch television. The ability to record has meant that we can now choose when and how often we want to watch a television programme. More recently the successor to video, digital TV allows viewers even more options to watch programmes when it suits us.

In the 1980s, the two main formats were Betamax made by Sony, and VHS developed by JVC. They went head to head to dominate the market.

It was Betamax quality verses VHS quantity.

VHS won because video recorders were very expensive to buy (over £1000 in today’s money) so many homes rented a machine instead of risking buying one. VHS ones were easier to get and there was also a larger choice of VHS movies to rent at video shops.

By the late 1980s, more than 80% of households with a video recorder owned a VHS machine, and in 1988, Sony started to make VHS themselves.

2006 has marked the start of a new format war for the digital age. Two new digital recording formats have been launched: Blu-ray, once again made by Sony and more expensive than rival format HD-DVD, developed by Toshiba.

Will Sony win this time?