Re:Apple Vision Pro developer kit
by s4i on Monday July 24, 2023 @02:24PM
(#36852261)
That is not why Betamax failed. There was porn on beta. Betamax failed because the cassettes didn’t hold as much tape as VHS and JVC’s licensing model for recorders was cheaper and more straightforward than Sony’s. In the rental market, the format with slightly less friction was a bit more popular each year, which sealed the deal by the mid-80s.
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Plus, when Beta made alterations to fit more on a tape (extended play modes to use the VHS term), the quality dropped to close to VHS levels, so the advantage was gone.
Even then, VHS could do the same thing, drop quality more, and fit EVEN MORE on a tape.
It seems pretty clear to me, ignoring licensing which was a huge issue, that beta was designed for recording TV shows while VHS also had movies in mind.