Betamax

Sony's ?etamax is the 12.7 mm (0.5 inch) home videocassette tape recording format derived from the earlier, professional 19.1 mm (0.75 inch) U-matic video cassette format. Like the video home recording system VHS introduced by JVC in 1976, it had no guard band, and used azimuth recording to reduce cross-talk. The "Betamax" name is said to derive from the Japanese phrase beta gaki (raw + write), however, as a pun, the designed trademark incorporated the Greek letter "beta"; Sanyo marketed its version as the "Betacord", but it, too, was referred to as "Beta". As well as Sony and Sanyo, Betamax video recorders were also sold by Toshiba, Pioneer, Aiwa and NEC. The Zenith Electronics Corporation and WEGA Corporations contracted with Sony to produce VCRs for their product lines. Department Stores like Sears in the US and Quelle in Germany sold Beta format VCRs under their house brands as did the Radio Shack chain of electronic stores. Sony introduced the Betamax home video system in 1975. The format failed to gain significant market share and was nearly completely replaced by VHS.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sony: Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) , is a global consumer electronics corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. It is currently one of the world's largest producers of consumer electronics and is one of the biggest corporations in Japan....

Videocassette: redirect Videotape...

U-matic: U-matic is the name of a videocassette format developed by Sony in 1969. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various open-reel formats of the time....

Betamax related Images and Photos (experimental)

Betamax Style SATA HD Case