Even though a small, but very loyal, clientele tried to keep BETA alive, it languished as a commercially viable home video format since the early 90's. As a result, after 27 years in use, Sony announced in 2002 that it was finally ceasing production of its consumer BETA format VCRs, while continuing its professional BETACAM and DigiBETA products. However, with the official death of consumer BETA, it is important to note (as I have reported earlier) that the days for VHS may be numbered as well. The traditional VCR won't be able to compete in the world of disc and hard-drive based video recording formats for long. Even JVC's D-VHS high definition VHS format may not survive for long if an inexpensive HD-DVD format arrives on the scene in a timely fashion.
The Home Video Recording Revolution
When SONY introduced the first practical home VCR in the form of the BETAMAX in 1975, a revolution began in television viewing that would change society forever.
BETA History Highlights:
--The first mainstream consumer video recording format (1975)
--The first Hifi stereo VCR (SL-5200)
--The first to offer freeze frame, visual forward and reverse scanning (BETASCAN)
--The first compact camcorder format (Betamovie: Sony BMC-110)
However, beyond these specific contributions, the introduction of BETA started the whole home video recording revolution.
First: There was time shifting--with the BETAMAX and later VHS VCRs, viewers could watch Charlie's Angels anytime they wanted; just record it (provided you could figure out how to set the timer!). Responding to consumer demands to make the VCR easier to program, innovations such as on-screen programming and VCR+ were developed which made the VCR even more convienent for the non-technically inclined to use. Despite early opposition by the movie and television studios, resulting in the famous BETAMAX case, home video recording could not be stopped.
Second: With the Movie Studios defeated in court in trying to stop home video recording, they decided to join the revolution by marketing films on video tape, giving rise to the video rental market. Small video rental stores starting popping up on the street corners, eventually giving rise to the video rental giants such as Blockbuster Video and Hollywood Video, offering movies that one could take home, view and then bring back to the store and make it available for someone else to view, very much like going to the library and checking out a book.
Third: With the advent of home video cameras and portable VCRs in the 80s the family no longer had to set up the movie projector and screen (as well as getting film developed), but could, with a primitive B&W video camera, record home movies and immediately watch them on TV. Out of this modest beginning, we now have a budding population of amateur videomakers, armed with state-of-the-art camcorders (which are basically miniaturized VCRs with lenses), showcasing their "work" on national TV programs such as America's Funniest Home Videos. In addition, the video camcorder has also made its way into film schools, businesses, and even law enforcement, as a tool for creativity, instruction, and documentation.
The VCR, as a result of its flexibility, has become one of the major home appliances that households worldwide can't do without. The VCR put home entertainment under the control of the viewer. For example, anyone with a HiFi VCR, TV, and modest stereo system, can create their own movie theater experience at home. As a result of this modest step, the VCR (along with the now-defunct Laserdisc format) has given rise to a whole range of home theater products.
Continue on to Page 2 - Beyond The VCR - By Clicking on the page link on the bottom right of this article page.
