Sony is finally killing Betamax

[nosweargamer]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/9/9703004/sony-is-finally-killing-betamax

 

Wow! I didn't realize they still made new Beta tapes.

 

My family didn't have a VCR growing up, but for a very short time, we did have an old, used Betamax player with a small selection of tapes.

 

The article also says that MicroMV tapes are also not longer going to be made.

[AlamoAtari]

I had no idea they were still around. I know that when I first joined the navy that the government would send out movies on bata max, maybe they got a deal or something. I assumed that in the advent of DVDs, that they were all distroyed.

 

Our family was one of the last people in my school to get a VCR, so we never even got into blockbuster. I didn't even go until I was dating my then girl friend, now the boss lady, that was way back in 1994. Time warp.

[Rowsdower70]

I'm surprised betamax was still a thing at all.  I know there are a few VHS holdouts.  

If one were to ever start a VHS collection, you can hit our local flea market and have thousands for pennies!

[AlamoAtari]

I was so surprised when I saw so many at a flea market. I have a feeling that they might come back into popularity like records did. At least someone looking to remaster some rare videos

[Arenafoot]

blank VHS tapes are becoming harder and harder to find in stores too.............

[PotatoBox]

Haha wut? They were still making these? I wanna buy some just to as a kool little collectable. Quite surprised they were still making these and people were still buying them. 

[The Professor]

Betamax has been an industry standard in broadcast television for decades, mostly due to its much higher quality picture at a relatively low cost. Until the 2000s a lot of local television stations were using Betacams to record local reporting etc. until digital began to take over and HDTV became standard. Betamax was popular in Japan where they consume a lot of programming that is shorter than regular movies, and Sony continued to make new Betamax recorders until 2002.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betamax

[- Ω -]

I have about 100 old VHS tapes stored in a closet taking up valuable space, but I just cannot seem to bring myself to get rid of them. I've watched them all at least a dozen times, but not in recent years.  

 

Now days people are even getting rid of DVD or BluRay and simply downloading what they want onto 3TB hard drives.  

[Bakerman]

I'm a big audio/videophile, but Betamax was one format I've never gotten into. mainly because it's harder to find stuff for it in the U.S. than even Laserdisc or CED. I also had no idea they were still making Betamax tapes, at least for any U.S. market, I guess I can see it overseas. I just saw VHS tapes in Walmart today when I was in an isle looking for photo quality paper and CDR labels for printing DVD covers and CDR labels for homebrew stuff, and I see them in Dollar General still too. I do still use VHS as I have a library of movies still in that format, and I like transfering stuff from my DVR to VHS just to have wide screen movies on VHS, it's fun to astonish people with wide screen VHS movies..."I didn't know you could have wide screen on VHS! OMG!" Seriously though, I do still use SUPER VHS for regular recording, since it's nearly as good as DVD. But I can only get S-VHS tapes on eBay any more.

 

I doubt I will ever get rid of any hard-copy movies, from CED/VHS to Blueray. I hate the idea of only streaming movies and on DVR's that crash and all is lost. Same with videogames. I have my share of downloaded games on my 360, due to convenience, but I still intend to get physical copies of every one of them once I find them in bargain bins or for a few bucks at game shops. I want total control over my library and only losing stuff because I wore them out. And I don't give a sh*t about the ability to re-download stuff from Xbox live, that will only last until they no longer support the system then they will leave you high and dry, believe you, me. I fear the day when all media is just digits in cyberspace and no one can own physical copies any more. What can we collect then? Unfortunately I see that day fast approaching. The latest gen of media may be the last with physical releases.

[LeeJ07]

Man, I thought Betamax was killed two decades ago...

[Arenafoot]

Man, I thought Betamax was killed two decades ago...

Me too!

[Bakerman]

I think it's just that sometimes we forget about less developed countries around the world who are/were still using obsolete-to-us formats long after we were. You can still buy video CD's (Philip's CD-i) online from across the pacific as it's still a relevent format there even today. I have Star Trek and Star Wars Trilogy box sets I watch on my DC with a VCD player and a DVD player that reads the format.

 

What do think first-world nations do with all their overstock of obsolete tech? They ship them to sell in 2nd and 3rd world nations!

[PotatoBox]

I think it's just that sometimes we forget about less developed countries around the world who are/were still using obsolete-to-us formats long after we were. You can still buy video CD's (Philip's CD-i) online from across the pacific as it's still a relevent format there even today. I have Star Trek and Star Wars Trilogy box sets I watch on my DC with a VCD player and a DVD player that reads the format.

 

What do think first-world nations do with all their overstock of obsolete tech? They ship them to sell in 2nd and 3rd world nations!

Video CD is still popular? I would think the fact that DVD's are so darn cheap nowadays to produce I would think that would take over. Infact, I even think that blank CD-R's cost more to buy than DVD-R's the last time I checked.

[StormSurge]

I dabbled with collecting HD DVD's (picked up 2 of the HD DVD players for the 360 when they were £25 new) never got very far....

 

But have started snapping up UMD movies etc on PSP :-)

 

I jumped on board the HD DVD train early too. Oops! Thankfully I only have a handful.