I remember when Betamax came out, before the format wars became something we all worried about. Mine cost almost $1,000, had a wired remote, and those giant piano keys for controls. Depending on the year, that’s roughly $5,500 to $6,200 in today’s money. It was a serious purchase!
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But being able to record television and watch it when I wanted felt incredible. Before that, the television schedule pretty much decided your evening. Miss something, and you could only hope it would come around again.
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Sony introduced Betamax in 1975 and called this freedom “time-shifting.” The early machines recorded only an hour per tape, but even that opened up possibilities we hadn’t had before. This early commercial captures that feeling of bringing a little magic into the living room.
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Then a video store opened about ten miles away, and I thought it was the best thing going! Imagine being able to go pick out a movie, bring it home, and watch it on your own television. Today that sounds ordinary. Back then, it was something to get excited about.
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VHS eventually won the format war, but Betamax lasted longer than many people realize. Sony kept making recorders until 2002 and shipping blank Beta tapes until 2016.
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I remember the excitement of what that machine let me do more than which format eventually won. Did you start with Betamax or VHS, and do you remember your first trip to a video store?
