WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.060 --> 00:00:05.180 Say it’s 1979 and you’ve just decided to blow two whole paychecks on one of these 00:00:05.180 --> 00:00:11.280 new fangled video cassette recorders. Congratulations on your life-changing decision! But now comes 00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:15.550 the time to ask yourself, which one should you buy??? Two systems are vying for your 00:00:15.550 --> 00:00:19.980 money, each packing their own set of unique features. A format war’s a brewin, how do 00:00:19.980 --> 00:00:24.269 you know which choice is the right one??? Since a startlingly large percentage of viewers 00:00:24.269 --> 00:00:28.740 may have never used or even seen a videocassette recorder, let’s just throw it in your face 00:00:28.740 --> 00:00:33.240 and make clear that we’re talking about the format war between VHS, the winner which 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:39.750 was released in 1976 and stayed relevant until around 2003, and Betamax, the loser which 00:00:39.750 --> 00:00:45.080 actually predated VHS by a year but became the butt of jokes by the late 1980’s. The 00:00:45.080 --> 00:00:49.550 format war between Beta and VHS is widely studied even today in business classes the 00:00:49.550 --> 00:00:54.280 world over. In this video, we’ll explore the history of the format war, and I’ll 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:59.350 be comparing two machines which were both on sale in 1979, and I think by the end you’ll 00:00:59.350 --> 00:01:02.970 be able to see why VHS left Beta in the dust 00:01:02.970 --> 00:01:07.929 Quick side notes--this video discusses the format war as it took place in the United 00:01:07.929 --> 00:01:12.670 States. As such, Philip’s excellent and revolutionary Video 2000 format, which never 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:17.619 made it to the US, is not being discussed. Beta was not the first consumer videocassette 00:01:17.619 --> 00:01:23.329 format--that title goes to Philips’ VCR format unless you count the professional U-Matic, 00:01:23.329 --> 00:01:27.760 but Phillips was ultimately unsuccessful. Betamax is regarded as the first consumer 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:30.080 format to achieve any sort of widespread success. 00:01:30.080 --> 00:01:33.240 Here we are. The pinnacle of modern engineering. 00:01:33.240 --> 00:01:37.480 You can even smell it. Trust me, these machines smell….groovy. On the left, we have an RCA 00:01:37.720 --> 00:01:45.440 VDT-600, a fully-featured VHS model built in Japan by the Matsushita corporation (the 00:01:45.459 --> 00:01:50.159 parent of Panasonic) under license from the Japan Victor Company, or JVC, the inventors 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:56.499 of VHS, and branded and sold by the Radio Corporation of America, or RCA. Pay attention 00:01:56.499 --> 00:02:00.889 to that jumbled mess of a who-built-it, because it will be important later. On our right, 00:02:00.889 --> 00:02:06.609 we have a Sony SL-5400, a high-end Betamax model (which came to be known simply as Beta) 00:02:06.609 --> 00:02:12.310 made in Japan by Sony, for Sony, and sold as a Sony. Glad we got that out of the way. 00:02:12.310 --> 00:02:16.400 So let’s start with a physical overview of these two machines. In the looks department, 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:21.680 I’d say this is kind of a tie. The Sony doesn’t exactly look sleek, in fact it looks 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:26.980 kind of like a giant brick. Very sharp edges, and very straight lines. But, it’s fit-and-finish 00:02:26.980 --> 00:02:32.040 is excellent, and the non-nonsense style almost makes it handsome. The clock is very clear 00:02:32.040 --> 00:02:36.269 and attractive, with a charming programming display, and the buttons are labeled on both 00:02:36.269 --> 00:02:41.510 the top and the edge. The RCA, on the other hand, looks a fair bit bulkier, but you could 00:02:41.510 --> 00:02:47.300 say more interesting. It’s sloping front allows the clock-timer to be seen from a top-down 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:52.799 view, and helps to minimise its bulky appearance. But the buttons are far clunkier, with weird 00:02:52.799 --> 00:02:58.000 color choices for their tops. RCAs decision to use mixed-case font for labeling makes 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:03.790 the machine appear perhaps a little less professional, but sort of gives it some modern-day charm. 00:03:03.790 --> 00:03:07.730 Tuning channels is accomplished on the RCA behind this front panel, where you’ll also 00:03:07.730 --> 00:03:12.610 find the tracking knob. Channel tuning on the Sony is done up top. See in these days, 00:03:12.610 --> 00:03:17.959 electronic tuners were hella expensive. So instead, VCR’s had either big-’ol knobs 00:03:17.959 --> 00:03:23.049 like this, or they’d have a series of tiny mechanical tuners each tied to a button. You’d 00:03:23.049 --> 00:03:26.739 pick which 14 or so channels you’d want to be able to record, and set them with these 00:03:26.739 --> 00:03:30.930 little switches and thumbwheels. Then you’d simply select between them with the buttons, 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:34.930 with each button corresponding to one of these doohickeys. Often the VCR would come with 00:03:34.930 --> 00:03:38.780 replacement inserts to label these with the actual channel numbers. 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:42.719 Sony gives you camera inputs on the front of the machine, but the audio input is strangely 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:47.950 a ⅛ inch audio jack rather than a standard plug. RCA gives you standard connections, 00:03:47.950 --> 00:03:53.879 but they are in back. Interestingly, the Sony machine has hardly any LEDs used in its design. 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:58.019 Apart from the timer programming display for tape length and this one little indicator, 00:03:58.019 --> 00:04:02.859 all of the lights are either small incandescent bulbs, or in the case of the channel indicators, 00:04:02.859 --> 00:04:07.870 tiny green fluorescent lamps, similar to the ordinary orange neon lamp you find in a power 00:04:07.870 --> 00:04:12.620 strip, but with a green phosphor coating the inside of the glass envelope. The RCA model, 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:17.239 on the other hand, makes extensive use of LEDs, the only incandescent bulb being located 00:04:17.239 --> 00:04:21.150 inside the cassette mechanism, working as part of the end-of-tape sensor. 00:04:21.150 --> 00:04:25.531 Let’s get all touchy-feely. When using these machines, there’s a clear winner in the 00:04:25.531 --> 00:04:30.440 ergonomics department. The Sony was obviously designed to make the operational experience 00:04:30.440 --> 00:04:36.700 a pleasant one. The power switch moves silently--no click here--but decisively with clear physical 00:04:36.700 --> 00:04:41.920 indentations between its positions. Each of the piano-key buttons is easy to press. And 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:45.440 when you press eject to raise the cassette tray, the machine seems to greet you with 00:04:45.440 --> 00:04:51.120 a fine, may I have your cassette, sir? When you lower the cassette into the machine, it 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:56.540 immediately makes the most anti-climactic sound in the history of ever, the sound coming 00:04:56.540 --> 00:05:00.930 from the action of threading the tape. See, Beta machines usually kept the tape threaded 00:05:00.930 --> 00:05:05.669 at all times, even during fast forwarding or rewinding, but there are exceptions, notably 00:05:05.669 --> 00:05:11.310 Sanyo built machines. Again, pressing play takes little force, and as the tape is already 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:16.080 threaded, you get a picture pretty quickly. 00:05:23.240 --> 00:05:28.120 Now here’s where the RCA machine starts to look bad. The power switch isn’t quite 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:33.490 so nice, no it’s not a bad switch, but not a satisfying one. It’s just a switch. The 00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:37.930 red LED lights up, and for those wondering why there’s an indicator for Dew, that’s 00:05:37.930 --> 00:05:42.440 because these early VCRs were often lugged around with a camera to record life’s precious 00:05:42.440 --> 00:05:47.830 moments, and RCA, I mean Matsushita, added a dew sensor to prevent operation of the machine 00:05:47.830 --> 00:05:53.410 if a cold VCR was brought into a warm, humid room, causing condensation to form on mechanical 00:05:53.410 --> 00:05:58.419 components. Pretty thoughtful, actually. Anyway, back to business. Pressing the eject button 00:05:58.419 --> 00:06:03.139 on this machine requires smashing your finger into the button like you smash X when playing 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:08.289 Gran Turismo 3. Once you’ve hurt your finger enough to actually release the tray, the machine 00:06:08.289 --> 00:06:14.750 says GIMME A TAPE! No money spent on dampers here, no sir. Lowering the 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:19.110 tape into the machine does, well, nothing. This machine won’t do a thing until you 00:06:19.110 --> 00:06:23.879 press a button. Get ready, cause that play button isn’t any easier to press. Once you’ve 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:28.080 jammed it in there, the machine then lazily threads the tape around the head drum, and 00:06:28.080 --> 00:06:31.560 eventually, you get a picture. 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:45.760 BUT, we can overlook minor inconveniences if it’s a more capable machine, right? Well, 00:06:45.760 --> 00:06:50.880 here’s where things start to get interesting. Sony was already forced to play catch-up in 00:06:50.880 --> 00:06:56.040 1979, and a lot of that had to do with the cassette itself. Speaking of, let’s have 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:57.470 a look at those. 00:06:57.470 --> 00:07:01.110 A VHS cassette is still a somewhat common sight, and you probably know what it looks like. 00:07:01.110 --> 00:07:02.460 Usually black, 00:07:02.460 --> 00:07:03.400 but not always!, 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:07.720 the cassette measures 187 mm wide, 103 mm deep, 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:11.980 and 25 mm thick. Two windows allow you to see the internal reels so you can see how 00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:15.759 much tape is on each reel, and thus you can tell roughly where you are along the length 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:22.229 of the of tape. A very utilitarian design, the cassette just is. Nothing fancy here. 00:07:22.229 --> 00:07:27.330 The Beta cassette is a good deal smaller than the VHS cassette, with dimensions of 156 mm 00:07:27.330 --> 00:07:34.039 wide, 96 mm deep, and 25 mm thick. This would prove a fatal mistake, as you’ll soon see. 00:07:34.039 --> 00:07:39.039 The identical thickness isn’t much of a surprise as both Beta and VHS used half inch 00:07:39.039 --> 00:07:40.909 wide magnetic tape. 00:07:40.909 --> 00:07:45.379 Design wise, the Beta cassette is more visually interesting. Most Beta cassettes only had 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:49.800 a window on the left-hand reel, allowing you to see how much tape was remaining, but not 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:54.379 how much was used. I suppose Sony thought knowing how much tape was left was most important, 00:07:54.379 --> 00:07:59.970 but it was also annoying as hell. Case in point: particularly with prerecorded tapes, 00:07:59.970 --> 00:08:05.220 you can’t tell if a tape is rewound all the way! I know just by looking at this VHS 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:09.849 tape that it’s not quite at the beginning. But for Beta, the asymmetrical artsiness of 00:08:09.849 --> 00:08:13.380 the cassette means that you really don’t know with certainty if that tape is completely 00:08:13.380 --> 00:08:18.379 rewound. But it wasn’t just that annoying little quirk, in fact most of Beta’s problems 00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:23.110 come directly from this cassette design. Let’s take a step back in time and go over a few 00:08:23.110 --> 00:08:24.110 things. 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:28.250 When developing the format, Sony took the old adage of “size matters” the wrong 00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:33.450 way. See, Betamax was pretty much just a shrunken down version of U-Matic, Sony’s earlier 00:08:33.450 --> 00:08:39.200 ¾ inch cassette format used in broadcasting. U-Matic had a recording time of 1 hour, which 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.260 was fine for television studios, as there would usually be multiple machines handling 00:08:43.260 --> 00:08:47.430 multiple tapes for things like commercial breaks, and there was always a broadcast technician 00:08:47.430 --> 00:08:52.890 able to switch between them and load up new tapes. Sony rather naively assumed that 1 00:08:52.890 --> 00:08:56.960 hour was therefore a fine benchmark for a consumer format, and kept that their goal 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:01.730 for the Betamax machine. This went hand in hand with Sony’s desire to keep the cassette 00:09:01.730 --> 00:09:06.649 on the smaller side--they used their company handbook as a template for a “Convenient 00:09:06.649 --> 00:09:13.250 size”. Trouble is, worrying about that was the wrong thing to do. Sony released the Betamax 00:09:13.250 --> 00:09:20.060 system in 1975 with L-500 tapes, the standard length that ran for 1 hour. L-750 tapes were 00:09:20.060 --> 00:09:24.290 also available which could run for an hour and a half, but that was it. 00:09:24.290 --> 00:09:29.690 So, in comes the revolutionary VCR, and early adopters were quickly annoyed with that 90 00:09:29.690 --> 00:09:34.970 minute--at best--recording time. See, the whole point of a VCR is to allow you to record 00:09:34.970 --> 00:09:38.730 shows while you’re not home, preventing you from missing a show you really wanted 00:09:38.730 --> 00:09:43.839 to watch. A 90 minute recording time meant a lot of programs couldn’t be recorded. 00:09:43.839 --> 00:09:48.410 For example, movies would routinely take up at least a 2 hour broadcast, with commercial 00:09:48.410 --> 00:09:53.480 breaks built in. But this is America, dammit, and the most important thing we need to record 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:58.030 is a football game. That ain’t gonna work with Beta. 00:09:58.030 --> 00:10:03.990 (Meanwhile), JVC is busy developing their soon-to-be unveiled VHS format. Fun fact, 00:10:03.990 --> 00:10:08.589 VHS stands for Video Home System. You know, cause that’s definitely the order those 00:10:08.589 --> 00:10:14.980 three words belong in. Anyway, JVC’s system used a larger cassette which--guess what--HAS 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:19.620 MORE TAPE IN IT! This meant that right out of the gate, the VHS system had Sony beat 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:23.610 with a 2 hour recording time on a standard T-120 cassette. 00:10:23.610 --> 00:10:29.080 Let’s take these cassettes apart and compare what’s on the inside. Obviously these internal 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:34.339 tape reels are way smaller on the Beta tape, so to have the same length of tape as this 00:10:34.339 --> 00:10:40.000 cassette, the tape would need to be impractically thin. To be clear, the signals recorded on 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.640 the tape aren’t compatible in any way. The machines record onto the tape in very different 00:10:44.640 --> 00:10:49.089 fashions with incompatible signals, but as it’s otherwise identical tape, the speed 00:10:49.089 --> 00:10:53.160 the tape runs through each format is pretty close so the overall length of tape was most 00:10:53.160 --> 00:10:59.430 important (still, VHS did run a little bit slower). Here are two blank tapes, one Beta, 00:10:59.430 --> 00:11:05.740 one VHS. You’ll see that the L-750 cassette contains 222 meters of tape (the 750 means 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:11.329 750 feet of tape). Remember, the L-750 is the “long” version with thinner than normal 00:11:11.329 --> 00:11:18.800 tape. But this T-120, the standard VHS length, has 24 more meters of tape. A T-160, the most 00:11:18.800 --> 00:11:26.160 common “long” VHS cassette, has 327 meters of tape, almost 50% more than the L-750. Sony 00:11:26.160 --> 00:11:31.240 did release the ultra-thin (and somewhat rare) L-830, but this wasn’t a huge deal as it 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:35.709 only squeezed an extra 10 minutes of recording time on early machines. Just by the look of 00:11:35.709 --> 00:11:39.300 these tapes, Sony seemed to be at a huge disadvantage here. 00:11:39.300 --> 00:11:44.170 (Meanwhile), The American company RCA had a rather large part in ensuring VHS would 00:11:44.170 --> 00:11:48.960 end up winning the format war. See, before Beta was even released, RCA was interested 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:52.860 in building a videotape recorder of their own. But they heard about Sony’s work on 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:56.730 Betamax, and decided that maybe they’d be better of to just license the technology and 00:11:56.730 --> 00:12:02.180 ask Sony to build machines for them. But there were 2 problems. First was that Sony wasn’t 00:12:02.180 --> 00:12:06.940 all that excited to build machines for other people, let alone let others build copies. 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:12.010 And second was their stubbornness on recording time. RCA reps reportedly asked the Sony guys 00:12:12.010 --> 00:12:17.760 if a longer recording time was possible, and sony said “Maybe someday”. Pft. PFT. Don’t 00:12:17.760 --> 00:12:19.360 bother with them! 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:24.620 So RCA found out about what JVC was doing. Already they were more excited about JVC’s 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:29.950 product, because if could record 2 hours. RCA asked if a longer recording time was possible, 00:12:29.950 --> 00:12:35.850 and JVC gave a long answer about reduced image quality and maybe it’s not such a good idea 00:12:35.850 --> 00:12:40.250 but I guess yes it would be technically possible so long as you kept that reduced picture quality 00:12:40.250 --> 00:12:44.149 in mind to which RCA said OK! Sound great! Keep in touch! 00:12:44.149 --> 00:12:49.240 Unlike the controlling Sony, JVC was totally cool with licensing the VHS patents to other 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:54.709 companies, and shortly dozens of names would appear on VHS machines. Like this machine, 00:12:54.709 --> 00:12:59.570 Matsushita made RCA’s first Selectavision VCR, and although JVC still warned them about 00:12:59.570 --> 00:13:05.649 doing so, RCA had Matsushita produce the recorders with an LP, or Long Play, recording mode, 00:13:05.649 --> 00:13:10.399 which cut the tape speed in half and thus doubled the recording time. RCA thought this 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:15.240 was imperative to having a successful product, as 4 hours was a pretty average length for 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:19.699 a broadcast football game. And guess what? They were right on the money. 00:13:19.699 --> 00:13:26.060 As soon as RCA went public in 1977 about their upcoming VCR with this amazing 4 hour recording 00:13:26.060 --> 00:13:33.209 capability, Sony executives gave a collective AHH! And scrambled to come up with a solution. 00:13:33.209 --> 00:13:38.040 So what did they do? Well, they just ripped off RCA’s technique and introduced a new 00:13:38.040 --> 00:13:43.199 recorder with the X-2 (later called Beta 2) recording speed. Now, an L-500 tape could 00:13:43.199 --> 00:13:49.880 hold 2 hours of video, and an L-750 could hold 3. Yay. But that’s still not as good 00:13:49.880 --> 00:13:53.699 as RCA’s machine. And now is where things start to get interesting. 00:13:53.699 --> 00:13:57.690 These two machines reveal the tit-for-tat, look-what-I-can-do nature of the format war 00:13:57.690 --> 00:14:02.980 in its early stages. RCA kept pushing the importance of recording time, and this machine 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:08.810 has the brand new, whiz-bang SLP speed, which allows a whopping 6 hours of recording time 00:14:08.810 --> 00:14:14.970 on a T-120 tape, 8 hours on the slightly thinner T-160. Sony wouldn’t leave this unanswered 00:14:14.970 --> 00:14:20.000 and released the Beta 3 recording speed, which pushed the L-750 tape to 4.5 hours recording 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:25.710 time. Still not that great. So, what did they do? Well, this machine marks the beginning 00:14:25.710 --> 00:14:30.190 of Sony’s desperate attempts to find a way to wow buyers with new exciting features that 00:14:30.190 --> 00:14:34.750 might let people overlook the shorter recording time. You’ll notice this machine proudly 00:14:34.750 --> 00:14:40.889 proclaims BETASCAN! What does that mean? Well, all video recorders before this very model 00:14:40.889 --> 00:14:45.980 had to blank the screen when fast-forwarding or rewinding. On this VHS machine, you have 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:50.680 to press STOP, wait for the tape to unthread, and then you can fast forward or rewind. And 00:14:50.680 --> 00:14:56.740 then you press STOP, then PLAY, and hope you’re in the right place. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:04.840 But BETASCAN lets you 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:10.860 see on the screen a fast-motion image, showing you exactly where you are on the tape! Revolutionary! 00:15:19.730 --> 00:15:23.440 While this feature would eventually become a staple of the VCR from both Beta machines 00:15:23.459 --> 00:15:28.200 and VHS models (once VHS manufacturers figured out how to copy Sony’s work, which didn’t 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:33.370 take long), it was at the time kind of a grasping-at-straws gesture. Again, you’ve got to put yourself 00:15:33.370 --> 00:15:37.769 in the mindset of consumers at the time. These machines are here to save you from the deep 00:15:37.769 --> 00:15:42.680 dark despair that consumes you when you’ve missed your television show! Betascan was 00:15:42.680 --> 00:15:48.029 more of a “neat trick” at this point. What’s most important is the machine’s 00:15:48.029 --> 00:15:52.920 flexibility at recording shows. And here’s where the Sony machine falls flat on its face. 00:15:52.920 --> 00:15:58.220 OK, we’re gonna have to pause here. There’s a lot to digest in this format war, so I’m 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:02.560 going to split it here into two videos. In the next video, we’ll be discussing how 00:16:02.560 --> 00:16:07.010 Sony seemed to think they could decide what their customers wanted. This led them to a 00:16:07.010 --> 00:16:11.960 position where they were always a step ahead of VHS in terms of technical feats, but often 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:18.100 a step behind when it came to everyday features that people really needed. Thanks for watching! 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:25.160 Don’t forget to hit that like button and subscribe! As you know, I’m doing my best 00:16:25.160 --> 00:16:28.189 to keep videos like this headed your way. See you next time!