#5 – Betamax

Most people from the late 70’s and 80’s will remember the Betamax. Sony’s attempt to topple VHS technology was introduced in 1975, and initially found great success with professional studios. The Betamax did produce better resolution than VHS tapes did. However, VHS was able to record for up to 6 hours, something the Betamax could not match. In addition, the cost of VHS VCR’s was attainable by most people. The Betamax players and tapes were both much more expensive than their VHS counterparts, and therefore, failed in the consumer market. In 1981, Betamax held 25% of the market. In 1996, just 7% of the market. Soon after it was discontinued, and in 1988, Sony began manufacturing and selling their own VHS players.