Sony to stop making Betamax tapes

[Pyriel]

Those aren't the cassettes you used in boomboxes. Although, consumer cassettes like that could be used for data storage. My dad had a cassette drive for his Commodore 64, and several games were on cassette. But without getting silly about density, they'd probably never hold more than the equivalent of a few hundred MB, and they aren't particularly durable. High capacity tape is usually heavy-duty cartridges, or sometimes you'll still see reel-to-reel formats.

It's great for backing up large amounts of data if you're not likely to need access to it quickly. Actually, if you can access a data center with faster formats (lower capacity) and a tape silo, it's not unheard of to use tape in regular processes when speed is less of a factor than the amount of disk space the process would use.

[xirtamehtsitahw]

And those little rectangular things called "cassettes" you put into your boombox in the 80s? They're still around, and can ironically hold MORE data than even a good-sized supercomputer (in the petabyte range, IIRC). However, it takes HOURS to get to the data you want, due to having to slowly wind the magnetic tape to JUST the right position.

[MathUser]

I used a vcr not that long ago. I can see the appeal of them still. Theres a few movie I know that haven't been released on dvd or blu ray. Overall tho DVD is a better choice tho.

[bungholio]

Good riddance to another dinosaur. Next up, floppy disks I hope.

[Pyriel]

You can still get VCRs and VHS cassettes. I don't know why you'd want them.

[MathUser]

So why did VHS die before Beta?

[dlevere]

Sony President and CEO Kazuo Hirai delivers a keynote address in front of an image of a Sony Betamax

Tokyo (AFP) - Sony announced on Tuesday the company will stop making Betamax video tapes, ending the storied four-decade history of the product that had been ousted years ago by the more popular VHS format.

"Sony will stop the shipment of Betamax video cassettes and micro MV cassettes in March 2016," the company said in a Japanese-language statement.

"With this step, all of our firm's shipment will end for recording media using the Betamax format and the micro MV cassette format," which is also a Sony-produced video standard, it said.

Sony first launched its Betamax products in 1975 as a household, magnetic video format for consumers to record analog television shows. The popularity of Betamax tapes peaked in 1984 when some 50 million cassettes were shipped, according to Sony.

However, the format, initially supported by Toshiba and other electronics makers, is most remembered as the loser of the tense corporate battle in the 1970's and 1980's over setting the de facto household video standard, which was won heartily by the VHS format that was developed by another Japanese electronics maker that now is a part of JVC Kenwood.

VHS gave way to digital formats, such as DVD's, that have largely been replaced by online streaming technology.

Sony stopped making Betamax recorders in 2002, but it kept making tapes for die-hard fans.

Sony said it has sold more than 18 million units of Betamax devices worldwide since its launch.

Sony added it could stop shipping Betamax tapes earlier than the scheduled March end, "depending on the demand conditions".

Source