The Betamax webpage

[PaulKTF]

Found this and thought people would find it interesting:

http://www.betainfoguide.com/

[wayneklein]

Soon HD DVD and no doubt Blu Ray will follow!

[PaulKTF]

Soon HD DVD and no doubt Blu Ray will follow!

Interesting... What makes you say that?

[wayneklein]

The way consumers have taken to both formats, the potential for digital downloads (and you don't have to actually go out and "buy" the product)--all physical media has its brief time in the sun it seems and then bites it. DVD stuck around as long as it did because 1)prices dropped 2) ease of use 3) Familarity of CDs 4) big improvement in picture quality. I don't know that most consumers care about the big difference between Blu-ray and DVD (I do) as it ultimately comes down to perceived quality, ease of use, cost.

With the mp3 craze destroying much of the sales for CDs, I suspect that we'll see something similar happen at some point to Blu-ray. HD DVD is headed for the heap sooner but the resolution of the format war has taken its toll and taken too long.

[The Wanderer]

Consumers do have a memory.

Everyone replaced their vinyl with CD's, then remastered CD's and then SACD or DVD-A, for even 'better' sound?

Then we replaced videotapes with DVD's, then remastered DVD's and now HD DVD or BluRay - to buy the same content again?

People eventually do move on.

[Vidiot]

That website is run by my old friend Ray Glasser, who was (along with me) one of the first people to seriously collect Betamax tapes and machines in the mid-1970s. Very dedicated guy.

I believe my article "The Rise and Fall of Beta" is on this site (among several others).

[Jerry]

I loved my Beta HI-FIs! I had a SL-5200, a SLHF-300B and SLHF-500B. I would use them to transfer R>R tapes of live FM broadcasts. I would also tape live FM shows off the radio with no need to flip a tape! Working at Pacific Stereo, I'd sell beta hi-fis to local restaurants for their house systems.