# Betamax, you leave us too soon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189 "2015-11-10T13:59:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/1 "2015-11-10T13:59:12Z")
[Sony announced](http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/10/technology/sony-betamax/) today that in 2016, it will cease production of Betamax tapes. I suspect I will not be the only one surprised to learn that Sony was still _making_ Betamax tapes. I can understand having old recordings on old tapes (I still have a few VHS tapes lying around), but who out there is recording new things with them? At any rate, farewell, Betamax. We hardly knew ye. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/2 "2015-11-10T14:30:52Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > I suspect I will not be the only one surprised to learn that Sony was still _making_ Betamax tapes. I’ll be surprised if anyone did know they were still making them. Are they still making 8-tracks too? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/3 "2015-11-10T14:48:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’ll be surprised if anyone did know they were still making them. Are they still making 8-tracks too? Cheap Trick album released in [2009 on 8-track.](http://www.cnet.com/news/new-cheap-trick-album-available-on-8-track-tape/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/4 "2015-11-10T14:48:29Z")
The article doesn’t say; who are their customers these days? Are there applications for which it’s preferred over digital recording? Or is it simply that some people continue to own and operate Betamax recorders and never made the switch? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/5 "2015-11-10T14:59:44Z")
It’s frustrating how quickly technology changes these days. At least I can still enjoy my ‘Police Academy’ and ‘The Flamingo Kid’ tapes. They can’t take those away from me! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/6 "2015-11-10T15:06:36Z")
Wasn’t a version of Betamax the standard for broadcast TV studios until very recently? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/7 "2015-11-10T15:14:45Z")
I’m picturing Betamax players in yurts on an open plain. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/8 "2015-11-10T15:22:39Z")
Nah, they’re still using Edison cylinders. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/9 "2015-11-10T15:25:38Z")
I would say some old security equipment or something like that would be the reason it was still being made. Or Sony simply forgot about that line of manufacturing, and the workers were surely not going to remind them. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/10 "2015-11-10T15:28:29Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Wasn’t a version of Betamax the standard for broadcast TV studios until very recently? Betacam, not Betamax. The Betacam S cassettes used the same form-factor as Betamax but had a higher-resolution encoding system. Think S-VHS vs. VHS. Those were largely supplanted by DigiBeta which again uses the same form-factor cassettes but with digitally-encoded video, up to 720p. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/11 "2015-11-10T15:30:21Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I would say some old security equipment or something like that would be the reason it was still being made. > > Or Sony simply forgot about that line of manufacturing, and the workers were surely not going to remind them. Presumably they were selling Betamax cassettes and not just warehousing the production each year. So I’m curious who the end user customers were that were buying this tape, even if in small quantities. I mean, I’ve heard of people still interested in Polaroid film or some of the Kodak films, but there are usually particular reasons (artistic or technical) why these products appeal to them. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/12 "2015-11-10T15:46:09Z")
I used an old JVC hifi\* VHS for audio recordings in a small studio for a while. Maybe Betas were used similarly? \*HRD470, if any were wondering ---
**Author:** ![Heckity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/13 "2015-11-10T15:46:38Z")
Prior to digital many of the earlier broadcast cameras (and television stations) used beta tapes. Perhaps they’ve been selling to smaller stations. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/14 "2015-11-10T15:51:24Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Wasn’t a version of Betamax the standard for broadcast TV studios until very recently? Betacam was the standard for ENG (electronic news gathering) before Digital came in. With SVHS, the in-the-field camera guy had a recorder on a strap hanging over one shoulder and a camera resting on the other. With Betacam, the camera was also the recorder. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/15 "2015-11-10T16:14:15Z")
I wonder who, i. e. what category of customer, was actually still buying Betamax tapes recently. I would guess these weren’t regular consumers who for some reason happened to be stuck in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/16 "2015-11-10T17:21:00Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Or Sony simply forgot about that line of manufacturing, and the workers were surely not going to remind them. I’m imagining some 18-year-old newbie in Tokyo walking up to his boss: “Sir, the shipment of Betamax tapes is ready to go out tomorrow.” " _Snerk_ Good joke, kid. I’m surprised you even know what a Betamax tape is." “No, seriously. Look here.” "Dafuq !!! … we haven’t made Betamax players since, I dunno, World War 2 or something. Why in the hell are we still make tapes? Who’s buying them? “Hmmm… The ‘Ship to’ coordinates are just an empty spot in the ocean. Are they just tossing them overboard?” “Probably. I’m guessing nobody had the heart to shut the line down and fire the workers. _Sigh_ I guess I get to be the bad guy. (Lucky me.)” ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/17 "2015-11-10T22:04:10Z")
Great. Now I have to upgrade all of my collection to Laser Disc. ---
**Author:** ![tarrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarrel)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/18 "2015-11-11T15:28:31Z")
I still record football games on VHS ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/19 "2015-11-11T20:28:50Z")
At the Parent’s night at my daughter’s school last year there was a video played on a cassette. The older parents giggled when they saw it, the younger ones crinkled up their brows. The video included a statememt from the new principal, so couldn’t have been made more than a few weeks earlier. Might well have been betamax. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189/20 "2015-11-11T21:27:24Z")
> [@tarrel](#): > > I still record football games on VHS With the express written consent of the National Football League I presume. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/betamax-you-leave-us-too-soon/737189.md?page=2)