Betamax tapes RIP

[Brianc]

I worked as a product manager in Ampex at the time that Betacam was launched to target the 1" format broadcast market in which Ampex had a very strong hold. Sony played a blinder in marketing terms by offering only the acquisition and studio playback machines in the format and withholding the studio recorders. The advice was to used the camcorders in the field and edit from the studio playback machines up to the 1" recorders. This meant that no-one was able to test the claim that the format was good for 2 or 3 generations (demonstrated at the Montreux Broadcast Convention!) before the material became unbroadcastable! All the broadcasters jumped at the convenience of the small format for ENG and field work and soon there were many camcorders being used. Thus the format was established. Later, the studio recorders were launched and it was found the even the 1st generation dubs were pretty poor and 3rd, useless. A very clever device to establish the format. Betacam was quickly followed by Betacam SP which overcame most of the problems. The rest is history.