Betamax or VCR? Which one did your family have growing up?

[TidWell]

We had a BetaMax in the early 80s, then moved to VCR in the late 80s to early 2000s. Crazy how long VHS lasted.

wtf kinda building is that the plumbing must be hard as hell to fix if the toilet gets clogged

We had both Betamax and Vhs. I rememer Laser Disc which was the early version of the DVD

 

[ocfightfan]

I had shadow puppets by candle light.

 

[dc007]

VHS but one of my friends had a Betamax and my first GF's dad had a LaserDisk. I remember watching Barton Fink on LD at her house. It was so cool.

 

[moreorless87]

Anyway, in answer to the TS’ question we had a VHS vcr. I only remember meeting like one or two people who ever even had a Betamax. The only thing I can compare to that was in about 2007 or 2008 a friend of my brother had an HD-DVD player, the failed competitor to blu Ray. Poor bastard.

My grandparents on my dads side used to have a Betamax player and supprising there local rental place had a decent selection of tapes well into the 90's.

 

[Crash Lance]

Anyway, in answer to the TS’ question we had a VHS vcr. I only remember meeting like one or two people who ever even had a Betamax. The only thing I can compare to that was in about 2007 or 2008 a friend of my brother had an HD-DVD player, the failed competitor to blu Ray. Poor bastard.

HD DVD was always doomed to lose against Blu Ray.

As soon as Walt Disney Corporation was on Blu Ray's side, it was all over.

 

[Broken arrow]

We jumped on beta right out of the gate and then had to switch to vcr a while later.
If I remember right, Sony patented the player and tapes so no one else could make any which drove the boom in VCR

 

[ICHEERTHEBULL]

VHS. I only knew one person with a Betamax. From the mid 90s to the early 2000s I was a tape trader. Kids these days don’t know how lucky they are when it comes to storage!! Good times though

 

[Oeshon]

VCR. I don't think Betamax was a thing in Australia.

 

[cheesus]

VCR, Betamax never really took off here from what I recall. I've always wanted to see what the digital VHS tapes look like, D-Theatre or whatever it was called...that was ahead of it's time.

 

[MIKOM]

Betamax or VCR? Which one did your family have growing up?

Neither; we still had a black and white television when everyone else had colour ones.

 

[moreorless87]

Crazy how long VHS lasted.

Probably helped that it went though several different eras, early on in the 70's mostly about recording from TV, then video rentals took off in the 80's and being able to buy films on tape in the 90's.

 

[therealdope]

WE had both but Beta first. It was better. Shittier selection of movies but for everything else it was better.

 

[therealdope]

We had a BetaMax in the early 80s, then moved to VCR in the late 80s to early 2000s. Crazy how long VHS lasted.
[/IMG]

Wasn't Beta used for professional recording into the 2000s. I'm pretty sure that 'on the scene' news used Beta into the early 2000s.

By the end Japanese Betamax had better resolution than DVD.

 

[Nimrod]

We had Beta when it got released, my Dad made the wrong choice, I think I can remember him saying the guy in the shop was saying Beta was the better format, as it transpirered VHS was the king.
The video shops were stocked full of VHS tapes with about 1 shelf to Beta.. that tells the story.

 

[Adamant]

VHS

I miss video stores. Especially in the VHS days. Great times.

 

[JSN]

Never had Betamax, but I remember the first time I saw LaserDisc. I was blown away.

correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t laserdisc predate both of the tape formats? I had never heard of it until the late 90’s though.

 

[Ikuza]

Both. Made it a lot easier to rent movies.

 

[-Magua-]

As a young kid, Betamax when we visited Philippines every year for a month or 2.. then when back to US always VHS.
I think I read somewhere though overall Betamax was a cheaper superior product overall, could be wrong though.

 

[Chesten_Hesten]

Never had Betamax, but I remember the first time I saw LaserDisc. I was blown away.

Man I remember seeing Olivia Newton John On Laser Disc playing on a 26 inch TV at Camelot Music. It was unheralded Clarity and Sound Quality, here it is now, check it!

 

[raty tat tat]

I'd love to had an laserdisc then, but the idea
I had flip it over and you couldn't record off
it kept us from having one.