Betamax vs. VHS

Young people puzzle over videotape, and we may laugh at how outdated it is, but at one time it was a revolutionary idea for consumers. This is a history lesson. Way back when, viewers had no choice on what to watch in their homes, except for the few TV channels that broadcast what they had on their own schedules. Then home video debuted and opened up an entirely new world. Sony’s Betamax format was first, followed by JVC’s VHS format. Betamax was the higher-quality format, but VHS soon buried them as the consumer’s choice. Why? Bill Hammack, the Engineer Guy, explains what happened in the late 1970s to settle the videotape war. (via Viral Viral Videos)