TOKYO, Nov. 10 (UPI) — Sony announced it will cease sales of Betamax video cassettes by March 2016.
The format, launched in 1975, lost a format war to competitor JVC’s VHS format. VHS eventually became a market leader and a staple of video technology.
Another tape format called MicroMV will also be taken off store shelves. Sony has not made a camera compatible with this format since 2005.
The BBC reported Betamax was technologically the better format, but VHS ultimately won the competition thanks to a longer recording time (three hours versus one) and cheaper manufacturing costs. Most broadcasters ceased using Betamax tapes by 2000.
Sales of the tapes will continue in Japan until March, including online sales through Amazon Japan.
The last Betamax products manufactured were the EL-500B, 2L-500MHGB, and 2L-750MHGB tapes and the L-25CLP cleaning cassette. As for MicroMV, the MGR60 tape and MGRCLD cleaning tape were the last iterations to be produced.
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