In 1975 Sony released the consumer-tier analog Betamax. Content on the cassette would be recorded to a 1/2” wide magnetic tape on a 2 spool transport inside of a plastic housing, borrowing the design from the earlier, Professional Level U-Matic tapes, and was used initially as a replacement for the Super8 for home movies.

Initially, the Betamax offered superior resolution over its competitor, JVC’s VHS, but would later lose that advantage as JVC provided incremental improvements with its later iterations.

Due to a number of reasons, including the lower manufacturing costs, and lack of third party support, the Betamax format was phased out.

While its consumer format failed to catch on, its pro-level line of products, the Betacam, became the industry standard for News Gathering Networks and Television Broadcasting studios well into the late 2000s.