AND NOW VIDEO CASSETTES ARE UNDER THREAT!
As we all know, video cassettes contain tape, and tape is cool, so a little bit of video cassette will not harm anyone. Technology has come along way and now it seems that hard drives and cards will one day make video cassettes redundant.
Betamax
Sony's consumer-level video format from 1975. The format is virtually obsolete, though
an updated variant of the format, Betacam, is still used by the television industry. This format lost the battle to the very successful VHS cassette even though the quality
was slightly higher.
VHS
JVC were behind this format and it was very successful from the late 70s up to pretty
recently. There was an S-VHS version in 1987. DVD came along to kill the picture quality and DVD recorders the final nail in the VHS coffin. One upon a time nearly every household had a VCR, now they have a SKY box!
VHS-C
The compact son of VHS launched in 1982. It was cool because a) it allowed camcorders to be smaller and lighter, b) it could be played back in a VHS sized adapter saving the heads on the camera. How clever is that? S-VHS version in 1987 also.
Video 8
A Sony job from the 80s that ran parallel to VHS-C with higher quality but could not be adapted due to different specs and 8mm tape. It used the camera for playback or dubbing to a VHS machine or a stand alone Sony 8 machine. But who would have two different video machine in their home? There was a Hi8 version and a Digital 8 in 1999.
Mini DV
Another Sony invention launched in 1995 but this was digital and the quality superb in later years. Still available and used by professionals in high end cameras, but domestic camcorders are being phased in favour of SD card units. There are DVPRO, DVCAM, DVPRO50, DVPRO Progressive and DVPRO HD variants of this format.
A TDK Mini DV
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