Betamax - Kenjedrager

You have a Betamax (Greek letter β in the upper right corner)

You can recognise Betamax cassettes by the indication “Beta/Betamax” or the Greek letter β in the upper right corner. This analogue recording format for video was developed for amateur recordings in 1975.

Playing time

Cassettes frequently contain a type number that is linked to the playing time. A L-125 tape for example was 32 minutes long. Betamax had to make way for VHS, that had a longer playing time of no less than two hours at its launch.

Betamax of Betacam?

There are two varieties of these cassettes: the SuperBeta(max) and the Extended Definition Betamax. But beware: do not confuse them with Betacam cassettes. Those have the indication “Betacam”, possibly also with the letter ‘β’. With a Betamax, you only see the letter ‘β’ without the indication of the name.

Did you know …

… that Sony did not shut down production until 2016?

Do you want to know everything about Betamax? Take a look at the pages below:

<br />