BETAMAX

noun (Lifestyle and Leisure) (Science and Technology) The trade mark of one of the two standard formats for video and videotapes; also abbreviated to Beta. Etymology: The name is not (as popularly supposed) derived from the Greek letter name beta, but from the Japanese word beta-beta 'all over' and English max (short for maximum: see max); however, the inventors were making conscious and deliberate use of the pun with Greek beta to create an English-sounding product name. History and Usage: The first home-video systems were developed by Sony in the sixties; the immediate predecessor of the Betamax was the U-Matic, developed in the late sixties. In order to create a smaller machine using smaller tapes, a new method of recording was invented for the Betamax, known as beta or 'all over' recording because it did away with the tape structure of guard bands and empty spaces which had previously been employed, and instead used the whole area of the tape. The Sony Betamax video system was first available in the mid seventies, but at first it was not possible to buy pre-recorded cassettes in this format. However, the policy soon changed and by the mid eighties video rental had become an important market in which two formats competed: Betamax and VHS. VHS eventually became the standard format for home video, although Betacam, a derivative of Betamax, is used for television news-gathering worldwide. If you plan to watch a lot of pre-recorded films...there may be difficulties getting a wide choice on Beta; VHS versions are much more common. What Video Dec. 1986, p. 95 When Betamax was introduced, our first task was to help people understand why video systems were important in the home...We beat our brains, and finally came up with the phrase 'Time Shift'. We were explaining the concept...all over the world with such catch phrases as; 'For the first time, the world of TV is in your hands with Betamax', or 'Look at your TV just like a magazine'. Sony Corporation Betamax 15th Anniversary (1990), p. 8