Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble
Betamax, for example, was an inarguably superior product to VHS, and they went bankrupt because Americans chose to buy cheaper shit without regard to quality.
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Betamax suffered from one simple and obvious problem. Their higher quality recording made no difference on America's low resolution TV screens. A cheaper VHS looked just as good on those TVs. Betamax also had less storage (data) capacity - originally only 60 minutes - too short for a movie. The 120 minute VHS also was less expensive.
Other just as inferior products also existed. RCA's video disk was higher resolution and could hold up to 240 minutes of video. But again, nobody needed a four hour movie. And better resolution was irrelevant on a low resolution NTSC screen.
VHS clearly was the superior choice once all relevant factors were considered - not just resolution.
BTW, where was the VCR developed? Originally in America. Ampex Corporation only saw cost of the original VCR. Since top management were business school graduates, then grasping a $20,000 VCR eventually selling for less than $200 only ten years later could not happen. So Ampex sold what became Betamax to Sony.