Sony finally kills Betamax 13 years after it last made a player | Ars Technica Still buying Betamax tapes for your sweet SL-HF 360 SuperBeta player? Well, brace yourself, because Sony has announced it's going to stop producing tapes for the failed format in March 2016.

Yes, apparently Sony was still producing Betamax tapes in Japan, despite players and recorders having been discontinued in 2002. The format was dead far earlier than that, though, after a prolonged battle with the VHS standard in the '70s and '80s. VHS ultimately won out thanks to a wider range of cheaper players and a longer overall recording time. At launch, Betamax only offered up to one hour of recording time, but it boasted slightly better image quality than VHS.

Whoever wrote the word finally has never worked in a corporation with a limited budget. The reason technology keeps getting used is because it was once chosen as the cornerstone of an important project.

Also, a shout out to SONY for crushing the competition with BLU-RAY. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Labels: SONY BETACAM