wow....
I had no idea that Betamax tapes were still in production.
I have a small business that does tape conversions (www.american-video.com) and once in awhile I will see a random Beta tape come in. I have two decks, a Sony and a Sanyo. There was your main reason the format failed when it was hands down the superior consumer video format of the day. Sony only licensed out to Sanyo who would make their own brand as well as private labels like Sears. Because of the very limited licensing of the technology the end user costs were higher. Beta decks were pricey, the tapes were pricey (longer length than T120 VHS as Sony wanted a single tape that could record a professional baseball game) As VHS was being developed by JVC they didn’t license and actually asked other electronic corporations for help with the format so you wound up with competing hardware choices and therefore lower prices...
I bought my first VHS in 1984 at an electronics shop in Hinesville Georgia while stationed at Ft Stewart. I got it as a wedding present for my sister but used it for a couple of months before the wedding. It was a Sylvania top loader and it cost $750. In 86 while at Schofield Barracks I bought a JVC VHS and 25” TV for $500 each. I still have the TV down in the basement and would work with a digital tuner but why.... its just a collectors piece to me. I got the video bug way back then and here I am 30 years later still playing with it.
in other news....
JVC/Taiyo Yuden has announced that at the of this year they will no longer manufacture blank DVD media. They have tons on hand to sell off but there will be no more made, this rings the death knell of the format.
Everything is going to streaming but I for one don’t like the lack of a physical product and there are plenty of places where internet service can struggle with streaming speed.
Several years ago in my last days at SCETV headquarters, there was the big tape library purge.
I helped toss thousands of quad, 1 inch, Beta SP 20/60/90, S-VHS into several commercial trash bins the size a semi-flatbed hauls.
It was a sad waste and I rescued a few just to have.