The Power of VHS
The central dogma to the evolution of TV
VCR→DVR→Internet TV
By writing this paper, I hope to introduce the idea to the readers of how the invention the VHS as led to what TV is today. On May 10, 1975 Betamax (also called Beta) developed by Sony was released in Japan. This consumer-level analog videocassette recording format became the medium of choice when it came to making home movies as well as amateur films. “Beta was the first compact, inexpensive, reliable, and easy to use VCR” product in the market. With the introduction of the Betamax to the market, its existence was short-lived. Later in that same decade, the Victor Company of Japan know throughout the word as JVC introduced the Video Home System.
The two products were incompatible with one another, meaning once a Video Cassette Recorder was purchased it could either play Sony’s Betamax or the alternative JVC’s VHS. Betamax only worked on VCRs that were specific to their format and VHS was vice-versa. This was the origin of the format war that lasted throughout the late 1970s to 1980s. A format war is the term use to describe the competition that unfolds between mutually incompatible formats compete in the same market. They typically involve data storage devices and recording format for electronic devices.
By the end of the 1980s Sony had ended its production of the Betamax and leaving VHS as the standard in Video Cassette Recorder market. One may wonder as to why VHS became the industry standard even though it was introduced much later than Betamax. It came to be surprised that VHS which had the backing from JVC a small firm at that time would prove to be superior product in the marketplace.
After the introduction of the Video Home System, homemade ...
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Before analyzing the history of Rock n’ Roll television, the history of how watching television came to become a popular must come into question. To summarize briefly, the invention of television was in development since the 1870s, however the first demonstration of live transmitted images in motion was in 1925 lead by Scottish inventor John Logie Baird (Radio Shows Far Away Objects in Motion). The image was of Baird’s business partner Oliver Hutchinson (Television), showing a mere five frames per second, it was an impressive sight for the time. With perfection of the invention, electronic televisions had been developed by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin with the help of the RCA radio...
Two new managers have been appointed at Sony in the last 15 years due to a number of developing problems, including the innovation ‘cogs’ within Sony slowing down, being forced into an aggressive pricing strategy, increased competition, losing the battle of VHS and Betamax, profit and sales remaining flat and the ongoing poor performance of Sony films (Mintzberg et al, 2003). Both managers initiated major strategic changes with varying degrees of success; firstly Nobuyuki Idei was appointed and initiated a major shift from analogue to digital technology, as there was a belief that Sony was falling behind the market in this respect. Idei also targeted the top position in the audio and visual industry, a universal standard in home computer devices and a new distribution infrastructure. He believed his job was the ‘regeneration of the entrepreneurial spirit’ (Mintzberg et al, 2003), believing it had been lost.
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