Information about Betamax

Betamax

Media type:	Video recording media
Encoding:	Magnetic tape
Developed by:	Sony
Usage:	Video storage

Sony's Betamax is the 12.7 millimeter (0.5 in) home videocassette tape recording format introduced on April 16, 1975 (in market on May 10) and derived from the earlier, professional 19.1 millimeter (0.75 in) U-matic video cassette format. Like the video home recording system VHS introduced by JVC in 1976, it had no guard band, and used azimuth recording to reduce cross-talk. The "Betamax" name came from a double meaning: beta being the Japanese word used to describe the way signals were recorded onto the tape, and from the fact that when the tape ran through the transport it looked like the Greek letter "Beta" (β). The suffix -max came from "maximum" to suggest greatness.^[1] Sanyo marketed a version as Betacord, but this was also referred casually to as "Beta." In addition to Sony and Sanyo, Beta format video recorders were also sold by Toshiba, Pioneer, Aiwa and NEC, and the Zenith Electronics Corporation and WEGA Corporations contracted with Sony to produce VCRs for their product lines. Department stores like Sears, in the US and Canada, and Quelle in Germany sold Beta format VCRs under their house brands as did the RadioShack chain of electronic stores.

Sony introduced the Betamax home video system in 1975 with the LV-1901 Trinitron/Betamax console. It was the most popular video format in 1983, gaining almost a third of the UK video recorder market, while Sanyo's VTC5000 was the top selling UK video recorder. By 1985, however, the market had turned sharply towards VHS.

The world's first camcorders were Sony's Betamovie Betamax recorders.

The legacy of Betamax

The VHS format's defeat of the Betamax format became a classic marketing case study. Sony's attempt to dictate an industry standard backfired when JVC, and parent Matsushita, made the tactical decision to forgo Sony's offer of Betamax in favor of JVC's VHS technology. They felt that it would end up like the U-Matic deal, with Sony dominating. By 1984, forty companies utilized the VHS format in comparison with Beta's twelve. Sony finally conceded defeat in 1988 when it too began producing VHS recorders. However, Sony may be said to have had some small consolation as its Video-8 small-format videotape is essentially a scaled-down version of the Betamax. (8 mm cassette had the advantage with up to 4 hours length versus VHS-C's 2 hour limit. On the down side, since the 8 mm format was incompatible with VHS, 8 mm recordings could not be played in home VCRs. Equally important entry-level VHS-C camcorders were priced less than 8 mm units, and thus neither "won" the war. It became a stalemate.)

The real reason for the success of VHS is RCA, who asked Matsushita for a 4 hour VHS machine. RCA had earlier discussed this with Sony during Beta's development phase, but Sony's engineers felt that by slowing the tape speed from 4 to 2 cm/sec and narrowing the video track, picture quality would be too poor. Matsushita, despite protests from JVC, delivered Long Play, exactly what RCA wanted. RCA in turn would offer their 4 hour VHS decks at a suggested retail of US$995. RCA's pricing and marketing of their 4 hour mode VHS machine would be crucial.

Betamax offered a slightly higher horizontal resolution (250 lines vs. 240 lines in PAL and NTSC), lower video noise, and less luma-chroma crosstalk than VHS. However, the introduction of B-II speed (2-hour mode) and B-III speed (3-hour mode), to compete with VHS's 2-hour Standard Play and 4-hour Long Play modes, reduced Betamax's horizontal resolution to 240 lines.^[2] The extension of VHS to VHS HQ produced 250 lines, so that overall a Betamax/VHS user could expect virtually identical luminance and chrominance resolution (~30 lines across), wherein the actual picture performance depended on other factors, including the condition and quality of the videotape, and the specific video recorder machine model.

One other major consequence of the Betamax technology's introduction to the U.S. was the lawsuit Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios (1984, the "Betamax case"), with the U.S. Supreme Court determining home videotaping to be legal in the United States, wherein home videotape cassette recorders were a legal technology since they had substantial non-infringing uses. This precedent was later invoked in MGM v. Grokster (2005), where the high court agreed that the same "substantial non-infringing uses" standard applies to authors and vendors of peer-to-peer file sharing software (notably excepting those who "actively induce" copyright infringement through "purposeful, culpable expression and conduct").







In the professional and broadcast video industry, Sony's Betacam, derived from Betamax as a professional format, became one of several standard formats; production houses exchange footage on Betacam videocassettes, and the Betacam system became the most widely used videotape format in the ENG (Electronic News Gathering) industry, replacing the 3/4" U-matic tape format (which was the first practical and cost-effective portable videotape format for broadcast television, signaling the end of 16 mm film — and the phrase "film at eleven" often heard on the six-o-clock newscast, before the film had been developed). The professional derivative of VHS, MII (aka Recam), faced off against Betacam and lost. Once Betacam became the de facto standard of the broadcast industry, its position in the professional market mirrored VHS's dominance in the home-video market. On a technical level, Betacam and Betamax are similar in that both share the same videocassette shape, use the same oxide tape formulation with the same coercivity, and both record linear audio tracks on the same location of the videotape. But in the key area of video recording, Betacam and Betamax are completely different. BetaCam tapes are mechanically interchangeable with Betamax, but not electronically. BetaCam moves the tape at 12 cm/sec, with different recording/encoding techniques. Betamax is a color-under system with linear tape speeds ranging from 4 cm/sec to 1.33 cm/sec.

Sony also offered a range of Industrial Betamax products, a Beta I only format for industrial and institutional users. Basically cheaper and smaller than U-Matic. The arrival of the Betacam system reduced the demand for both Industrial Beta and U-Matic equipment.

Betamax also had a significant part to play in the music recording industry when Sony introduced its PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) digital recording system as an encoding box / PCM adaptor that connected to a Betamax recorder. The Sony PCM-F1 adaptor was sold with a companion Betamax VCR SL-2000 as a portable Digital audio recording system. Many recording engineers used this system in the 1980s and 1990s to make their first digital master recordings.

Initially, Sony was able to tout several Betamax-only features, such as BetaScan, a high speed picture search in either direction, and BetaSkipScan, a technique that allowed the operator to see where he was on the tape by pressing the FF key (or REW, if in that mode) and the transport would switch into the BetaScan mode until the key was released. Sony believed that the M-Load transports used by VHS machines made copying these trick modes impossible. BetaScan was originally called "Videola" until the company that made the Moviola threatened legal action.

Sony would also sell a BetaPak, a small deck designed to be used with a camera. Concerned with the need for several pieces, and cables to connect them, an integrated camera/recorder was designed, which Sony dubbed a "Camcorder". The result was Betamovie. Betamovie used the standard sized cassette, but with a modified transport. The tape was wrapped 300 degrees around a smaller, 44.671 mm diameter head drum, with a single dual-azimuth head to write the video tracks. For playback, the tape would be inserted into a Beta format deck. Due to the different geometry and writing techniques employed, playback within the camcorder was not feasible. SuperBeta and Industrial Betamovie camcorders would also be sold by Sony.

HiFi audio upgrade

Betamax introduced high fidelity audio to videotape, as Betahifi. For NTSC, Betahifi worked by placing a pair of FM carriers between the chroma (C) and luminance (Y) carriers, a process known as audio frequency modulation. Each head had a specific pair of carriers, in total four individual channels were employed. Head A recorded its hifi carriers at 1.38(L) and 1.68(R) MHz, and the B head employed 1.53 and 1.83 MHz. The result was audio with an 80 dB dynamic range, with less than 0.005% wow and flutter.

Prior to the introduction of Betahifi, Sony shifted the Y carrier up by 400 kHz to make room for the 4 FM carriers that would be needed for Betahifi. All Beta machines incorporated this change, plus the ability to hunt for a lower frequency pre-AFM Y carrier. Sony incorporated an "anti-hunt" circuit, to stop the machine hunting for a Y carrier that wasn't there.

Some Sony NTSC models were marketed as "HiFi Ready" (with a SL-HFR prefix to the model's number instead of the usual SL or SL-HF). These Betamax decks looked like a regular Betamax model, except for a special 28 pin connector on the rear. If the user desired a Betahifi model but lacked the funds at the time, he could purchase an "SL-HFRxx" and at a later date purchase the separate Hi Fi Processor. Sony offered two outboard Betahifi processors, the HFP-100 and HFP-200. They were identical except that the HFP-200 was capable of multi-channel TV sound, with the word "stereocast" printed after the Betahifi logo. This was possible because unlike a VHS HiFi deck, an NTSC Betamax didn't need an extra pair of heads. The HFP-x00 would generate the needed carriers which would be recorded by the attached deck, and during playback the AFM carriers would be passed to the HFP-x00. They also had a small "fine tracking" control on the rear panel for difficult tapes.

For PAL however, the bandwidth between the chroma and luminance carriers was not sufficient enough to allow additional FM carriers, so depth multiplexing was employed, where the audio track would be recorded in the same way that the video track was. The lower frequency audio track was written first by a dedicated head, and the video track recorded on top by the video head. The head disk had an extra pair of audio only heads with a different azimuth, positioned slightly ahead of the regular video heads, for this purpose.

Sony was confident that VHS could not achieve the same audio performance feat as Betahifi. However, to the chagrin of Sony, JVC did develop a VHS hi-fi system on the principle of depth multiplexing approximately a year after the first Betahifi VCR, the SL-5200, was introduced by Sony. Despite initial praise as providing "CD sound quality", both Beta Hi-Fi and VHS HiFi suffered from "carrier buzz", where high frequency information bled into the audio carriers, creating momentary "buzzing" and other audio flaws. Both systems also used companding noise-reduction systems, which could create "pumping" artifacts under some conditions. Both formats also suffered from interchange problems, where tapes made on one machines did not always play back well on other machines. When this happened, users were forced to revert to the old linear soundtrack.

New standards – SuperBetamax and Extended Definition Betamax

In 1985 Sony would introduce a new feature, High Band or SuperBeta, by again shifting the Y carrier, this time by 800 kHz. This improved the bandwidth available to the Y sideband, and increased the horizontal resolution from 240 to 290 lines on a regular grade Betamax cassette. Since over-the-antenna and cable signals were only 300–330 lines resolution, SuperBeta could make a nearly-identical copy of live television. However, the chroma resolution still remained relatively poor, limited to just under 0.4 megahertz or approximately 30 lines resolution, whereas live broadcast chroma resolution was over 100 lines. The heads were also narrowed to 29 micrometres to reduce crosstalk, with a narrower head gap to play back the higher carrier frequency at 5.6 MHz. Later, some models would feature further improvement, in the form of Beta-Is, a high band version of the Beta-I recording mode. There were some incompatibilities between the older Beta decks and SuperBeta, but most could play back a high band tape without major problems. SuperBeta decks had a switch to disable the SuperBeta mode for compatibility purposes. (SuperBeta was only marginally supported, as many licensees had already discontinued their Betamax line.)

In response to SuperBeta, JVC introduced the new Super VHS and S-VHS-Compact standards in 1987. S-VHS was capable of recording 5+ megahertz or up to 420 horizontal lines of resolution, equal to Laserdisc quality. In modern digital terms, that is approximately 560×480 pixels edge-to-edge. However, due to the higher frequencies required to produce more resolution than SuperBeta, the Super VHS mode required a costly, specially formulated high grade tape.

In response to Super VHS-C, Sony upgraded its Video8 camcorders to Hi8 quality in 1988. And at home, Sony would again push the envelope with ED or "Extended Definition" Betamax, capable of up to 500 lines of resolution, that equaled DVD quality (480 typical). In order to store the ~6.5 megahertz-wide luma signal, with the peak frequency at 9.3 MHz, Sony used a metal formulation tape from the Betacam (branded "ED-Metal"), and incorporated some improvements to the transport to reduce mechanically induced aberrations in the picture. ED Beta also featured a luminance carrier deviation of 2.5 MHz, as opposed to the 1.2 MHz used in SuperBeta, improving contrast with reduced luminance noise.

Sony introduced two ED decks and a camcorder in the late 1980s. The top end EDV-9300 deck was a very capable editing deck, rivalling much more expensive U-Matic setups for its accuracy and features, but did not have commercial success due to lack of timecode and other pro features. Sony did market ED Beta to "semi-professional" users, or "prosumers". One complaint about the EDC-55 ED CAM was that it needed a lot of light (at least 25 lux), due to the use of two CCDs instead of the typical single CCD imaging device. The ED Beta lineup only recorded in BII/BIII modes, with the ability to play back BI/BIs.

JVC responded to ED Beta by extending its standard with Digital VHS that could record DVD or HDTV quality. Sony's response was to release DV/miniDV in the mid-90s and Digital8 in 1999 (both using the same DV codec). In 2003, JVC and Sony put aside their rivalry, and jointly announced the HDV MPEG2-compliant codec for high-definition recording.

Despite the sharp decline in sales of Betamax recorders in the late 1980s and subsequent halt in production of new recorders by Sony in 2002, both Betamax and SuperBetamax are still being used by a small number of people, most of whom are collectors or hobbyists. New cassettes are still available for purchase at online shops and used recorders are often found at flea markets, thrift stores, or on internet auction sites.

Comparison to Other Media

Here's a list of modern-day, digital-type measurements (and traditional, analog horizontal resolutions) for various media. The list only includes popular formats, not rare formats, and all values are approximate (rounded to the nearest 10), since the actual quality can vary machine-to-machine or tape-to-tape. For ease-of-comparison, all values are for the NTSC system. (For PAL media, replace 480 with 576.)

• 350x240 (260 lines) - Video CD
• 330x480 (250 lines) - Umatic, Betamax, VHS, Video8
• 400x480 (300 lines) - Super Betamax, Betacam (pro)
• 440x480 (330 lines) - analog broadcast
• 560x480 (420 lines) - LaserDisc, Super VHS, Hi8
• 670x480 (500 lines) - Enhanced Definition Betamax
• digital:
• 720x480 (500 lines) - D-VHS, DVD, miniDV, Digital8, Digital Betacam (pro)
• 720x480 (400 lines) - Widescreen DVD (anamorphic)
• 1280x720 (720 lines) - D-VHS, HD DVD, Blu-ray, HDV (miniDV)
• 1440x1080 (810 lines) - HDV (miniDV)
• 1920x1080 (1080 lines) - D-VHS, HD DVD, Blu-ray, HDCAM SR (pro)

Criticism

A multitude of technical drawbacks hurt it in its competition with VHS. The main issue with the Betamax format in the early days of the USA market was recording time. The original prototypes shown to Matsushita used a linear tape speed of 40 mm/sec. The technology of the day needed that speed due to the 60 micrometre heads employed. Sony engineers and management had decided that since one hour was acceptable to the U-Matic's buyers, it was acceptable for Betamax too. So the Betamax format had a smaller, one hour cassette called a K-60. (The designation would later change to L-500.) The cassette was loaded with 150 m (500 ft) of tape, which is where the "500" designation came from.

RCA had initially planned a home video format around 1974, to be called "SelectaVision MagTape," but cancelled it after hearing rumors about Sony's Betamax format, and was considering Sony as an OEM for an RCA-branded VCR. RCA had discussions with Sony, but RCA felt the recording time was too short, insisting that they needed at least a 4-hour recording time (reportedly because that was the length of an average televised U.S. football game). Sony engineers knew that the technology available to manufacture video heads wasn't up to the task yet, but halving the tape speed and track width was a possibility. Unfortunately, the picture quality would be degraded severely, and at that time Sony engineers felt the compromise was not worthwhile.

Soon after, RCA met with execs with the Victor Corporation of Japan (JVC), who had created their own video format, christened "VHS" (which stood for "Video Helical Scan" and later "Video Home System"). But JVC also refused to compromise the picture quality of their format by allowing a 4-hour mode. Ironically, their parent corporation, Matsushita, later met with RCA, and agreed to manufacture a 4-hour-capable VHS machine for RCA, much to JVC's chagrin. In response, Sony would introduce an "X2/Beta-II" speed of 20 mm/sec for a "2 hour Betamax." This led to confusion in the market, as some decks only recorded in B-II, and others didn't even play B-1 tapes. Later models would have the capability to handle a thinner tape that ran for 90 minutes in B-II mode, but many decks only recorded in B-II.

Recording time was everything, with Beta eventually managing 5 hours at B-III (13.3 mm/s) on an ultra-thin L-830 cassette, and VHS eventually achieving 10.6 hours with SLP/EP on a T-210 cassette. Slower tape speeds meant a degradation in picture quality, but the consumer didn't seem to mind. From the consumer perspective, buying a single 8-hour VHS tape for $5 is cheaper than buying two 4-hour Betamax tapes for $10. (It should be noted that in Europe, which uses the PAL television system, recording time was never such an issue. An L-750 runs for 3.25 hours with the PAL system, whereas the equivalent E180 tape would run for just 3 hours, giving Beta a longer running time for most users.)

According James Lardner's 1987 book, "Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the Onslaught of the VCR," Sony had met with Matsushita execs sometime in late 1974/early 1975, to discuss the forthcoming home video market. They had previously co-operated in the development and marketing of the "U" format videocassette, with Sony marketing under the U-Matic brand. Sony laid their cards on the table and brought along a Betamax prototype for Matsushita's engineers to evaluate. Sony at the time was unaware of JVC's work. At a later meeting, Matsushita, with JVC management in attendance, showed Sony a VHS prototype, and advised them it was not too late to embrace VHS "for the good of the industry." Sony management were too close to production (and, one could argue, too proud and arrogant) to compromise, and felt their generosity had been taken advantage of. Thus, the stage was set for a battle between Sony and Matsushita in the arena of home video.

Another amusing (and false) theory is that Sony refused to allow pornographic material on their system. A quick perusal of the Betamax library reveals that adult entertainment was readily available. For example, Playboy Industries released their videos in a dual format, both Betamax and VHS, for most of the 1970s and 80s (and can be confirmed with a quick search through Ebay's adult section, or other used video markets). Second, the adult industry is too small to have any lasting impact on standards selection. According to Forbes.com, adult video income is approximately $1 billion. "The industry is tiny next to broadcast television ($32.3 billion in 1999), cable television ($45.5 billion), the newspaper business ($27.5 billion), Hollywood ($31 billion), even to professional and educational publishing ($14.8 billion). When one really examines the numbers, the porn industry — while a subject of fascination — is every bit as marginal as it seems at first glance."^[3]

Popular culture

Betamax was featured in a sinister context in David Cronenberg's 1983 film Videodrome, in which a video signal recorded on Betamax tape is used for mind control. By the late 1980s, however, jokes about the format's unpopularity were appearing in popular culture.

• In a 1989 episode of the situation comedy Married... with Children, the Bundys were described as "the last family on earth with Beta"; a character had to cross state lines to get a tape from "Bob's Betas and Bell-bottoms", and was only able to rent Oh Heavenly Dog.^[4]
• In the 1990 novel Good Omens, a 17th century book of prophecies includes the warning "Do Notte Buye Betamacks".^[5]
• The format appeared in some episodes of The Simpsons
• In a 1992 , Snake steals a VCR, but on inspecting it exclaims "Oh no, Beta!"^[6]
• In a 2003 episode, Homer is at the local garbage dump, and walks past a box of betamax tapes that had been left at the dump.^[7]
• The local video-rental store in Springfield has been known as 'VHS Village' with a subtext saying 'formerly Beta Barn'.
• In an episode of Futurama, Mom says that she won't be around forever and a talking Betamax player says, "Oh shush," in response.^[8]
• In an episode of the television series Cowboy Bebop, two of the main characters, Spike and Jet, must go out in search of a Beta player in an ancient history museum in order to view a mysterious beta cassette tape they received in the mail. Upon returning with a player, they woefully discover that they had found a VHS player, not Betamax.
• In an episode of Garbage Pail Kids, the character Fraidy Kat, receives a VHS copy of the Good Witch's Workout video and asks "Do you got it in Beta?".^[9]
• As a well-known obsolete storage medium, beta videotapes are sometimes mentioned alongside other things that themselves are — or may become — outdated. For example, in a 2003 episode of The Simpsons, a junkyard contains a pile of Betamax tapes, a pile of laserdiscs, and next to them an empty space with a sign reading "reserved for DVD".^[10]
• Similarly, a 2006 episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy describes Fred Flintstone as coming from a time of "dinosaurs, Betamax tapes, floppy disks, and acid wash jeans with holes in them on purpose".^[11]
• In rock climbing, to give guidance as to how to climb a particular route is called "giving beta". This is due to climbers sometimes videotaping other climbers on climbing routes using the Betamax format (when it was still in use), then reviewing the tapes to evaluate techniques to help them climb the same routes in the future.
• The card game Chrononauts contains an artifact called "Videotape of the creation of the universe" the picture features a Betamax tape with the caption "please don't erase".
• In Season 3 of That '70s Show, Red buys a Betamax and insists on first taping Roots and then playing it back, rather than letting Kitty just watch it live. The plan falls through when Red discovers he forgot to put the tape into the machine.
• In the British science fiction programme Doctor Who, Betamax is mentioned twice in the 2005 and 2006 Series. In the episode Father's Day it is mentioned that among other odd-job endeavours Pete Tyler, Rose Tyler's father, uses Betamax tapes. In a later episode, The Idiot's Lantern, the Tenth Doctor uses a Betamax tape to trap the episode's villain — an entity calling herself The Wire — stating that he will tape over it to ensure she does not escape.
• In a 2004 episode of the animated series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, George Jetson is suing the People of Earth for causing the polar ice caps to melt and thus causing massive flooding. During the trial proceedings George Jetson's attorney, Harvey Birdman, presents the court with a video tape showing what the Earth looks like after global warming has caused the polar ice caps to melt. The video tape is a Betamax, to which Mentok the Mindtaker, the presiding judge, questions whether anyone in the court has a Betamax player.
• In episode 2.2 of BBC series The Mighty Boosh, "The Priest and the Beast," Rudi Van DiSarnio (Julian Barratt) and Spider Dijon (Noel Fielding) enounter the Betamax Bandit, who is terrorising a small village.
• In the 1986 movie The Fly, Gina Davis's character uses a betamax cam to record Seth Brundle's experiments.
• In the 2006 movie Clerks II, Randal Graves describes a donkey show as "Something we've been wanting to see ever since we watched Bachelor Party on Beta when we were 12."
• In the 2007 movie Kickin' It Old Skool, a character in 1986 asks another if she wanted to watch The Blue Lagoon on Betamax.
• in grand theft aut0: vice city theres a radio station commercial somewhere that tell an instructional video on beta and vhs. its mentioned again on another radio station.

See also

• Videotape format war
• Peep search – A picture search system pioneered with Betamax and available on most video formats since.
• Umatic - The predecessor to Betamax, using 19mm tape instead of ~12mm.
• Video8 - A small form factor tape based upon Betamax technology, using 8mm tape.
• Blu-ray Disc - Sony's latest video tech.

Notes and references

External links

• Running time of all lengths of Betamax tape, and how to copy the film to DVD/miniDV and AVI
• The Ultimate Betamax Info Guide – covering the Betamax format in the North American market
• Mister Betamax – extensive Beta supply site
• Betamax PALsite – over 350 pages of Betamax information, running since 1997
• The 'Total Rewind' VCR museum – covering Betamax and other vintage formats
• The Betamax format in the UK, including technical information on servicing Sanyo Beta machines
• "Daily Giz Wiz" Podcast discussing the Betamax

•  • [ e] Industrial & home video media
Magnetic tape	Analog VERA (1952) • 2 inch Quadruplex videotape (1956) • 1 inch type A videotape (1965) • 1/4 inch Akai (1967) • U-matic (1969) • Cartrivision (1972) • Video Cassette Recording (aka VCR) (1972) • V-Cord (1974) • VX (aka "The Great Time Machine") (1974) • Betamax (1975) • IVC 2 inch Helical scan (1975) - 1 inch type B videotape (1976) • 1 inch type C videotape (1976) • VHS (1976) • VK (1977) • SVR (1979) • Video 2000 (1980) • CVC (1980) • VHS-C (1982) • M (1982) • Betacam (1982) • Video8 (1985) • MII (1986) • S-VHS (1987) • Hi8 (1989) • S-VHS-C (1987) • W-VHS (1994) Digital D1 (1986) • D2 (1988) • D3 (1991) • D5 (1994) • Digital-S (D9) (199?) • Digital Betacam (1993) • DV (1995) • DVCPRO (1995) • DVCAM (1996) • HDCAM (1997) • DVCPRO50 (1998) • D-VHS (1998) • Digital8 (1999) • DVCPRO HD (2000) • D6 HDTV VTR (2000) • MicroMV (2001) • HDV (2003)• HDCAM SR (2003)
Optical disc	Analog Laserdisc (1978) • Laserfilm (1984) Digital CD Video • VCD (1993) • MovieCD (1995?) • DVD-Video (1995) • MiniDVD • CVD (1998) • SVCD (1998) • FMD (2000) • EVD (2003) • FVD (2005) • UMD (2005) • VMD (2006) • HD DVD (2006) • Blu-ray Disc (BD) (2006) • DMD (2006?) • AVCHD (2006) • Tapestry Media (2007) • Total Hi Def (2008) • HVD (TBA) • PH-DVD (TBA) • SVOD (TBA) • Protein-coated disc (TBA)
Grooved Videodiscs	Analog Baird Television Record aka Phonovision (1927) • TeD (1974) • Capacitance Electronic Disc aka CED (1981) • VHD (1983)

•  • [ e] Sony Corporation
Technologies and brands	α Betacam Blu-ray BRAVIA CD Cyber-shot DAT DVD LocationFree Memory Stick MiniDisc MiniDV mylo PlayStation PSP VAIO Video8/Hi8/Digital8 Walkman• Walkman Phones XDCAM
Historical products	AIBO Betamax Sony CLI Lissa Mavica NEWS Qualia TR-55 Trinitron U-matic WEGA
Operating segments	Sony Corp. (Sony Electronics in the US) Sony Pictures Sony Computer Entertainment Sony BMG Music Sony Financial Holdings
Acquisitions	Columbia Records Columbia Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures & TriStar Pictures) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (20%) Aiwa
Joint Ventures	Sony Ericsson Sony BMG Music Sony/ATV S-LCD STLCD Sony NEC Optiarc FeliCa Networks
Key personnel	Harrison Hirai Ibuka Idei Kuroki Kutaragi Lynton Morita Ohga Pascal Stringer