Why is vhs better than beta

Betamax was created by Sony in and advertised as a way to watch videos on demand and record programs straight off your TV. VHS cassette tapes also had similar on-demand watching and recording features. From afar, they both look like very similar products.

One would think they'd become long-term competitors like many modern electronic companies. At the same time, though, Betamax wasn't unnecessarily expensive. Sony had a reputation to maintain in terms of quality, and Betamax devices were much higher quality than VHS players. Not to mention, Betamax tapes had better audio and video quality, as well as a more stable image, resulting in a more enjoyable watching experience. Betamax also had VHS tapes beat by being a couple of inches smaller, but recording limits were the deal-breaker for many interested buyers.

VHS, on the other hand, allowed people to easily record two hours of TV. Soon after, they made it possible for users to record up to six hours of video on a single tape.

The first is that a lot of comment is based on a sort of received wisdom, a common currency, that appears to be picked up from the atmosphere. It certainly isn't based on reality. The second is that almost no journalists, and no geeks, have ever come across the concept of "the whole product", though it is well known to marketing people. Real people may not be aware of it, but the "whole product" model is an accurate description of the way they buy things.

Let's take a simple example: digital audio tape Dat. Get someone to compare Dat with a humble C90 compact cassette and they will find Dat to be technologically superior, especially for recording music. However, if you consider "the whole product", Dat is vastly inferior for most people most of the time. This is why people still buy millions of cassettes, while Dat has virtually disappeared from consumer use.

The point is that when someone buys and uses a product, the technological aspects are a small and often uninteresting part of the decision. When you choose compact cassette, you are also buying into a vast infrastructure of capabilities, services and support. Similarly, when someone buys a Wintel PC, they are buying the ability to choose from dozens of models from hundreds of hardware suppliers, or have one built to order, or build one themselves.

They are buying the ability to access hundreds of peripherals, hundreds of thousands of applications, and millions of websites that work best with their system. They are buying the choice of hundreds of magazines, thousands of books, and all the supporting services from educational courses to repair shops. They are also buying the confidence that their system will keep progressing even if individual manufacturers fail.

In marketing terms, "the core product" - such as a car, a computer, or a video recorder - is just the start. You have to add on all the things like reliability, service and support the expected product , its expansion capabilities the augmented product , and its potential for future development the potential product to get "the whole product". Since real people make real buying decisions based on "the whole product" and if they didn't, we'd change the model , simpleminded comparisons of products by technological feature are very likely to get it wrong.

I've been operating with the concept of "the whole product" for about a decade. That and Moore's follow up - Inside the Tornado: Marketing Strategies from Silicon Valley's Cutting Edge - are the two most important books ever written about hi-tech marketing. In the Valley, in the 90s, they were used as bibles. What gives? If you look at the table above, Sony invented Betamax, which would prove to be its downfall.

Quite the opposite. The real problem is that Sony is stingy with its technologies. Betamax was no exception. Sony likes to control everything with all of its products, meaning you can only buy Sony stuff from Sony to go with other Sony stuff.

That means folks had to pay the Sony premium anytime they wanted a new Betamax tape. By contrast, VHS was developed and shared as a sort of open-source technology. Doing so allowed the technology to flourish. All sorts of manufacturers hopped on the VHS bandwagon, leading to lower prices all around.

VCRs were cheaper, the tapes themselves were cheaper, and everything was way more accessible. Imagine the smartest, most talented kid in class who could have been anything she wanted. However, instead of reaching her potential, her overprotective parents forced her to work at their sandwich shop after school every day instead of practicing soccer. Ultimately, the biggest difference between Betamax and VHS is the price.