Feldman's Photography converts Betamax video tapes to DVDs and also transfers Betamax to computer Hard drives. Betamax (sometimes called Beta) is a home videocassette tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain 1/2-inch (12.7mm) wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional 3/4-inch (19.05mm) U-matic format. The format is generally considered obsolete, though it is still used in specialist applications by a small minority of people.
Betamax videos use the same shape videocassettes as the Professional Betacam to Betacam SP and digital recording Digital Betacam (and additionally, HDCAM & HDCAM SR), meaning vaults and other storage facilities do not have to be changed when upgrading to a new format. There is also a mechanical key on the bottom of the Betacam video cassettes that allows a video tape recorder to identify which format (professional or amateur) has been inserted.
According to Sony's own history web pages, the 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.
Sanyo marketed a version as Betacord, but this was also referred to casually as "Beta". In addition to Sony and Sanyo, Beta-format video recorders were also sold by Toshiba, Pioneer, Murphy, Aiwa, and NEC; the Zenith Electronics Corporation and WEGA Corporations contracted with Sony to produce VCRs for their product lines. Department stores like Sears (in the U.S. and Canada) and Quelle (Germany) sold Beta-format VCRs under their house brands, as did the Radio Shack chain of electronic stores. Betamax and VHS competed in a fierce format war, which saw VHS come out on top in most markets.
Betacam (L) and BetaMax (R) Tapes Are Interchangeable But Recordings Are Not
BetaMax Logo
Do you have old Betamax video tapes stored in a closet? If you do, now is the time to transfer your video tapes to DVD or transfer the video tapes to a Mac or PC formatted hard drive.
How old are your videotapes? A typical Videotape will last only around 8- 10 years before the oxide covered plastic tape they are recorded on begins to degrade, tear or stretch. The colors fade and sometimes the picture is too snowy to watch. Before that happens to your video tapes, transfer them to DVD. We can transfer all consumer formats including VHS videotape, VHS-C videotape, 8MM videotape, Hi8 videotape, Digital 8 videotape, MiniDV videotape, and yes, even the old Betamax videotape. We can also convert foreign PAL and SECAM to the US standard NTSC and from NTSC to PAL and SECAM.
NOTE: For more information about how video tapes and movies degrade over time and how to store your movies check our our "How to Store and Care for Video Tapes" by clicking here.
Many of our clients want to know if they can edit their own home movie once they are transferred to DVD. The answer is two fold! Like a rented movie you can not edit a DVD once it is created. However, for many of our clients we digitize their old video tapes to a "movie format" on a computer hard drive. With this process our clients can add titles, delete bad footage and add movie-like transitions to their home movies. Once completed these movies can be easily converted to the "DVD format" to be enjoyed on a TV or PC.
