====== Assessing The Relative Merits Of Beta Max And VHS ======

| **Field** | Selecting a Home Video Player or Recorder |
| **Went Obsolete** | 1981 |
| **Made Obsolete By** | JVC's VHS Format Won the Market War |
| **Knowledge Assumed** | Technical Specs of Both Formats |
| **When useful** | Truly Obsolete |

In the mid 1970s, Sony introduced its Beta format, adopting its professional video standard to consumer use. JVC introduced the rival VHS format. What followed was very much the prototype of the Blu-Ray/HDDVD war. By 1981, VHS had captured seventy percent of the market, and in 1988, Sony abandoned Beta as a consumer product and began producing VHS equipment.