A brief history of video recording and playback from the 1950's onward. All highlighted items can be converted to digital files in our offices. All information is supplied by Museum of Obsolete Media
The first commercially successful video tape format for broadcast use, 2-inch Quadruplex (or Quad), is introduced by Ampex (1956)
Quadruplex (2-inch Quad) (1956 – early 1980s)
The BBC conducts a live demonstration of the Vision Electronic Recording Apparatus (VERA) videotape recording system it had been developing since 1952, but scraps it soon after in favour of Quadruplex (1958)
Ampex 2-inch helical scan video tape (1961 – 1970)
Sony EV 1-inch open reel video tape (1964 – early 1970s)
Akai ¼-inch open reel video tape (1969 – late 1970s)
EIAJ-1 ½-inch open reel video tape (1969 – early 1980s)
Sony launches the first video cassette format, U-matic (reaching the UK in 1973). Originally intended for the domestic market, it finds a market in industrial, educational and broadcast applications (1971)
U-matic (1971 – 1990s)
Cartrivision in the US is the first video format to offer films for rental (1972)
Cartrivision (1972 – 1973)
EIAJ-2 (1972 – late 1970s)
V-Cord (1972 – late 1970s)
Video Cassette Recording (VCR) (1972 – 1977)
U-matic S (1974 – 1990s)
Sony introduces the Betamax video cassette recorder in Japan and the US (1975)
Betamax (1975 – 2002)
VX (1975 – 1977)
Television Electronic Disc (TeD) (1975 – 1978)
1-inch Type B (1975 – 1980s)
JVC introduces VHS in Japan (1976)
VHS (Video Home System) (1976 – late 2000s)
1-inch Type C (1976 – mid 1990s)
The first video rental store in the US opens in Los Angeles (1977)
VHS is launched in the US and UK (1977)
Video Cassette Recording Long-Play (VCR-LP) (1977 – 1979)
Akai VK (1977 – early 1980s)
Sony introduces Betamax to the UK (1978 – 1988)
Telefunken abandons its Television Electronic Disc (TeD) home video system in favor of VHS (1978)
LaserDisc is launched in the US under the name DiscoVision (1978)
LaserDisc (1978 – 2001)
Super Video Recording (SVR) (1979)
Video 2000 / Video Compact Cassette (1979 – 1988)
Compact Video Cassette (CVC) (1980 – 1983)
LaserDisc is launched in Japan (1981)
Capacitance Electronic Disk (CED) / SelectaVision (1981 – 1986)
Betacam (1982 – 1990s)
LaserKaraoke (1982 – 2001)
Compact VHS (VHS-C) (1982 – late 2000s)
Sony introduces the Betacam camcorder, the first integrated camera and video recorder, for professional use. Prior to this, video cameras were connected to a separate recorder unit (1983)
Sony introduces Beta Hi-Fi high-fidelity audio to Betamax (1983)
LaserDisc is launched in Europe (1983)
Video High Density (VHD) (1983 – 1986)
Video single (1983 – 1990s)
LaserDisc 8-inch disc (1983 – 2001)
The Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios (the ‘Betamax case’) is finally settled, with the US Supreme Court determining that home video recording is legal in the US (1984)
SuperBeta (1985 – 1988)
Video8 (1985 – 2000s)
The Jewel of the Nile (1985) is the last feature film to be released on Capacitance Electronic Discs (CEDs) / SelectaVision (1986)
Compact LaserDisc (1986)
U-matic SP (1986 – late 1990s)
U-matic S SP (1986 – late 1990s)
Betacam SP (1986 – 2001)
MII (1986 – early 1990s)
Sony introduces the first commercial digital videotape format, D1 (1987)
D1 (1987 – 1990s)
S-VHS (1987 – early 2000s)
S-VHS-C (1987 – early 2000s)
Philips and Grundig end distribution of the Video 2000 home video format after losing out to VHS (1988)
CD Video (1988 – 1992)
CD Video 8-inch disc (1988 – 1992)
CD Video 12-inch disc (1988 – 1992)
Extended Definition Beta (1988 – early 1990s)
D2 (1988 – 2000s)
Hi8 (1989 – 2007)
Sony CRVdisc (late 1980s – late 1990s)
Video Single Disc (1990 – 1991)
LaserJuke (1990 – 2002)
D3 (1991 – early 2000s)
Sony ceases production of Betamax VCRs for the US market (1993)
CD-i Digital Video (1993 – 1994)
Digital Betacam (1993 – 2016)
Video CD (1993 – 2000s)
W-VHS is launched in Japan and becomes the first consumer video format to record in high-definition (1994)
W-VHS (1994 – late 1990s)
D5 /D5 HD (1994 – late 2000s)
Digital-S / D-9 (1995 – early 2000s)
MiniDV (1995 – late 2000s)
DVCPRO (1995 – early 2010s)
Betacam SX (1996 – 2007)
DVCAM (1996 – )
DVD-Video is launched in Japan (1996)
DVD-Video (1996 – )
DVD-Video is launched in the US (1997)
MovieCD (1997 – late 1990s)
DVCPRO50 (1997 – early 2010s)
HDCAM (1997 – 2016)
Mini DVD-R (1997 – )
DVD-Video is launched in the UK and Europe (1998)
DVD-RAM (1998 – mid 2000s)
Interactive DVD (1998 – )
DVD-10 / double-sided DVD (1998 – )
DIVX (Digital Video Express) (1998 – 1999)
Sony Ruvi (1998 – 1999)
D-VHS (1998 – 2007)
VinylVideo (1998 – 2003, 2018 – )
Sony MD Data2 / MD View (1999 – early 2000s)
Digital 8 (1999 – 2007)
DVD single (1999 – 2010)
DVCPRO HD (2000 – early 2010s)
MicroMV (2001 – 2006)
Superbit (2001 – 2007)
MPEG IMX (2001 – 2016)
Worldwide production of DVD-Video discs surpasses that of VHS tapes (2002)
Sony stops producing Betamax video cassette recorders (2002)
D-Theater (2002 – 2004)
DVD-Video rentals outstrip those of VHS in the US (2003)
VideoNow (2003 – 2004)
Flexplay (2003 – 2009)
HDV (2003 – 2011)
HDCAM SR (2003 – 2016)
Professional Disc (2003 – )
AniMini DVD (2004)
miniDVD (2004 – 2006)
VideoNow Color (2004 – 2006)
Nintendo Game Boy Advance Video (2004 – 2007)
Universal Media Disk (2004 – 2011)
DualDisc (2005 – 2009)
HD DVD and Blu-ray, two competing high-definition optical disc formats are launched, starting a brief format war that ended in early 2008 when Toshiba ceased development of the HD DVD format (2006)
The last major film, ‘A History of Violence’, is released on VHS (2006)
HD DVD (2006 – 2008)
HD DVD/DVD Combo Format (2006 – 2008)
Blu-ray Disc (2006 – )
Blu-ray Disc Recordable (BD-R) (2006 – )
Blu-ray Recordable Erasable (BD-RE) (2006 – )
HD VMD (2007 – 2008)
Netflix launches its streaming video service (2007)
JVC, the company that invented the VHS format, ceases production of standalone VHS video cassette recorders (VCRs) (2008)
Toshiba announces it will no longer manufacture or market HD DVD players or disc drives, ending the format war with Blu-ray (2008)
SxS (2008 – )
Pioneer ceases production of its remaining LaserDisc players (2009)
Blu-ray 3D (2010 – )
Blockbuster goes into administration in the UK (2013)
Sony announces that it will discontinue the PlayStation Portable, the only device that used Sony’s own UMD (Universal Media Disc) optical disc that could contain video games, feature-length films, or music (2014)
Sony ceases production of Betamax cassettes (2015)
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc (2016 – )
Funai Electronics, the last company to make VHS video cassette recorders, ceases production of them (2016)
Sony discontinues its remaining ½-inch professional video tape recorders, including Digital Betacam, MPEG IMX, HDCAM and HDCAM SR formats (2016)
Amazon in the UK ends its LoveFilm by Post DVD and Blu-ray disc rental service citing the decreased demand for disc rental due to streaming (2017)