The late 1970s to 1980s were a time of voracious competition and innovation for companies attempting to gain a monopoly on the growing home video market. This Sony Betamovie BMC-100P model of camera carried Betamax cassette tapes, which were introduced by Sony in 1975. It was the first consumer camcorder, including both camera and recorder in a single unit that would become standard in the years to follow. The rival Betamax and VHS (Video Home System) formats were incompatible with each other, meaning buyers had to choose. The advantages of Betamax were its slightly superior picture quality and smaller size, but the length of recording time was considerably shorter than VHS.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
On display until
16 February 2031
ACMI: Gallery 1
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
AEO176989
Subject category
object → 3D artefact
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Minds → MM-05. Camera Tech → MM-05-C01
Measurements
35.5 x 15 x 22cm
Object Types
3D Object
Camera/ Camera crane / Camera lens/Film and television equipment