So long, Betamax, and thanks for all the DVRs

Its battle was lost to VHS decades ago — but it was only this week that Sony finally euthanized the Betamax video recording format

Sony quietly announced the official end of shipments for its Betamax tapes on its Japanese web site (it also killed the Micro MV format). For all practical purposes, Betamax has been dead for years

Sony built its last Betamax player in 2002, a fact that may surprise those who assumed that Betamax went the way of the Dodo in the mid-1980s.

But before we dismiss the now departed Betamax, it's worth remembering Sony and its tapes essentially invented the concept of "time-shifting" television — and that Netflix and today's DVRs are its direct descendants. Read more...