Quote:
Originally Posted by DNSB
Our main use for the VCR was my wife's enthusiasm for time shifting and while Beta may have had a theoretical edge in quality, when recording over the air programs, the difference was pretty much impossible to see and I had to buy fewer tapes.
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That was the main use by far. Soap opera fans in particular loved the things, especially the six hour mode. A week's worth of the soap on one tape; binged on sunday. Rinse and repeat. (Also fans of striped syndicated shows, like STAR TREK. Or even first run. I had the entire DS:9, ad-free, on tape.) Sony intended Beta originally for movie sales, with occassional recording of live events; parties and family gatherings. Consumers found better uses.
The difference between 1:45 and 2:00 was the kingmaker.
And stores noticed fast.
The biggest outlets carried Beta to the end but small outlets (and those mattered a lot in those pre-BEST BUY days when even Circuit City was just a smallish regional chain) stopped carrying BETA long before it died. Retailers need volume and they need speed. We see this today in B&M retailing, where big chain stores decimated smaller independents and were in turned outclassed by online.
BETA vs VHS is relevant here as in most markets where nitably different products compete for consumer dollars.
When it comes to the competition between consumer products, how consumers view and use the gadget is always more important than the specs or how reviewers, evangelists, and techies see the differences. A small technical difference can make an enormous difference while a feature (or features) that some see as critical gets dismissed by the majority who find other reasons far outweigh any specsheet. Consumers vote their wallets accordingly. And retaiers by necessity follow them.
This is why, apropos to the OP, the retailer voted their inventory money, *their* wallet the way they did. They simply can't afford to tie up any of their cash flow in slow moving, low income stock.
Anytime you see what look like oddities, follow the money. You'll find wallets being voted.