Vcr Development , Diffusion and Impact

I Sony pioneered the videocassette recorder innovations that opened the VCR market for heavy competition and continuing innovations in the field of video. The VCR was a novel technology that involved risk taking from companies developing it. Not only was it unclear whether the public would accept the VCR, but failures in the development process were common. VCR development is a prime example of Schumpeterian thought. There was no clear public demand for home videocassette recorders but Sony took the supply-side initiative and risk and pushed the innovation. This indicates the ability of large firms to innovate well and the benefits of institutionalized research and development. The new innovations led to the emergence of the VCR industry and, therefore, many subsequent industries reliant on the VCR. Unfortunately for Sony, however, it resulted in being a victim, to a certain degree, of creative destruction. After Sony invented its Betamax VCR, the market opened up for VCR inventions and innovations by other firms. These firms chose to implement the VHS tape, which was non-compatible with Beta players, and the new technology destroyed the Betamax market. HISTORY Although there is a long history of video technology, it was not until Sony that anyone was able to effectively crack the home market. In World War Two, Germany invented Magnetophons for the recording of radio broadcasts and the new technology was 2 brought to the United States after the war. The German invention was utilized commercially in 1947 when Bing Crosby recorded his weekly radio show. Hollywood studios, shortly there after, began implementing versions of the Magnetophons to record dialogue, sound effects and music. Until the mid-1950s, " video " meant only the visual component of a televised signal. In 1956, Ampex introduced and patented a videotape recorder (VTR) and " video " came to be associated with the VTR. A major development of Ampex's VTR was the conversion of video signals to sound format (FM signals) prior to recording them. The tape used to record these signals, however, was closely related to that used in audio recording. Thus, the technologies for videotape recording and recording film sound were similar; there was now significant crossover between audio and video fields. The VTR consisted of both the recording machine and the plastic tape that a video signal was recorded on. The Ampex VTR was a four-headed (heads being the circular pieces the reels sit on) machine …