The Sony Time Machine Beta-Max!

My favorite quotes from this video:

"The beta-max will allow you to break the time barrier!"

"With the beta-max you are the controller and preserver of time!"

"And...consider the ultimate conquest of time!!"

I hear all these stories about how the '70s were just a big party but from the shadow people in this commercial it seems all anyone wants to do it watch TV. Hell, they go so far as to complain that their company caused them to miss their favorite show, that they should be at home watching TV instead of at the symphony, and even losing weight isn't enough recompense for missing their favorite TV show. I thought people were nuts about TV now but they were really nuts about it in 1975.

I'm also surprised that they tout the ease of use of this new product. It's got enough dials and buttons that it even scares me, a lover of all things technical.

Found via FreeBradley

Comments

[Xander]

I wonder how many units they actually shifted before VHS won out. Betamax was meant to be the superior product, wasn't it?

[John Whiteside]

Oh, young man, you had to be there. (Granted, i was 10 when the Betamax showed up.)

Of course a promotion for the first VCR is going to make it sound like TV was the most important thing in everybody's life. But people did have a different mindset about programs they wanted to watch then: you had to be there, sitting in front of your TV at the appointed time, or you were out of luck. Period. My mom claimed that when "I Love Lucy" was new, stores would close so people could watch it.

Granted, the video seems really hokey, and the pace is glacial by current standards - but remember, when this came out, it really was an amazing notion.

As for what people really did in the 70s - well, like I said, I was a kid. My impression, though, is that there is a lot more television now. I couldn't find any stats with quick googling, but what I remember from my childhood is that there was less television being watched, and more visiting friends and that sort of thing. But you'd have to look at actual statistics to really know. I also remember that we regularly did things like play cards, play board games, and so on, both at home and when visiting others, something I don't think happens as much these days.