Sony didn’t learn from Beta format mistakes

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Wow, so Sony didn’t learn from the mistakes it made with the Beta video tape format. It isn’t letting the porn industry play on BlueRay, a new HD video disk format. According to reports porn industry distributors are being forced into HD-DVD.

When I worked at LZ Premiums in the 1980s, the Beta vs. VHS video tape formats were in full swing. Our store rented video tapes, including a fairly large selection of adult videos. Many many VHS sales were decided on because of the much greater availability of adult entertainment in the VHS format.

Interesting.

In other news, we’re headed home today. I’m going to take the weekend off. I’m exhausted.

Ahh, CNET is reporting that Windows Vista is seeing stronger business sales than expected. Personally, I think we’re going to see that trend across the board. It demonstrates that while Vista didn’t get the hype and lots of bloggers would rather talk about something else that customers are buying.

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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88 thoughts on “Sony didn’t learn from Beta format mistakes”

  1. Microsoft has been hyping Vista for about 4 years, as it was being developed. It did not hurt the PR opf the OS to have a large Beta period with lots of feedback.
    I believe that with a large Microsoft base already in place, Vista business will start off very well, but until everybody else catches up with drivers and supporting programs, the home user will probably start slow.

    IMHO

    Guy

    Like

  2. Microsoft has been hyping Vista for about 4 years, as it was being developed. It did not hurt the PR opf the OS to have a large Beta period with lots of feedback.
    I believe that with a large Microsoft base already in place, Vista business will start off very well, but until everybody else catches up with drivers and supporting programs, the home user will probably start slow.

    IMHO

    Guy

    Like

  3. As far as formats go, the customer is always right and will again determine who wins the format war.
    The only way to influence what a customer buys, will be to put what he wants on the format that you want to sell.

    Ah, capitalism at it’s best.

    Guy

    Like

  4. As far as formats go, the customer is always right and will again determine who wins the format war.
    The only way to influence what a customer buys, will be to put what he wants on the format that you want to sell.

    Ah, capitalism at it’s best.

    Guy

    Like

  5. It would be nice to see actual unit figures on Vista sales. The text states they are outpacing Windows 2000 but trailing XP. I’m not sure why we should be impressed by sales outpacing an OS that is two generations old.

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  6. It would be nice to see actual unit figures on Vista sales. The text states they are outpacing Windows 2000 but trailing XP. I’m not sure why we should be impressed by sales outpacing an OS that is two generations old.

    Like

  9. Stats lie. Let’s wait till the public release before we talk about uptake. And honestly now that Macs can run Vista, Microsofts share is actually going to rise. It is the best game OS. Frankly, thats all it’s really good for. And if Sony doesn’t allow Blue Ray XXX films they are finished as a company. Apple will be merging with them in the near future. Their Blu-Ray format will dies and the PS3 along with it reducing Sony to a mere shell of it’s former self with only it’s TV division doing anything well. Oh Sony snap the hell out of it.
    XBOX + Porn = Next Gen Winner.

    Like

  10. Stats lie. Let’s wait till the public release before we talk about uptake. And honestly now that Macs can run Vista, Microsofts share is actually going to rise. It is the best game OS. Frankly, thats all it’s really good for. And if Sony doesn’t allow Blue Ray XXX films they are finished as a company. Apple will be merging with them in the near future. Their Blu-Ray format will dies and the PS3 along with it reducing Sony to a mere shell of it’s former self with only it’s TV division doing anything well. Oh Sony snap the hell out of it.
    XBOX + Porn = Next Gen Winner.

    Like

  11. Robert, you seem to have missed the difference between 1980 and now. The Internet…..

    Sing along everyone. 😀

    Like

  12. Robert, you seem to have missed the difference between 1980 and now. The Internet…..

    Sing along everyone. 😀

    Like

  13. I think the market is a little different now considering there’s a ton of porn available on the internet which wasn’t around in the Beta vs. VHS days.

    P.S. – It’s Blu-ray, not BlueRay.

    Like

  14. I think the market is a little different now considering there’s a ton of porn available on the internet which wasn’t around in the Beta vs. VHS days.

    P.S. – It’s Blu-ray, not BlueRay.

    Like

  15. That it’s trailing XP after one month after relase is misleading – XP was released to both business and home users at the same time as I recall.

    I personally agree with those who think it’ll take about 2 years for 50% of businesses to adopt Vista, and that home users will be slower than that.

    But kudos to MS on the sales of Vista so far. While I’m one of those Apple “fanboys” some here love to call us Mac users, I have no issues with Microsoft. Many people worked hard for the last three four five years on this product (sorry couldn’t resist) and they deserves kudos on their achievement.

    Like

  16. That it’s trailing XP after one month after relase is misleading – XP was released to both business and home users at the same time as I recall.

    I personally agree with those who think it’ll take about 2 years for 50% of businesses to adopt Vista, and that home users will be slower than that.

    But kudos to MS on the sales of Vista so far. While I’m one of those Apple “fanboys” some here love to call us Mac users, I have no issues with Microsoft. Many people worked hard for the last three four five years on this product (sorry couldn’t resist) and they deserves kudos on their achievement.

    Like

  17. Paul Roundy nailed it, re early conclusions on Vista adoption.

    NPD measures channel sales not direct… results were measured in dollars rather than units (and it’s unclear whether there was price-adjustment or inflation-adjustment on those dollars)… sales were actually under those for WinXP in its first month.

    This evidence is too weak to say that all bloggers were wrong for doubting some of the folderol brunted about by “evangelists” the past few years. It makes you seem desperate for belief.

    Key questions for clientside technologies:
    (1) After how many months will it see 50% consumer adoption?
    (2) After how many months will it see 80% consumer adoption?

    jd/adobe

    Like

  18. Paul Roundy nailed it, re early conclusions on Vista adoption.

    NPD measures channel sales not direct… results were measured in dollars rather than units (and it’s unclear whether there was price-adjustment or inflation-adjustment on those dollars)… sales were actually under those for WinXP in its first month.

    This evidence is too weak to say that all bloggers were wrong for doubting some of the folderol brunted about by “evangelists” the past few years. It makes you seem desperate for belief.

    Key questions for clientside technologies:
    (1) After how many months will it see 50% consumer adoption?
    (2) After how many months will it see 80% consumer adoption?

    jd/adobe

    Like

  19. Sony is stuck on the Beta/VHS war, still. Let’s see there’s Memory stick vs SD, CF, etc. There’s MiniDisk and now Blue Ray. Every few years Sony tries to own a format and they blow it. I quit buying Sony products because I was tired of always having devices that don’t play well with the other electronics I own.

    Mark

    Like

  20. Sony is stuck on the Beta/VHS war, still. Let’s see there’s Memory stick vs SD, CF, etc. There’s MiniDisk and now Blue Ray. Every few years Sony tries to own a format and they blow it. I quit buying Sony products because I was tired of always having devices that don’t play well with the other electronics I own.

    Mark

    Like

  21. Missed Beta, MiniDisc, MP3 players, I can’t remember what else. Sony has been screwing the pooch for years now, and their quality has become medicore as well. Add the DRM/rootkit fiasco they got in, and as far as I am concerned, Sony products are off limits for me – thats a shame, because I used to be a HUGE Sony fan.

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  22. Missed Beta, MiniDisc, MP3 players, I can’t remember what else. Sony has been screwing the pooch for years now, and their quality has become medicore as well. Add the DRM/rootkit fiasco they got in, and as far as I am concerned, Sony products are off limits for me – thats a shame, because I used to be a HUGE Sony fan.

    Like

  27. How refreshing to see, even in this day and age when pornography is accepted as O.K. by so many, that there are still companies willing to take a moral stand knowing that it’s going to cost them a lot of money.

    Some things really are more important than mere coins of the realm.

    Like

  28. How refreshing to see, even in this day and age when pornography is accepted as O.K. by so many, that there are still companies willing to take a moral stand knowing that it’s going to cost them a lot of money.

    Some things really are more important than mere coins of the realm.

    Like

  31. But kudos to MS on the sales of Vista so far. While I’m one of those Apple “fanboys” some here love to call us Mac users, I have no issues with Microsoft. Many people worked hard for the last three four five years on this product (sorry couldn’t resist) and they deserves kudos on their achievement.

    Comment by DaveD — January 12, 2007 @ 8:39 am

    Dave, if you could actually take your view and attitude on this subject and pass it around to the
    mac fanboy base I would really enjoy talking about both OS’s, it’s nice to see a Mac fan with such a mature way of presenting your point of view.

    There’s alot to like about Windows Vista and Mac OSX,I could just never get past the holier than thou attitude that some people mistakenly adopt about their OS of choice, I’ve always liked OSX, but I refuse to deal with the misplaced smugness.

    Apple makes beautiful machines,if they could adopt just a little humility, it would go a long way towards winning new fans, including me.

    Like

  32. But kudos to MS on the sales of Vista so far. While I’m one of those Apple “fanboys” some here love to call us Mac users, I have no issues with Microsoft. Many people worked hard for the last three four five years on this product (sorry couldn’t resist) and they deserves kudos on their achievement.

    Comment by DaveD — January 12, 2007 @ 8:39 am

    Dave, if you could actually take your view and attitude on this subject and pass it around to the
    mac fanboy base I would really enjoy talking about both OS’s, it’s nice to see a Mac fan with such a mature way of presenting your point of view.

    There’s alot to like about Windows Vista and Mac OSX,I could just never get past the holier than thou attitude that some people mistakenly adopt about their OS of choice, I’ve always liked OSX, but I refuse to deal with the misplaced smugness.

    Apple makes beautiful machines,if they could adopt just a little humility, it would go a long way towards winning new fans, including me.

    Like

  33. Having owned both a beta cam and a beta player, I’ll never buy Sony’s proprietary, short-sighted systems again. It’s why I have so precious few videos of my (now-grown) kids. Keep their blue lights…

    BTW, I won’t put Vista on a production machine but I’m getting ready to install a copy on a second machine that I can format anytime. Are you finding it requires any more than what Dell claimed was Vista-ready to be acceptable to try out?

    Like

  34. Having owned both a beta cam and a beta player, I’ll never buy Sony’s proprietary, short-sighted systems again. It’s why I have so precious few videos of my (now-grown) kids. Keep their blue lights…

    BTW, I won’t put Vista on a production machine but I’m getting ready to install a copy on a second machine that I can format anytime. Are you finding it requires any more than what Dell claimed was Vista-ready to be acceptable to try out?

    Like

  35. So sorry about that almost-anon last post with a test-Gmail account, Robert. It’s Sue, Greensboro, soon to be Vista-Momma on a machine bought just to play…

    Like

  36. So sorry about that almost-anon last post with a test-Gmail account, Robert. It’s Sue, Greensboro, soon to be Vista-Momma on a machine bought just to play…

    Like

  37. HD-DVD will win the format war!! Blue Ray will only exist as Sony PS3 games after the format war is over.

    As for the MiniDisc it didn’t take off in the US but boy was it a success in Japan. Every company made one and almost every car had one installed (or an option). Both of the cars I had in Japan had MiniDisc head units and I loved them. Portable MD players were standard issue for students and people who rode public transportation for many many years, and that didn’t change until the iPod became popular.

    Like

  38. HD-DVD will win the format war!! Blue Ray will only exist as Sony PS3 games after the format war is over.

    As for the MiniDisc it didn’t take off in the US but boy was it a success in Japan. Every company made one and almost every car had one installed (or an option). Both of the cars I had in Japan had MiniDisc head units and I loved them. Portable MD players were standard issue for students and people who rode public transportation for many many years, and that didn’t change until the iPod became popular.

    Like

  39. There is NO evidence whatsoever that Sony can allow/disallow ANYONE from putting out pr0n on Bluray.

    This is nothing more than FUD.

    People always talk about Sony “Beta formats”, but they always fail to mention the CDROM (co with Philips), the 3.5″ Floppy (entirely Sony), etc…

    People call the MS a propietary format. But what do you think SD/CF are? Open Standards ? hahahaha, get real. You have to *PAY* license fees, just like MS.

    Like

  40. There is NO evidence whatsoever that Sony can allow/disallow ANYONE from putting out pr0n on Bluray.

    This is nothing more than FUD.

    People always talk about Sony “Beta formats”, but they always fail to mention the CDROM (co with Philips), the 3.5″ Floppy (entirely Sony), etc…

    People call the MS a propietary format. But what do you think SD/CF are? Open Standards ? hahahaha, get real. You have to *PAY* license fees, just like MS.

    Like

  41. Pingback: “Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD” Is Not “Beta vs. VHS” « cygweb

  42. This makes for nice headlines, and the idea that porn was VHS’ ‘killer app’ is fun to entertain, but I wish people would stop repeating this nonsense.

    That was not the reason VHS won: cheaper fees for manufacturers was the reason, hence cheaper players, hence bigger market.

    Also, and I seem to remember something called internet downloading available in 2007 that didn’t exist back then. I seriously doubt as many people would care today about porn not being available in a particular format.

    If by the end of 2007 there are more blu-ray players in the market, the adult industry will release titles in the format (because of the same ‘bigger market’ that helped VHS), as it will make sense.

    The comments from someone from Bangbros I read somewhere about more HD DVD players being available now shows either they have no clue, or they simply want to force a price decrease with all this…

    Like

  43. This makes for nice headlines, and the idea that porn was VHS’ ‘killer app’ is fun to entertain, but I wish people would stop repeating this nonsense.

    That was not the reason VHS won: cheaper fees for manufacturers was the reason, hence cheaper players, hence bigger market.

    Also, and I seem to remember something called internet downloading available in 2007 that didn’t exist back then. I seriously doubt as many people would care today about porn not being available in a particular format.

    If by the end of 2007 there are more blu-ray players in the market, the adult industry will release titles in the format (because of the same ‘bigger market’ that helped VHS), as it will make sense.

    The comments from someone from Bangbros I read somewhere about more HD DVD players being available now shows either they have no clue, or they simply want to force a price decrease with all this…

    Like

  46. I said the exact same thing earlier today about the Sony Beta thing. I guess they don’t learn! Should be interesting as I was talking to Mae a bit ago, and she says Blu-Ray rocks!

    Rex

    Like

  47. I said the exact same thing earlier today about the Sony Beta thing. I guess they don’t learn! Should be interesting as I was talking to Mae a bit ago, and she says Blu-Ray rocks!

    Rex

    Like

  48. “Porn has led the adoption of every new form of media since the Greek vase.”

    Well, in VHS and the Internet’s case, yes. But that was because the development of home video in the early 80’s and digital delivery in the late 90’s had something special to offer the porn distributors: greater privicy for their customers. This made porn a disproportionately important player in the development of these technologies. More so with VHS due to the fact that movie studios were slower to start selling films on tape, whereas with porn, it was the prime driver of that industry’s growth.

    Today the HD-DVD/Blu-ray format war isn’t goining to be determined by where porn goes (and even the porn industry is divided on that front). Neither technology gives any greater user experience over standard DVDs. If you are being blown away by the greater resolution and surround sound of a porno, you’re missing the point of this genre.

    Like

  49. “Porn has led the adoption of every new form of media since the Greek vase.”

    Well, in VHS and the Internet’s case, yes. But that was because the development of home video in the early 80’s and digital delivery in the late 90’s had something special to offer the porn distributors: greater privicy for their customers. This made porn a disproportionately important player in the development of these technologies. More so with VHS due to the fact that movie studios were slower to start selling films on tape, whereas with porn, it was the prime driver of that industry’s growth.

    Today the HD-DVD/Blu-ray format war isn’t goining to be determined by where porn goes (and even the porn industry is divided on that front). Neither technology gives any greater user experience over standard DVDs. If you are being blown away by the greater resolution and surround sound of a porno, you’re missing the point of this genre.

    Like

  50. “If you are being blown away by the greater resolution and surround sound of a porno, you’re missing the point of this genre.”
    Funny, but true. I think it’s porn that gravitates towards what makes them money rather than vice versa, personally, but in the case of HD-DVD, what does it give you over DVD? DVD added multi-angle, chapter jumps, and perfect pauses, but how many people really are going to jump formats just for the added bonus of double the resolution of the extreme closeup? When the camera’s zoomed in that close, does HD really add much?

    Like

  51. “If you are being blown away by the greater resolution and surround sound of a porno, you’re missing the point of this genre.”
    Funny, but true. I think it’s porn that gravitates towards what makes them money rather than vice versa, personally, but in the case of HD-DVD, what does it give you over DVD? DVD added multi-angle, chapter jumps, and perfect pauses, but how many people really are going to jump formats just for the added bonus of double the resolution of the extreme closeup? When the camera’s zoomed in that close, does HD really add much?

    Like

  52. They say Sony won’t allow porn on the Playstation either, but anyone who has been to Tokyo and walked through the game stores, including the ‘back room’ sees more than their share of ‘dating sims’ that are pretty darn close.

    Probably FUD.

    Like

  53. They say Sony won’t allow porn on the Playstation either, but anyone who has been to Tokyo and walked through the game stores, including the ‘back room’ sees more than their share of ‘dating sims’ that are pretty darn close.

    Probably FUD.

    Like

  54. Good on Sony. I don’t like them as a company, but it’s not always about the money. Letting porn drive an industry is not very cool despite the obvious factual history behind the trend.
    I despise porn and I wish more companies would stand up for decency like Sony.

    Like

  55. Good on Sony. I don’t like them as a company, but it’s not always about the money. Letting porn drive an industry is not very cool despite the obvious factual history behind the trend.
    I despise porn and I wish more companies would stand up for decency like Sony.

    Like

  56. Robert,

    I was an ardent Sony fan until their product turned to crap.

    I have Macs not for reasons of Apple arrogance, humility, personality, spin, reality distortion fields, or any of that. I have Macs because they are the best computers made, period. When that changes, Apple can go sit with Sony.

    Don’t plan to buy an I/ApplePhone, either, although the darn things do seem a few steps ahead of the pack.

    Richard Taylor

    Like

  57. Robert,

    I was an ardent Sony fan until their product turned to crap.

    I have Macs not for reasons of Apple arrogance, humility, personality, spin, reality distortion fields, or any of that. I have Macs because they are the best computers made, period. When that changes, Apple can go sit with Sony.

    Don’t plan to buy an I/ApplePhone, either, although the darn things do seem a few steps ahead of the pack.

    Richard Taylor

    Like

  58. @16 Joe: Thanks for the compliment.

    I used to be all things MS – my MCSD lapsed but only after it changed the course of my IT career. While I now develop in SAP, I think .NET is astounding.

    I’m not a gamer, so I have no clue about Xbox. I hear great things about it though. But Zune? A poor, rushed, iPod knockoff.

    I’ve moved to Mac because I love the quality of their hardware and think OS X “simply works”. But I also believe that a choice of OS is a personal thing. No matter what else, Vista provides competition for Apple, and that is always good.

    Like

  59. @16 Joe: Thanks for the compliment.

    I used to be all things MS – my MCSD lapsed but only after it changed the course of my IT career. While I now develop in SAP, I think .NET is astounding.

    I’m not a gamer, so I have no clue about Xbox. I hear great things about it though. But Zune? A poor, rushed, iPod knockoff.

    I’ve moved to Mac because I love the quality of their hardware and think OS X “simply works”. But I also believe that a choice of OS is a personal thing. No matter what else, Vista provides competition for Apple, and that is always good.

    Like

  60. “Porn has led the adoption of every new form of media since the Greek vase.”

    Yes, I fondly remember perusing one of the original 180 Gutenberg Pornos; spectacular! And the hardcore TV broadcasts of the late 1940’s (difficult to find now, but there are some fairly good kine’s available on DVD) were groundbreaking. And who can forget a concupiscent Edison breathily reciting, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Also, late 19th century phone sex (although admittedly inhibited by the use of party lines) was a huge moneymaker.

    Alright, that may have been a sarcasm overload, but I couldn’t help myself. RE adoption of the internet and VCRs (regardless of tape format), email, movies, taping television shows and newsgroup flame wars led the adoption of those two media. Porn co-opted them soon after, but I think there was enough “legitimate” content that both would have thrived even without it.

    Like

  61. “Porn has led the adoption of every new form of media since the Greek vase.”

    Yes, I fondly remember perusing one of the original 180 Gutenberg Pornos; spectacular! And the hardcore TV broadcasts of the late 1940’s (difficult to find now, but there are some fairly good kine’s available on DVD) were groundbreaking. And who can forget a concupiscent Edison breathily reciting, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Also, late 19th century phone sex (although admittedly inhibited by the use of party lines) was a huge moneymaker.

    Alright, that may have been a sarcasm overload, but I couldn’t help myself. RE adoption of the internet and VCRs (regardless of tape format), email, movies, taping television shows and newsgroup flame wars led the adoption of those two media. Porn co-opted them soon after, but I think there was enough “legitimate” content that both would have thrived even without it.

    Like

  64. It’s sad to see how incomptent Sony has become in recent years. This is not the company that Morita built.

    Like

  65. It’s sad to see how incomptent Sony has become in recent years. This is not the company that Morita built.

    Like

  66. It sucks that HD DVD will probably win the fight, because Blu-Ray is a lot better in terms of storage space…and the name is cooler.

    Like

  67. It sucks that HD DVD will probably win the fight, because Blu-Ray is a lot better in terms of storage space…and the name is cooler.

    Like

  74. Pornographers are usually are the forefront of applying technological innovations to their “craft”

    They were the first to develop banner ads, online payments, and streaming-on-demand…

    Like

  75. Pornographers are usually are the forefront of applying technological innovations to their “craft”

    They were the first to develop banner ads, online payments, and streaming-on-demand…

    Like

  76. interesting, who are the ones that “expected” vista sales and what are the figures they expected and why … all they talk are just higher than expected 🙂

    Like

  77. interesting, who are the ones that “expected” vista sales and what are the figures they expected and why … all they talk are just higher than expected 🙂

    Like

  78. Pingback: » Vista Business Sales Moving Faster Than Expected »  InsideMicrosoft - part of the Blog News Channel

  83. I don’t get Sony. They have great products but ruin it by always going with a one off technology especially around storage. Memory sticks come to mind… I guess they think they’ll keep you on their products if you have their technologies already but that’s not the way to pull in new customers.

    Like

  84. I don’t get Sony. They have great products but ruin it by always going with a one off technology especially around storage. Memory sticks come to mind… I guess they think they’ll keep you on their products if you have their technologies already but that’s not the way to pull in new customers.

    Like

  87. The war ended today. Blue-ray is the winner.

    I think this time the XXX viewers didn’t have any effect on this war, because the most of them watch it over the Internet 😀

    Like

  88. The war ended today. Blue-ray is the winner.

    I think this time the XXX viewers didn’t have any effect on this war, because the most of them watch it over the Internet 😀

    Like

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