Betamax

See also: betamax

English

Etymology

According to Sony, the name had a double meaning: beta is the Japanese word used to describe the way in which signals are recorded on the tape; and the shape of the Greek letter beta β resembles the course of the tape through the transport. The suffix -max, from maximum, was added to suggest greatness.

Proper noun

Betamax

1. A home videocassette recording format developed by Sony in 1975, now known for having lost the format war to VHS.

   Synonym: Beta

Verb

Betamax (third-person singular simple present Betamaxes, present participle Betamaxing, simple past and past participle Betamaxed)

1. (transitive, informal) To make (something) obsolete.
   • 2006, Ian David Aronson, DV Filmmaking: From Start to Finish, volume 1, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 98:

     If you don’t want to get Betamaxed, or stuck with a dated technology, it might be a good idea to purchase the latest, fastest computer available.

   • 2008, Chris DiBona, Mark Stone, and Danese Cooper, Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 159:

     DRM can't stop piracy, but it can prevent anyone from Betamaxing another industry, commercializing disruptive technology development without content-industry sanction.

   • 2012, Michael Meyers, CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, edition 8, McGraw Hill Professional, →ISBN, page 253:

     CRIMM RDRAM offered dramatic possibilities for high-speed PCs but ran into three roadblocks that Betamaxed it.

See also

• -maxx
• VHS

 

Further reading

• Betamax on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Paul McFedries (1996–2024) “Betamax”, in Word Spy, Logophilia Limited.