The popular perception was that Betamax was simply the inferior product.
But the truth is much more complicated and interesting than that.
Early on, Betamax was considered to be thevastly superior formatin most traditional ways.
That also meant that VHS players and tapes were cheaper for consumers.
However, its also important to consider that both formats wereludicrouslyexpensive for the average person.
Adjusted for inflation, that would be around $8,500 to $11,000 today.
Comparatively, you couldbuy a VHS playerfor around $1,000 to $1,500 when it launched in 1977.
Worse was the cost of individual movies.
Again, the exact prices tended to fluctuate, but the point remained the same.
The thought of owning a personal library of movies was an almost unfathomable luxury at that time.
To change that, a major studio would have to boldly go where no studio had gone before.
It just made more sense to choose VHS over Betamax.
Even still, studios largely refused to budge on the price of individual movie releases.
But then, in 1982, Paramount decided to try something pretty bold.
The front of that tapeeven promoted the releaseas The Episode That InspiredStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
There is little documentation about the logic behind the decision, but the idea seems simple in retrospect.
Yet, thats exactly what happened.
That $30 copy of a singleStar Trekepisodereportedly outsoldfull-length modern movies that debuted at full retail prices.
Did that mean that a surprising amount of people were willing to pay for VHS copies of TV episodes?
In any case, take a moment to appreciate the risk Paramount was taking.
Of course,Star Trekwasnt the only property pushing increased VHS sales at that time.
Even still, widespread changes in the industry werent exactly immediate.
Soon, almost everyone would be able to build a home library around thatStar Trek IIVHS they likely owned.
The success ofWrath of Kahnshowed just how important price was when it came to home media adoption.
It didnt hurt thatWrath of Khanwas so entertaining and rewatchable.
If you were only going to own one movie, it was a great one to own.
