TV & VIDEO - July 13, 1988

After 13 years of sticking to its Beta-format guns, Sony Corp. announced Tuesday that it will begin selling VHS-format videocassette recorders--which have become the dominant format in VCRs--in this country this fall. Sony has sold VHS-format machines in Europe since the spring and will begin doing so in Japan this month. Sony’s decision to go VHS draws to a close the long battle between its Beta system and the incompatible VHS standard, introduced in 1976 by the Japan Victor Corp. (JVC). Analysts have said Sony was not active enough in soliciting other companies to join it in making and marketing the Beta system, and was late in responding to consumer demand.