Looking for the title of a book on the original format war.
02-22-08 | 02:33 PM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Looking for the title of a book on the original format war.
I've been fruitlessly searching for this off an on for over 17 years, and only now did it dawn on me to ask at a forum (d'oh!).
I can't remember the author and I can't remember the title, so I'm hoping I wasn't the only person to have read it. The book was published (by a major publisher, as I recall) around the mid- to late-80's and was largely concerned with the development of VHS and Beta back in the 70's, and Sony's endless struggle to keep its format alive. Quite a suspenseful read, actually.
I used this book as part of my research for a lengthy two-part article I wrote for a daily newspaper back in 1990 on the history of home video, but as I quoted nothing directly from it, I made no mention of the title in the articles (which I still have), nor was I required to add footnotes/bibliographies as it's generally not editorial policy on most newspapers.
I have no pressing need whatsoever in finding the book, but every once in a while, it pops into my head and I try to dig up something about it online, but to no avail. I do remember picking it up at a local library with the intention of simply skimming it for what I needed, but found it interesting enough to beg a deadline extension mainly so I could read the whole thing. I went back a few times to see if I could find it a couple of years later and it was gone, probably sold off due to its somewhat "dated" subject matter. I've always thought it would be fascinating to read it again, in light of all that has transpired since then.
Anyways, I realize this isn't much to go on, but if anyone has some titles they can throw at me, perhaps something will stick.
I can't remember the author and I can't remember the title, so I'm hoping I wasn't the only person to have read it. The book was published (by a major publisher, as I recall) around the mid- to late-80's and was largely concerned with the development of VHS and Beta back in the 70's, and Sony's endless struggle to keep its format alive. Quite a suspenseful read, actually.
I used this book as part of my research for a lengthy two-part article I wrote for a daily newspaper back in 1990 on the history of home video, but as I quoted nothing directly from it, I made no mention of the title in the articles (which I still have), nor was I required to add footnotes/bibliographies as it's generally not editorial policy on most newspapers.
I have no pressing need whatsoever in finding the book, but every once in a while, it pops into my head and I try to dig up something about it online, but to no avail. I do remember picking it up at a local library with the intention of simply skimming it for what I needed, but found it interesting enough to beg a deadline extension mainly so I could read the whole thing. I went back a few times to see if I could find it a couple of years later and it was gone, probably sold off due to its somewhat "dated" subject matter. I've always thought it would be fascinating to read it again, in light of all that has transpired since then.
Anyways, I realize this isn't much to go on, but if anyone has some titles they can throw at me, perhaps something will stick.
02-24-08 | 01:25 AM
#3
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
That's the one. Many thanks. Seventeen years of passive searching wrapped up in a couple of days. Looks like used copies are easy to come by, so I'm thinking it might be worth revisiting this one all these years later, as it really was a definitive telling of the tale.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...56C0A961948260
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...56C0A961948260
