Porn on Beta

Porn on Beta

A couple weeks ago, I was casting out the question, "Was porn ever made on beta?" Not because of a particular desire or need for it, but because of the popular legend that the porn industry's exclusive support for VHS was a major force in the demise of Betamax. You most commonly hear the story in conjunction with a defense of porn's importance in driving new technology particularly the internet. If the accounts are correct, then porn on beta is something of legendary status in the annals of antiquated technology. One band from Vancouver, at least, has acknowledged this (although, their bio avoids it).

Unfortunately, the answer I fished up wasn't nearly as exciting as the mythos of the question.

One respondent attested to owning a fairly large collection of porn on beta.... which ruins my hope that such an item is a monumental rarity. He also claims that the fall of beta mostly had to do with aggressive marketing of VHS by JVC, including some ultra-discounted distribution in the professional market. (This may be where the porn myth arises.) The claims seem backed up by the Urban Legend archive, which outlines the marketing battle and resulting price war.

As much as I hate to abandon this novel story, it appears the facts are forcing me to do so.