Own a Betamax? Danbury Museum & Historical Society Needs You

If you've been holding onto a Sony Betamax for decades hoping that someday a treasure would be uncovered that requires your machine, well my friend, your time has come. Danbury Museum & Historical Society has received some classic Betamax tapes containing footage capturing the Great Danbury Fair that they'd love to show you, but they can't find a player.

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If you have been alive since the 1970's, you remember the glory days of VHS and Betamax recorders and players. VHS players were built for the masses, while Betamax was the higher quality format that pros used. Betamax tapes were shorter in length (2 hours compared to 4-6 hours for VHS), produced slightly better resolution, and were slightly more expensive. I remember the VCR vs Betamax war, it was Sony's product against the world, and Sony eventually lost the battle. I honestly haven't seen a Betamax player in person since the late 1990's? I just went onto Ebay, and found a functional Sony Betamax player for the sweet low price of $45.

Yesterday, the Danbury Museum and Historical Society used their social media to issue a plea to anyone that still owns one of these beautiful machines from the past. The Museum recently received a donation of a collection of Betamax video tapes capturing the Great Danbury Fair as it happened, and they would love to show you. The Museum would love to borrow a Betamax machine if you still own one, if you do, reach out to p.wells@danbury-ct.gov.