U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for June 9: Going to the Tape

U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for June 9: Going to the Tape

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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GOING TO THE TAPE

Profile America -- Thursday, June 9th. A home entertainment revolution began on this date in 1975 when the videocassette recorder was introduced. It was Sony's Betamax format recorder, which in a very few years was superseded by the rival VHS format. Although Betamax was technically superior, VHS gained its dominance by being the first cassette to offer extended recording times. At its peak, some 9-out-of-10 households across the country had a VCR. Then, the DVD was introduced in 1997, and quickly eclipsed videocassettes. Now, the rising format is the Blu-ray system. Renting out DVD and Blu-ray discs, and what's left of videocassettes, is the business of just under 3,200 shops in the U.S., engaging in a nearly $4.5 billion a year business. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources:
Anniversary/accessed 4/1/2016: http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2011/06/0607betamax-vcr-television-recorder/
Betamax vs. VHS/accessed 4/1/2016: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/compare/betamax-vhs.html
Video tape and disc rental establishments/NAICS 532230: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2013/00A2
Revenues: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~532230

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu).

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

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U.S. Census Bureau

CONTACT: Rick Reed, 301-763-2812; or e-mail:

Web Site: http://www.census.gov


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Profile: intent