Template:Realworld
Betamax, also known as simply Beta, was a home video format introduced on 10 May 1975 by Sony, three years before its main rival VHS. Star Trek releases on Beta included the first six films, all episodes of The Original Series and The Animated Series and the first three episodes of The Next Generation before the formats demise in the early 90s.
Beta tapes were first released in boxes that were slightly larger than the tape itself providing for a tight fit. Similar to that one had with the sleeve one gets with a blank video tape. All of the episodes, including the color version of "The Cage" were first released in this fashion. Paramount was one of the last, if not the last, studio to release video tapes in the Betamax format. Beta tapes released towards the end of the format's life were often in the boxes made for the commercially more popular VHS format. Star Trek releases were no exception to this and Beta tapes of the episodes were released in VHS sized boxes, with a piece of cardboard inserted into the box to make for a tighter fit and a big sticker on the front of the box saying "BETA" and smaller ones on the side of the box saying beta used to cover up the VHS logo.
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Betamax releases |
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The Original Series • The Animated Series • Star Trek films • The Next Generation |
Home video formats |
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Super 8 • Betamax • VHS • CED • LaserDisc • VHD • Video 8 • VCD • DVD • UMD • HD DVD • Blu-ray • 4K Ultra HD • Digital |
Release chronology
Dates in italics are approximate.
Date | Country | Product released |
---|---|---|
1980 | ||
October | US | Star Trek: The Motion Picture |
Unknown | US | Star Trek: Television Classics volumes 1-5 (all) |
Unknown | UK | Star Trek - Shore Leave (Mountain) |
1981 | ||
May | UK | Star Trek: The Motion Picture |
Unknown | UK | Star Trek - Where No Man Has Gone Before, Star Trek - The Menagerie (EVC) |
1982 | ||
May | UK | Star Trek - Trouble with Tribbles (Mountain) |
June | UK | Star Trek - Amok Time, Star Trek - Dagger of the Mind (Mountain) |
July | US | Star Trek: Space Seed |
November | US | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan |
1983 | ||
March | US | Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Special Longer Version |
April | UK | Star Trek - CIC-Arena 1 of 2 |
October | UK | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan |
December | UK | Star Trek - CIC-Arena 2 of 2 |
Unknown | Germany | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan |
1984 | ||
October | UK | Star Trek - Double Bill |
1985 | ||
February | US | Tapes 1-10 ("Group 1") of 80 for Star Trek, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock |
March | UK | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock |
April | UK | Volume 1 of Star Trek: The Animated Series (Rental) |
May | US | Tapes 11-20 ("Group 2") of 80 for Star Trek |
November | US | Tapes 21-30 ("Group 3") of 80 for Star Trek |
1986 | ||
April | US | Tapes 31-40 ("Group 4") of 80 for Star Trek |
November | US | Tapes 41-51 ("Group 5") of 80 for Star Trek, Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Special Longer Version, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock re-releases |
1987 | ||
30 September | US | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home |
September | US | Tapes 52-61 ("Group 6") of 80 for Star Trek |
Unknown | Australia | Star Trek: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" & "The Corbomite Maneuver"; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home |
Unknown | UK | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; Volumes 1-2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation (Rental) |
1988 | ||
April | US | Tapes 62-71 ("Group 7") & 72-79 ("Group 8") of 80 for Star Trek |
1989 | ||
July | US | Volumes 1-11 (all) for Star Trek: The Animated Series |
21 December | US | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier |
Unknown | US | Tape 80 of 80 for Star Trek ("The Cage" All-Color Collector's Edition) |
1991 | ||
5 September | US | Tapes 1-3 (all) for Star Trek: The Next Generation |
Unknown | US | Star Trek - The Collector's Edition |
1992 | ||
12 March | US | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Director's Series |
1 July | US | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country |
Unknown | ||
Unknown | Australia | Star Trek: The Motion Picture |
Unknown | Spain | Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan |
Unknown | Turkey | Tape 1 for Star Trek: The Next Generation |
Unknown | UK | Star Trek - Trouble with Tribbles (Videon) |
Unknown | UK | Volumes 2-4 of Star Trek: The Animated Series (Rental) |