Failed Physical Media Formats

What It Covers

From CartaVision in 1972 to SACD today, this episode traces eight failed physical media formats for music and video, examining why timing, cost, copy restrictions, and market shifts determined which technologies survived and which disappeared.

Key Questions Answered

• •Timing over technology: RCA spent over a decade developing SelectaVision, launching it in 1981 only to find VHS and Betamax already dominant. The system also lacked recording capability — the primary reason consumers bought home video machines — costing RCA hundreds of millions of dollars.
• •Copy protection as market killer: Both DAT and MiniDisc failed in consumer markets largely because Sony embedded restrictive copy controls that made them less convenient than competing formats. DAT survived only in professional recording studios, while MiniDisc became a mainstream format exclusively in Japan.
• •Format wars split audiophile markets: DVD Audio (24-bit, up to 192kHz) and SACD (1-bit at 2.8MHz sampling) launched simultaneously in 2000, splitting the high-resolution audio market exactly when Napster and MP3s were peaking — ensuring neither replaced the CD as intended.
• •Physical media niche survival: Streaming has not eliminated physical media entirely. SACD still generates roughly 500–700 new titles annually, concentrated in classical music and Japan. Even eight-track and reel-to-reel tapes see limited new releases, suggesting niche collector markets can sustain legacy formats indefinitely.