ABSTRACT
Groups of American television executives crowded into a small Chicago hotel room on April 21, 1956 to witness the public introduction of the Ampex videotape recorder. As they watched the demonstration, there was no indication that they had any idea of the enormous impact this new media technology would ultimately have throughout the world. To most of the professional broadcasters in attendance, it was just a brilliant solution to a myriad of production and scheduling problems. At the time, it was impossible for these industry leaders to envision the transition of this technology from broadcast studio to living room some 20 years later when Sony Corporation would introduce the Betamax videocassette recorder to America.
