Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the Onslaught of the Vcr [Hardcover]

James Lardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1987

The illuminating, sometimes funny story about Hollywood, the Japanese, and the battle over the video recording industry.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Videocassette recorders are now fixtures in 40% of American households, but Lardner's lively history of the video business reminds us not only that it wasn't always that way, but also that the ubiquitous machine was very nearly detoured on its march into our homes and our hearths. There are mishaps aplenty along the way, including Sony's failed efforts to make its technically superior Beta format the industry standard, Hollywood's failed attempts to persuade Congress and the Supreme Court to cripple the technology to protect film and TV copyrights, and the American consumer-electronics industry's failed endeavors to beat the Japanese to the technological finish line. Lardner, a staff writer for the New Yorker, recounts these failures in exacting detail; under his magnifying glass, big shots from Tokyo, Hollywood and Washington look very small indeedand sometimes, deservedly, very silly. Unfortunately, the trivialities at times obscure the fundamental importance of the issues underneath. Lardner's comedy of errors offers valuable background on this critical transition in the entertainment industries, but his arch perspective fails to unite all the details into a compelling, illuminating picture. First serial to the New Yorker, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (April 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393023893
• ISBN-13: 978-0393023893
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,062,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This techobusiness weirdness that we're in isn't new, March 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese & the VCR Wars (Mass Market Paperback)

It happens all the time. Here we go again. Pick a winner and win a prize. Here is a wonderful history book about new media, and the string of failures including CBS's EVR, RCA's Holotape and MagTape, Sony's U-Matic (it was intended to be a consumer device, but was an accidental hit in the professional market, not unlike IBM's PC) and Betamax, Discovision, Cartrivision, V-Cord, and the ultimate winner, JVC's Video Home System. It explains why the Japanese decided to fight it out in the marketplace with competing 1/2" tape systems, and has lots of coverage of the Betamax Case, which has important implications not only in Freedom of Speech and Copyright Law, but in the politics of Muchomedia. Many of the questions we struggle with in Modern Muchomedia tripped up these guys a decade earlier.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why is this book not in print again?, July 20, 2001

By 

Steven Carroll (Sammamish, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the Onslaught of the Vcr (Hardcover)

This book is so relevant to the time we live in now its silly. All the IP issues that are argued ad nauseum about ... and its ilk have all been hashed out 20 years ago. Even some of the players were the same, such as our old friend Jack Valenti and Sony (who were on the other side at the time!) The IP parts are great, but the history of the BETA vs VHS battles are also very illuminating and the stories about the Sony engineers and early failed attempts at VCRs are fascinating.

Techno junkies will love this book. Order it....

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Summary of the History of VideoTape Systems, January 12, 2002

By 

"[e-mail]" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the Onslaught of the Vcr (Hardcover)

The RCA CED VideoDisc system is barely mentioned in this book, but it does provide a comprehensive history of video tape formats, with an emphasis on how RCA and other American manufacturers let VCR production slip through their fingers. Besides covering the Betamax and VHS tape formats, the book also deals with other obscure tape formats like CV-2000, U-matic, EVR, InstaVision, Cartrivision, AutoVision, V-Cord, HoloTape, and MagTape. The last several chapters of the book deal extensively with the landmark Universal vs. Sony lawsuit.