1980s
* VHS vs. Betamax vs. Video 2000 vs. Capacitance Electronic Disc(CED) vs. LaserDisc, the videotape format war that was not decided until 1988 (when Sony licensed and sold VHS technology from the competitor JVC).
* Vinyl record vs. CD
* Video8 vs. VHS-C and later Hi8 vs. S-VHS-C camcorder tape formats. This is an extension of the VHS vs. Betamax format war, but here neither format "won" widespread acceptance. Video8 had the advantage in terms of recording time (1 hour versus 1/2 hour), but consumers also liked VHS-C since it could easily play in their home VCRs, thus the two formats essentially split the camcorder market in half. As of 2007, JVC still makes VHS-C/S-VHS-C camcorders and Sony still makes Hi8 units.
* AM stereo was capable of fidelity equivalent to FM but was doomed in the USA by competing formats during the 1980s with Motorola's C-QUAM competing vigorously with four other incompatible formats including those by Magnavox, Kahn/Haseltine, and Harris. It is still widely used in Japan, and sees sporadic use by broadcast stations in the United States despite the lack of consumer equipment to support it.
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