Before streaming, before DVDs, before the internet decided everything for us, there was BASF — the name stamped on video cassettes trusted by people who cared about quality. In the late ’70s and ’80s, BASF’s Beta tapes were the choice of archivists, home-recording obsessives, underground filmmakers, and anyone who believed image and sound deserved precision.
The logo became shorthand for a certain kind of seriousness: crisp playback, careful labeling, rewound tapes stacked neatly on a shelf. It evokes late nights recording TV broadcasts, copying cult films, preserving moments that felt important enough to keep. For many, Beta wasn’t just a format — it was a mindset.
