Betamax (also called Beta, and referred to as such in the logo) is a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released in Japan on May 10, 1975. The first Betamax introduced in America was the LV-1901 console, which included a 19" color monitor, and appeared in stores in early November, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format. The format is obsolete, having lost the videotape format war to VHS. Betamax recorders ceased production in 2002, but the format's cassette tapes remain available until March 2016, when Sony will discontinue them.