Movie Studios Tried to Kill the Very Tech That Ended Up Saving Them

Hollywood picks some bizarre enemies. This obscure chapter in entertainment history was founded on a misunderstanding of customers and was fueled by scare-mongering by those predicting no less than the demise of the industry. Arguably the best invention to hit the market in the seventies, Sony's home video recorder, was immediately hamstrung by Universal and Disney. Yes, there existed a time when Sony was the scrappy underdog, fighting for the rights of consumers to own their media. Weird, huh?