Betacam was first introduced into the market in the 1982. In 1992, Digibeta was brought into the market as betacam's replacement.
Digibeta is a newer technology than betacam. Digibeta compresses data using digital compression, where Betacam uses an analog method.
Digibeta and betacam tapes only record a fraction of the duration of VHS, needing multiple tapes to hold a feature film.
Digibeta has been widely popularized within the film and television community as an archival format. The digibeta players are often backward compatible and can play the older betacam formats.
Betacam and Digibeta fall victim to the wear and tear of all tape mediums. Tape is sensitive to dust, moiusture, chemicals and wear.