Despite missing several launch dates, when V2000 finally arrived in 1980 it was as revolutionary as they had promised. Alone of all video cassette formats, Video 2000 allowed its tapes to be turned over, like audio cassettes. This meant that a cassette almost exactly the same size as a VHS tape could hold six or even eight hours, in total.

V2000 machines were also extremely sophisticated, using microprocessor control for all manner of trick-play and programming features. But the earliest machines were expensive and lacked features when compared to the VHS and Betamax machines which were also appearing at the time, and Video 2000 never gained the popularity it deserved. In 1985 the format was officially abandoned, becoming the first casualty of the Format War.