Star Trek : The Original Series ( Betamax ) US releases . In early 1980 , directly pursuant the premiere of , Paramount Home Entertainment ( then known as Paramount Home Video ) released ten selected episodes on the new VHS and Betamax home media formats in the United States , in five volumes of two episodes each as part of their " Television Classics " collection : / , / , / , / , and / . Released in conjuncture , or rather as appetizers for the in October released " The Motion Picture " videotape formats , they together are as such the earliest known official ( thereby discounting any and all possible previous and illegal so - called " s " , " Original Series " " blooper reels " being a prime example , and including the prior Super 8 releases ) " Star Trek " releases in either format , or in any home media format for that matter . A bit puzzling was , that unlike its " Motion Picture " releases , Paramount did not endow the " Original Series " releases with catalog numbers or rating indicators . It was these tapes that very shortly thereafter turned up as the first " Star Trek " productions in the VHS / Betamax rental circuit . In mid - 1979 , Paramount Home Video hammered out a deal with photo developer / video rental outlet to release thirty - six titles of their backlog catalog on the new home media formats for the rental circuit , who started to do so from December 1979 onward , thereby becoming one of the very first such rental companies . From March 1980 onward , Paramount gradually expanded the original agreement to 131 titles , and it was only after that occasion that all six available " Star Trek " videotape titles were added to Fotomat ' s rental catalog . Fotomat had the Paramount introductory logos , disclaimers , and credits on the rental tapes , the ones normally seen prior to the feature presentation , replaced with their own . The tapes were additionally packaged in simple die - cut silver cases with black markings and the Fotomat logo on the case . The labels were black with white text . At the time , a tape could be either be rented for US $ 12 , or , later , for those customers who had missed out on the initial chance to acquire the Paramount tapes , purchased for a price in the US $ 40 - $ 70 range , both rather steep for that era . Ever since , " Star Trek " has been a staple in the rental circuit , until Betamax tapes were phased out in the late - 1980s and early 1990s , to be followed by the VHS tapes over a decade later . A further one - off Betamax / VHS release of the episode took place in under the Paramount Gateway Video label , coinciding with the theatrical release of . A complete release of the series eventually followed , starting in . Paramount issued episodes in batches ( or Groups as they called them ) every few months in broadcast order ( though the tapes were numbered in production order ) . Each tape contained a single episode and each Group had around ten episodes each . Both parts of " The Menagerie " were issued on a single tape . These releases concluded in with the release of Groups 7 and 8 , which featured the remaining eighteen episodes . Some of these later episodes were released in both in Betamax - sized boxes and VHS - sized boxes with a " Beta " sticker and appropriate ISBN barcode added . UK releases . A few Betamax tapes were issued in the UK by CIC Video and other labels in the early 1980s . All of these releases used packaging identical to the VHS releases with sometimes only a sticker being placed on the cover and spine to tell them apart . Australian releases . At least one rental tape was released in Australia in by CIC - Taft Home Video .