1983 Sony Beta hi-fi Demonstration - Second Version

[@KyleKetelsen]

In 1983 my dad sold his motorcycle, and with the money he bought a Commodore 64 and a Sony Betamax. I watched this demo tape over and over and over again on my dad‘s surroundsound system. I can’t tell you how nostalgic this is to view now at an age of nearly 50. Sony Betamax was so superior to VHS, but just couldn’t hold as much on the tape. Sony still holds a special place in my heart. They had the superior product, but lost in the same way as HD DVD.

[@sergioleone4215]

Glad I'm not the only one to think this way. I bought a new Sony Betahifi when they first came out. Also bought a Toshiba HD-DVD player. I thought both were the superior technology but the market didn't agree.

[@KyleKetelsen]

@@sergioleone4215 👍🏼👍🏼

[@Kylefassbinderful]

if it was a superior product it would've had more tape length. beta 1 wasn't even an option on beta decks after '79. beta 2 looked similar the vhs LP but at 75% of the recording time. lol people really still think beta was better

[@telaacida]

@@Kylefassbinderful Betamax had great potential and was responsible for launching many technical innovations for years. But it made three fatal mistakes: 1) a restrictive policy of licensing the format to its competitors 2) a short tape life 3) disregarding the know-how of its competitors. RCA advised Sony that the tape should be capable of recording up to 4 hours in extended mode so that an American could record a photball match in its entirety. Or when Marantz developed a Hi-Fi device incompatible with the Sony model.

[@cherokeelaketennessee7895]

I bought a Sonya Beta Hi-Fi VCR in 1986, hooked it up to my Pioneer rack system and the first movie I watch was The Goonies. Friends would call and ask what we were watching this weekend, it was awesome! Miss those days

[@hitssquad]

The future was better in the past.

[@Watcher3223]

This seems to sum that sentiment up quite nicely... kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaDKipp-obOhp9E&ytbChannel=SolsburyHill22

[@SiciElbuensici]

Damm , this really threw me back to my childhood. I never thought i would be seeing it again. My dad brought this demo tape with the first beta player back in 84.

[@WillyM79]

I watched this video so many times when I was a kid

[@spydude38]

Thanks for posting this. Back in the 80s I remember being in my local adiophile store when the guy who worked there told me I needed to see and listen to something. I went into the listening room where normally all the speakers and receivers, ect. were located and there was a television screen with a set of speakers set to each side of a chair. I sat down and this video was played on the setup and I was sold. I purchased my Sony Beta Hi-Fi for $726.00 and along with that I added a set of Polk Audio Satellites and a sub woofer. I ran it via Sony Receiver and that was the first home theater system for me. The sound was so superb that I actually used the Beta Hi-Fi to record my Half Speed master recordings on to. At the time it was closest thing to CD quality sound. It was amazing and watching movies as well as hearing them was revolutionary for me. Wish I still had that set up today.

[@bobskie321]

Back then during 1990s I used to rent concerts on a Laser Disc format and record them on either Betamax or VHS for personal use and I noticed that Beta Hi-Fi sounds slightly better than VHS Hi-Fi even both of them can response up to 20KHz in Hi-Fi mode. I have no idea why. Our Betamax was a Sony SL-HF 860D but damaged during flash flood in 2011. It can record ßII & ßIII and can also play (but not record) tapes recorded in ßI. The picture quality is also better than VHS.

[@MrBetaByte]

Beta Hi-Fi was so amazing for it's time and really the best of the FM Hi-Fi formats. Great video too.

[@billlaut608]

Thank you -- THANK YOU! -- for posting this video. I, too, had this video. I don't recall the model number of Beta Hi-Fi it came with, but I remember it had the jack next to the tracking control where I could plug in my Sony Trinicon HVC-2000 color camera (and which I still have). And I played this tape regularly, even as that solo Beta Hi-Fi deck grew into a very complete Sony ES Series home entertainment system (with Bose 901 Series IV speakers and twin mono Sony TA-N77ES amplifiers). Sony Beta Hi-Fi never sounded so good. Tragically, I lost my demo tape (along with three cabinets of Beta tapes) when I forgot to pay the rent on my storage locker. I never thought I'd enjoy the tape again, until tonight. Thanks again for posting it!

[@Watcher3223]

It sounds like you used to own a Sony SL-2700. www.betamaxcollectors.com/sonybetamaxmodelsl-2700.html One of the decks I own is its successor, the SL-2710. It was high end for its time, though not nearly as feature-laden as your SL-2700. www.betamaxcollectors.com/sonybetamaxmodelsl-2710.html And, you're welcome. Thank you for your comments. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@billlaut608]

***** I had the SL-2700 almost immediately traded it back in for the snazzier black version (SL-2700B). I owned it right up until this past March when I lost it with my Beta tape collection when I forgot to pay the rent on my storage locker. I began with the SL-5600 or 5800 (which was also in the storage locker). Added the SL-2000 and TT-2000 tuner (which I still have). Upgraded to the SL-2700B and finished my Beta experience with the SL-HF750 that I still have in my home entertainment system.

[@cathycutler7996]

Watcher3223 I want to hang out with you.

[@MontrealMan1970]

Early-80s I remember plugging the vhs rca jacks to my 4-channel kenwood it was like leaping decades ahead in one step.

[@AudioFileZ]

Ah, how I remember this. In fact the tape came with my Sony SL-5200 VCR. My first pre-recorded tape purchased with Beta Hi-Fi sound was a live concert by Fleetwood Mac. The deck itself was a behemoth, heavy too. The keys were still partially mechanical and not all solenoids. Though todays smartphones have literally thousand and thousand of extremely small components (the camera module alone is minuscule and is still partially mechanical), the helical-scanning home VCR with Hi-Fi sound is literally one of the most complex electrical/mechanical devices ever to become a mainstream consumer product. Unfortunately the myriad mechanical linkages and components were almost guaranteed to begin to fail in about five years with moderate to heavy use. They were just too complex and had to be made as inexpensively as possible for market pricing. Unbelievably my SL-5200 still works since it was made a bit like a brute, though the old 4:3 NTSC picture just can't cut it in todays world. The sound on the other hand is still respectable. For instance you could transfer audio only if you were so inclined to get a couple of hours of continuous music that would not sound bad on todays systems. At the time this was a quantum leap in home audio married to video. Today's Blu-Ray discs are almost unbelievable in quality in comparison. I was a sucker for all this stuff at the time even dubbing rented laser discs to build a small library. I moved on to VHS Hi-Fi as it was clear Sony was losing the home VCR sales battle. Those decks owe a lot to Sony, but they were apt to the same mechanical problems and just wouldn't last but a couple to five years either. This is great for nostalgia...but, no I don't miss these dinosaurs. I do, however, question the year being 1975? My memories are more around 1982 or maybe 1983.

[@Watcher3223]

+John Werner _"I do, however, question the year being 1975? My memories are more around 1982 or maybe 1983."_ Betamax itself debuted in 1975. But, your memory is not failing you; hi-fi sound for Betamax debuted in 1983.

[@ziggyff693]

same here but my first tapes were these 15 minute music video tapes sony called video 45's ..they would have 3 Bowie Videos, or some obscure sony label band...pioneer also did the same with their digital laserdisc players too...boy the money I pissed away on these

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

Great sound! However, youtube does degrade the audio quality (480p = 128 kbps). You should upload it to HD for best results.

[@Watcher3223]

Fivos Sakellis It's just a matter of getting around to doing it.

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

I love old tech! Vintage audio is the best!

[@jrdavis1992]

I have a Chromecast hooked up to my TV set, and the audio on this video sounds like a high quality AC3 audio stream.

[@geewiz8253]

Nice. 👍

[@phrtao]

5:04 Aerobicise - got to get some more of that !

[@electronicayservicio]

Betamax was number one.. thanks Akio Morita

[@SchuchDesigns]

The "Astonishing Odyssey" sounds astonishingly like the theme from Star Wars. :-)

[@3Dparallax]

I used mine for many years as it was an old one from a TV station that had seen it's days out with video heads but it still made flawless recordings of sound. I recall it used a strange FM modulated and an extra helical head instead of the standard linear one. Sadly it slowly degraded and finally I discarded a year back after hunting in vain for a replacement head assembly, pity as it was an amazingly built "semi-pro" machine. It made it until 2007 though when I dubbed the recordings off it.

[@BetamaxFlippy]

This sounds so much better than vhs hi-fi

[@spazzman90]

Glad you tape folks finally got multi channel audio us laserdisc folks were enjoying.

[@Watcher3223]

You laserdisc folks still have better picture, which is ironic since Pioneer marketed the format as video for people who really care about audio.

[@benji888578]

Laserdisc audio was higher quality than standard tape audio (non-HiFi), however, Pioneer added Digital Sound to the Laserdisc format in 1984, which added 2 channels of PCM audio, same as CD format, typically with Dolby Surround encoding (matrixed), so, Laserdisc did surpass Beta/VHS HiFi audio, though, Beta/VHS HiFi audio is higher quality than Laserdic's analog audio...except for that wear factor that comes with tape, which adds pops and can develop tracking issues.

[@Watcher3223]

Regarding LaserVision analog stereo, it can be a mixed bag. At its best, it's capable of fidelity that's roughly comparable to Beta hi-fi and VHS Hi-Fi from subjective listening. One chief advantage of LD's analog stereo with CX is that the noise reduction is nowhere near as aggressive as the systems used on Beta hi-fi and VHS Hi-Fi, which both use noise reduction circuits that have more in common with dbx than CX. Also, while head switching noise was a concern with video cassette hi-fi systems, since the signal off the tape must be read by two rotary heads switching 60 times a second for NTSC, it's a non-issue with LaserVision. However, many LaserDisc players produced with digital sound support have essentially neglected performance with playing back the analog audio tracks in favor of digital audio performance, so good-sounding titles that were released without digital audio couldn't be heard at their best on more modern LaserDisc players. And, as you've correctly identified, there can be issues with the tape. Crackles and pops can be caused by dropouts as a result of tape wear or damage. Tracking issues can also result from worn or damaged tape. Since LaserVision is non-contact, wear from playback is no issue at all. There can be interchange issues with video cassette hi-fi, where a recording from one VCR may not be able to be tracked quite as well when played back on another VCR, which can especially be a concern when recording at slower tape speeds and with hi-fi systems that used depth multiplexing (PAL Beta hi-fi, VHS Hi-Fi; two hi-fi tracks recorded onto the tape with two separate rotary heads) as opposed to frequency multiplexing (NTSC Beta hi-fi; two hi-fi carriers placed in the space between the chroma and luma carriers within the video signal). Of course, despite the potential issues with video cassette hi-fi, it's still superior to the CX stereo sound you got from CED (RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc), where dynamic range, S/N, and frequency response were nowhere near as good as those of Beta hi-fi, VHS Hi-Fi, and LaserVision CX analog, never mind LaserVision digital sound. And then there were the quirks of the CED format itself that can affect enjoyment of its sound and video, such as random skipping due to any minor anomaly with the grooves, such as a spec of dust in the stylus path. CED's only advantage with CX stereo sound was that it was better than VHS linear stereo with Dolby System type B noise reduction ... which hardly anybody who wanted stereo ever used after video cassette hi-fi debuted.

[@CountryBoy4ever]

I still have this tape. :-)

[@paulrose6359]

Ultimate problem with all afm (HI-FI) systems Beta or VHS was the tape.. The videocassette home formats all worked great,....until multiple playing started to degrade the tape oxide layer and pops and drop-outs started to creep into the audio.

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

very true!

[@cubdukat]

Wasn't Beta hifi more resistant to head chatter issues than VHS Hi-Fi was? I remember all of my VHS Hi-Fi decks would start out great, but after maybe a year at best, tapes I recorded when they were new would be all but unlistenable because of head chatter.

[@deathstrike]

It was and I believed Sony used a version of it's amorphous head technology from it's audio decks on the audio heads for the Beta HiFi. Smoother and less jitter and irregularity than VHS HiFi (except S VHS, now that was a bit better). Also the tape was better suited but limited to 5hrs max. I have a Beta deck, but the Beta III mode won't engage (bad switch I think) so I can't go above 4hrs, but don't need it since my movies rarely exceed 2.5 hrs.

[@gaz312]

I still prefer it to the the audio I get from a lot of dvd players. DVD seemed to introduce the whole quite dialogue thing where you had to turn it up and then a loud explosion when you had to turn it down. Seemed to be less of a problem with BluRay and even less of an issue with 4K UltraHD The tape Hifi seemed more consistent and tight and really suited a standard 2.0 better.

[@MyDenney]

It's a shame vcr's stoped putting adjustable audio meters and headphone jacks on them.

[@dannyjaar]

i have 7 beta machines and i use one evry day still in the 2015

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

dannyjaar Nice! I have 4 betamax machines...what models do you own?

[@dannyjaar]

2 Slf 30 1 sl8080 and 1 SLO 383 this one is in service bad belds and videodrum

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

I have: Sanyo VTC 9350 not working Sanyo VTC 5000 working Sony SL-T30ME working Fisher VBR-330 with camera, working :)

[@juanitocarlitos77]

5:03 ritmo vital

[@JonnyInfinite]

up two....down two :D

[@ackwagl4]

5:24 Dragonslayer!!!

[@elnauhual]

any idea of where to make a transfer from Beta hifi? At that time I used to record audio, and now I want to recover an audio recording made on that format in 1985

[@Watcher3223]

Unfortunately, I can only suggest anyone who offers the ability to transfer Betamax recordings to another format. However, whomever you may approach with the job may not have a Beta hi-fi VCR; you will have to ask. I can't really offer suggestions anyways as I tend to do such work by myself, having the equipment to be able to do it.

[@elnauhual]

Thanks, Unfortunatelly I no longer have the equipment and seems that most places that do transfers, the people that answers seems have no idea what i am talking about...

[@shawnjenkins8707]

That did not answer my question. What was the device needed for the vtr? I have that part!

[@Watcher3223]

_"That did not answer my question. What was the device needed for the vtr? I have that part!"_ What's the question?

[@FEDERALSIGNALTECH]

Actually the music is BrandonBurg concerto #2 by JOHN S BACH.

[@Watcher3223]

No. 3, third movement. Proof: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIW7kJpnp8d0ocU And that's Johann (pronounced YO-HAAN), not John.

[@FEDERALSIGNALTECH]

It's been a while since I've heard THE BRANDON BURG CONCERTO ALL 6 MOVEMENTS I USED TO HAVE IT ON CD but that was years ago.

[@FEDERALSIGNALTECH]

@@Watcher3223thank you for your help and correction I use to have a CD called the best of Bach but I don't have a CD player and it's not in great condition but it's still on ITUNES AND IT HAS A NEW NAME.

[@RathouseFilmworks]

Now this is amazing, Where can I find the cover, without the voiceover?

[@RaulSuarez1962]

somebody knows the initial orchestra song?

[@Watcher3223]

Brandenburg Concerto no. 3, 3rd movement, by J. S. Bach.

[@RaulSuarez1962]

Thank you very much!

[@ziggyff693]

This Video came with all the first Beta hifi decks sold and I played it so much at first since movies were slow to get released in this format...I would dub Laserdiscs onto the tapes Sony got a 2 year head start with Beta Hifi over VHS yet idiots still went to the poorer format...of course magazines like Consumer Reports would claim Stereo VHS was equivalent...not in any way...stopped my subscription after that issue

[@andres2030]

Casi lloro

[@FEDERALSIGNALTECH]

I have both QUICK TIME PLAYER 7 & QUICK TIME PLAYER X on my new MAC POWERBOOK PRO 8400C though player 7 is not compatible with MAC OS BIG SUR AND MONTORAY SO I USE QUICK TIME PLAYER X CAN NOT PLAY OLDER MOVIE FILES ON LESS I CONVERTED THE FILES INTO A FORM IT CAN UNDERSTAND.

[@vash3232]

BETA was great at the time.... You VHS