Sony Super Beta Hi-Fi Demonstration Tape 1985

I found this tape with a few others in the attic of a house that was being cleared out a few years ago. The label on the tape reads "Sony Super Beta Hi-Fi Demonstration Tape. For demonstration or promotional purposes for Super Beta Vcrs only. Not for sale or rental."
The tape is originally recorded with Super Beta switched on, but unfortunately, I don't have a Beta vcr capable of Super Beta or stereo audio to digitize it.
I've just had this tape sitting for the last few years, so I figured it'd be better to upload it anyway rather than waiting to get a better player.

[@inglepropnoosegarm7801]

It's a pity that Super Beta and Super VHS hi-fi only appeared at the end of the home VCR lifetime. I had a couple of Super VHS recorders and they were a big improvement over the standard ones but then DVD appeared and suddenly they were obsolete. Also you needed special tapes which cost a lot more. JVC had something called S-VHS ET which could record almost S-VHS quality on standard tapes, which was quite cool. The 'hi-fi' sound was particularly good, although it used a DBX type 'compander' noise reduction system that induced a 'pumping' sound. But it had a linear 20-20khz frequency response. I used it for mastering a few original songs, before I eventually got a DAT machine. Ultimately the inadequacies of tape based systems let them all down, dropouts and deterioration over time. But it was impressive tech for the day!

[@jaygothard7797]

It's a pity that Sony didn't give up on Beta sooner. Imagine all of the time and energy that went into this dead technology. Think about how fast the HD-DVD .vs Blu-Ray war ended. At least a lesson was learned.

[@jamesbridges9589]

Thank you for preserving this.

[@TyChee]

I remember this