SonyBetaPix!

Thanks to a plethora of photos of Betamaxes on the Internet, plus a large personal collection of magazines and brochures, there are lots of available pictures of Beta VCRs! Here are some that will hopefully jog some memories, and aid you in your quest for a Betamax!

	LV-1901 (1975) The Very First Betamax! A 19" Sony Trinitron TV with a one-hour Betamax, the SL-6200. Only $2495!! The 1-hour K-60 tapes, when you could find them, were a hefty $16.95; the 30 min. K-30 tapes were $12.95. These two original tapes were not usable on the new X-2 and X-3 (BII and BIII) machines that came out years later.
	SL-7200 (1976) Sony removed the SL-6200 from the LV1901 console and renumbered it as the SL-7200, and offered an outboard clock/timer as a $40 option! In essence, this was the very FIRST stand-alone consumer home VCR that caught on.
	SLO-340 (1977) The first truly portable Beta; handled the X-1 speed only, and weighed a hefty 20 pounds! Worked by battery or AC.
	SL-8200 (1977) Second-generation Betamax, now offering two recording speeds (the newer half-speed known as "X2", or "times 2"), which yielded 2 hours on the new L-500 Beta videocassette; all this was to compete with the new VHS VCRs which offered 2 or 4 hour recording.
	SL-3000 (1978) First portable to record at the X-2 speed, but played both X-1 and X-2. Companion TT3000 tuner-timer unit is below the SL3000.
	SL-8600 (1978) The ONLY Sony Beta to handle the X-2 speed ONLY, which was its downfall; all the original 1-hour tapes could not be played on this unit. First to add a built-in digital clock/timer and a wired remote pause. One of the worst-selling Betas of all!
	SL-5400 (1979) This ground-breaking machine introduced such features as BetaScan, the new BIII record/playback speed, total solenoid operation, triple-speed playback, 3-day programming, and added the new Greek "B" logo. Also returned X-1 playback via a switch in the back!!
	SLO-383 (1980) An industrial X-1-only editor, featuring flying erase heads for true insert video editing, linear stereo sound, programmed operation, variable-speed playback, etc. Built like a tank and weighs almost as much!
	SL-5600 (1980) A step-up version of the SL-5400, with 14-day, 4-event programming and introducing a back-up battery which maintained timer programming in case of a power failure.
	SL-5800 (1980) First Sony Beta to offer 4 heads, which yielded perfect, noiseless freeze frame and slow motion. *ONLY Sony Beta to have variable-speed* BetaScan, offered only on the remote.**
	SL-5000 (1981) First of the front-loaders, a very stripped-down machine with 3-day, 1-event programming. Vastly improved as the SL-2500 below.
	SL-5010 (1981) A rare department-store version of the SL-5000 (above), one color, with no wood-grain.
	SL-5100 (1982) A slightly improved SL-5000, with 7-day, 1-event programming , PCM switch, and improved wireless remote.
ABOVE: with bottom door closed BELOW: with bottom door opened	SL-2500 (1982) Refined, slim-line front-loader, one of the few to take an optional Auto-Changer. First to offer a linear time counter, as well "Swing Search" (frame-by-frame and slo-mo in forward and reverse).
	SL-2000 (1982) Essentially a portable version of the SL-2500, with BI/II/III play, Swing Search, audio dub, and real-time counter (hours/minutes, and tens of seconds!) [TRIVIA NOTE: the early SL-2000's called Swing Search "Videola," and Sony was forced to eliminate that name due to a copyright violation!]
	SL-2001 (1983) The follow-up to the SL-2000 portable above. This is a stripped-down version, with no audio dub and no linear time counter. It also hooked up to the TT-2000 tuner-timer.
	SL-5200 (1983) Enter Beta Hi-Fi, vastly improved audio performance, almost comparable to that of CDs. That is the highlight of this otherwise low-end unit. Beta hi-fi to hi-fi dubbing yielded no discernable quality loss.
	SL-2400 (1983) Front-runner of the new "E-Z" Beta line, ultra-simple to use and operate. Low-end unit, with 3-day, 1-event programming.
	SL-2700 (1984) The new and improved SL-5200, adding all the Swing Search features that the SL5200 lacked. A very popular machine in its day.
	SL-2710 (1984) Replacement for the SL-2700, but actually lacked some of its features!
	SL-2406 (1984) A rare low-end mono unit. Pix supplied by Matt Young.
	SL-2410/2415 (1984) Betamaxes with a gimmick: it talks! A voice synthesizer tells you when you make a mistake in programming, recording, etc. Otherwise, these are low-end mono machines. The world's only talking VCRs!
	SL-3030 (1984) Another low-end mono unit.
	SL-9090 (1984) Step-up model of the SL-3030 above. Still mono. *Photo courtesy of Dan Keller.*
	SL-HF300 (1984) Another low-end hi-fi unit, first to use the "Hi-Fi" prefix. Was available in silver or black! Picture shows the unit with the front door open.
	SL-HF500 (1984) Low-end Beta HiFi unit, with linear time counter.
	SL-2305 (1984) Another "E-Z Beta," with no-brainer operation, the SL-2405 had 3-day, 1-event programming and a front-panel camera input.
	SL-90 (1984) The high-end "E-Z Beta" with 4 heads for perfect freeze-frame, 21-day, 9-event programming, and a random-access tuner.
	SL-HFR70/ HFP-200,100 (1985) The SL-HFR (HiFiReady) 70 was a high-end Beta that required an outboard processor to get the HiFi audio and stereo tuner to work! Upper pic shows the HFR70 with HFP (HiFiProcessor) model 200, lower pic shows the HFR70 with the HFP100.
	SL-HF400 (1985) The SuperBetas arrived in '85, promising a 20% increase in picture sharpness, a direct attack against the poor quality of VHS (which countered with HQ). The SL-HF400 was the low-end offering.
	SL-HF600 (1985) This model was the middle-of-the-line offering in between the SL-HF400 and SL-HF900. Had a unique tape-direction motion indicator and random-access tuning.
#1 best-seller!!!!	SL-HF900 (1985) The best-selling Betamax of all time! High-end 4-head SuperBeta HiFi, first to sport a jog/shuttle wheel and offer insert video editing. The Japanese version recorded in Superbeta I, known as B-Is, which showed up in 1986 in our SL-HF750.
	SL-100 (1986) A rare monaural SuperBeta; 7-day, 6-event programming, mono cable-ready tuner (148 ch.), linear time counter.
	GCS-50 (1985) An industrial Beta, with the same electronics and soft picture quality of the SL-HF900. Had 2-track linear stereo, Beta Hi-Fi stereo, insert audio and video editing, and a huge locking jog wheel.
	SL-HFT7 (1986) "The SuperBeta Theater" had internal amplifiers and offered various "sound fields" like "concert," "stadium," etc. -- all you added was speakers!
	SL-HF450 (1986) The second-generation SuperBetas began with this unit, and offered more features than the first SuperBetas, such as variable-speed playback, longer timer-recording, etc.
	SL-HF550 (1986) An improved SL-HF450, with 3 heads and perfect still-frame, and an improved fluorescent display showing tape motion and direction.
	SL-HF750 (1986) Another super-popular Beta from this era. Only VCR to have "linear skate loading" with a slide-out drawer to accept the cassette! First American Sony Beta to record in SuperBeta I (B-Is) and have limited on-screen display.
	SL-HF1000(1986) "The King!" The BEST Beta ever! Had true video and audio insert editing, SuperBeta Hi-Band B-I recording, and many other advanced features. Still commands big bucks on the used Beta market!! Below is the original RMT-148 remote, which also commands a high price!!
	SLP-8800R (1986) A player-only SuperBeta unit, also from 1986. We have no other info on this unique Beta....player-only Betas were rare!!
	SL-HF350 (1987) Another low-end SuperBeta HI-Fi, with 7-day, 6-event programming.
	SL-HF360 (1988) A low-end SuperBeta Hi-Fi, with 7-day, 3-event programming.
	SL-HF660 (1988) A clone of the SL-HF360 (above), but multi-voltage (uses 110 or 220); NOT multi-standard.
	SL-S505 (1988) A European or South American unit, a SuperBetamax but not hi-fi, as above.
	EDV-9500 (1988) Sony went for the brass ring with this one, drawing as much picture quality as they could out of Beta to compete with the then-new Super VHS format. These new "ED" (Extended Definition) Betas used special Metal oxide tape and had 500 lines of resolution.
	EDV-7500 (1988) The low-end ED Beta unit from the same year. Had ONE flying erase head (but no insert editing), digital effects, and a Digital Scan button on the unit itself.
	SL-HF840D(1988) Also in '88, Sony released 3 digital-effects Betas, with effects like PIP, Mosaic, Strobe, Paint Art, etc. The 840D was the low-end unit.
	SL-HF860D(1988) The 860D was a step-up model, with a few more digital gimmicks and longer programming.
	SL-HF870D (1988) The high-end "D" Beta, which added a Tape Stabilizer system and wooden sides.
	SL-330 (1988) A low-end SuperBeta unit, with monaural audio. Offered 7-day, 1-event programming.
	SL-340 (1989) A slightly improved SL-330 (above), also with 7-day, 1 event programming.
	SL-S600 (1990) El Cheapo Beta for the 90's: a stripped down SuperBeta (but NOT Hi-Fi), only American Beta with the "S" designation usually found on South American machines.
	SL-HF2100 (1991) The most eagerly awaited Betamax ever, this is the legendary 15th Anniversary Betamax. Had no buttons, just a huge touchpad, Auto Tracking, with digital signal processing, and a weird (and hated) menu-driven remote.
	SL-HF2000 (1993) The last Sony Betamax released in the U.S., a low-end follow-up to the SL-HF2100. Stripped down, no frills, mediocre performance.
	A UNIQUE SONY BETAMAX, INSIDE A PROJECTION TV! model FP-60 (1984) Here is the Sony Vidimagic, a projection TV with a built-in Betamax AND a 125-channel, cable-ready TV tuner!

LV-1901 (1975)
The Very First Betamax! A 19" Sony Trinitron TV with a one-hour Betamax, the SL-6200. Only $2495!! The 1-hour K-60 tapes, when you could find them, were a hefty $16.95; the 30 min. K-30 tapes were $12.95. These two original tapes were not usable on the new X-2 and X-3 (BII and BIII) machines that came out years later.

SL-7200 (1976)
Sony removed the SL-6200 from the LV1901 console and renumbered it as the SL-7200, and offered an outboard clock/timer as a $40 option! In essence, this was the very FIRST stand-alone consumer home VCR that caught on.

SLO-340 (1977)
The first truly portable Beta; handled the X-1 speed only, and weighed a hefty 20 pounds! Worked by battery or AC.

SL-8200 (1977)
Second-generation Betamax, now offering two recording speeds (the newer half-speed known as "X2", or "times 2"), which yielded 2 hours on the new L-500 Beta videocassette; all this was to compete with the new VHS VCRs which offered 2 or 4 hour recording.

SL-3000 (1978)
First portable to record at the X-2 speed, but played both X-1 and X-2. Companion TT3000 tuner-timer unit is below the SL3000.

SL-8600 (1978)
The ONLY Sony Beta to handle the X-2 speed ONLY, which was its downfall; all the original 1-hour tapes could not be played on this unit. First to add a built-in digital clock/timer and a wired remote pause. One of the worst-selling Betas of all!

SL-5400 (1979)
This ground-breaking machine introduced such features as BetaScan, the new BIII record/playback speed, total solenoid operation, triple-speed playback, 3-day
programming, and added the new Greek "B" logo. Also returned X-1 playback via a switch in the back!!

SLO-383 (1980)
An industrial X-1-only editor, featuring flying erase heads for true insert video editing, linear stereo sound, programmed operation, variable-speed playback, etc. Built like a tank and weighs almost as much!

SL-5600 (1980)
A step-up version of the SL-5400, with 14-day, 4-event programming and introducing a back-up battery which maintained timer programming in case of a power failure.

SL-5800 (1980)
First Sony Beta to offer 4 heads, which yielded perfect, noiseless freeze frame and slow motion.
ONLY Sony Beta to have variable-speed BetaScan, offered only on the remote.

SL-5000 (1981)
First of the front-loaders, a very stripped-down machine with 3-day, 1-event programming. Vastly improved as the SL-2500 below.

SL-5010 (1981)
A rare department-store version of the SL-5000 (above), one color, with no wood-grain.

SL-5100 (1982)
A slightly improved SL-5000, with 7-day, 1-event programming , PCM switch, and improved wireless remote.

ABOVE: with bottom door closed
BELOW: with bottom door opened

SL-2500 (1982)
Refined, slim-line front-loader, one of the few to take an optional Auto-Changer. First to offer a linear time counter, as well "Swing Search" (frame-by-frame and slo-mo in forward and reverse).

SL-2000 (1982)
Essentially a portable version of the SL-2500, with BI/II/III play, Swing Search, audio dub, and real-time counter (hours/minutes, and tens of seconds!) [TRIVIA NOTE: the early SL-2000's called Swing Search "Videola," and Sony was forced to eliminate that name due to a copyright violation!]

SL-2001 (1983)
The follow-up to the SL-2000 portable above. This is a stripped-down version, with no audio dub and no linear time counter. It also hooked up to the TT-2000 tuner-timer.

SL-5200 (1983)
Enter Beta Hi-Fi, vastly improved audio performance, almost comparable to that of CDs. That is the highlight of this otherwise low-end unit. Beta hi-fi to hi-fi dubbing yielded no discernable quality loss.

SL-2400 (1983)
Front-runner of the new "E-Z" Beta line, ultra-simple to use and operate. Low-end unit, with 3-day, 1-event programming.

SL-2700 (1984)
The new and improved SL-5200, adding all the Swing Search features that the SL5200 lacked. A very popular machine in its day.

SL-2710 (1984)
Replacement for the SL-2700, but actually lacked some of its features!

SL-2406 (1984)
A rare low-end mono unit.
Pix supplied by Matt Young.

SL-2410/2415 (1984)
Betamaxes with a gimmick: it talks! A voice synthesizer tells you when you make a mistake in programming, recording, etc. Otherwise, these are low-end mono machines. The world's only talking VCRs!

SL-3030 (1984)
Another low-end mono unit.

SL-9090 (1984)
Step-up model of the SL-3030 above. Still mono.
Photo courtesy of Dan Keller.

SL-HF300 (1984)
Another low-end hi-fi unit, first to use the "Hi-Fi" prefix. Was available in silver or black! Picture shows the unit with the front door open.

SL-HF500 (1984)
Low-end Beta HiFi unit, with linear time counter.

SL-2305 (1984)
Another "E-Z Beta," with no-brainer operation, the SL-2405 had 3-day, 1-event programming and a front-panel camera input.

SL-90 (1984)
The high-end "E-Z Beta" with 4 heads for perfect freeze-frame, 21-day, 9-event programming, and a random-access tuner.

SL-HFR70/
HFP-200,100
(1985)
The SL-HFR (HiFiReady)
70 was a high-end Beta that required an outboard processor to get the HiFi audio and stereo tuner to work! Upper pic shows the HFR70 with HFP (HiFiProcessor) model 200, lower pic shows the HFR70 with the HFP100.

SL-HF400 (1985)
The SuperBetas arrived in '85, promising a 20% increase in picture sharpness, a direct attack against the poor quality of VHS (which countered with HQ). The SL-HF400 was the low-end offering.

SL-HF600 (1985)
This model was the middle-of-the-line offering in between the SL-HF400 and SL-HF900. Had a unique tape-direction motion indicator and random-access tuning.

#1 best-seller!!!!

SL-HF900 (1985)
The best-selling Betamax of all time! High-end 4-head SuperBeta HiFi, first to sport a jog/shuttle wheel and offer insert video editing.
The Japanese version recorded in Superbeta I, known as B-Is, which showed up in 1986 in our SL-HF750.

SL-100 (1986)
A rare monaural SuperBeta; 7-day, 6-event programming, mono cable-ready tuner (148 ch.), linear time counter.

GCS-50 (1985)
An industrial Beta, with the same electronics and soft picture quality of the SL-HF900. Had 2-track linear stereo, Beta Hi-Fi stereo, insert audio and video editing, and a huge locking jog wheel.

SL-HFT7 (1986)
"The SuperBeta Theater" had internal amplifiers and offered various "sound fields" like "concert," "stadium," etc. -- all you added was speakers!

SL-HF450 (1986)
The second-generation SuperBetas began with this unit, and offered more features than the first SuperBetas, such as variable-speed playback, longer timer-recording, etc.

SL-HF550 (1986)
An improved SL-HF450, with 3 heads and perfect still-frame, and an improved fluorescent display showing tape motion and direction.

SL-HF750 (1986)
Another super-popular Beta from this era. Only VCR to have "linear skate loading" with a slide-out drawer to accept the cassette! First American Sony Beta to record in SuperBeta I (B-Is) and have limited on-screen display.

SL-HF1000(1986)
"The King!"
The BEST Beta ever! Had true video and audio insert editing, SuperBeta Hi-Band B-I recording, and many other advanced features. Still commands big bucks on the used Beta market!! Below is the original RMT-148 remote, which also commands a high price!!

SLP-8800R (1986)
A player-only SuperBeta unit, also from 1986. We have no other info on this unique Beta....player-only Betas were rare!!

SL-HF350 (1987)
Another low-end SuperBeta HI-Fi, with 7-day, 6-event programming.

SL-HF360 (1988)
A low-end SuperBeta Hi-Fi, with 7-day, 3-event programming.

SL-HF660 (1988)
A clone of the SL-HF360 (above), but multi-voltage (uses 110 or 220); NOT multi-standard.

SL-S505 (1988)
A European or South American unit, a SuperBetamax but not hi-fi, as above.

EDV-9500 (1988)
Sony went for the brass ring with this one, drawing as much picture quality as they could out of Beta to compete with the then-new Super VHS format. These new "ED" (Extended Definition) Betas used special Metal oxide tape and had 500 lines of resolution.

EDV-7500 (1988)
The low-end ED Beta unit from the same year. Had ONE flying erase head (but no insert editing), digital effects, and a Digital Scan button on the unit itself.

SL-HF840D(1988)
Also in '88, Sony released 3 digital-effects Betas, with effects like PIP, Mosaic, Strobe, Paint Art, etc. The 840D was the low-end unit.

SL-HF860D(1988)
The 860D was a step-up model, with a few more digital gimmicks and longer programming.

SL-HF870D (1988)
The high-end "D" Beta, which added a Tape Stabilizer system and wooden sides.

SL-330 (1988)
A low-end SuperBeta unit, with monaural audio. Offered 7-day, 1-event programming.

SL-340 (1989)
A slightly improved SL-330 (above), also with 7-day, 1 event programming.

SL-S600 (1990)
El Cheapo Beta for the 90's: a stripped down SuperBeta (but NOT Hi-Fi), only American Beta with the "S" designation usually found on South American machines.

SL-HF2100 (1991)
The most eagerly awaited Betamax ever, this is the legendary 15th Anniversary Betamax. Had no buttons, just a huge touchpad, Auto Tracking, with digital signal processing, and a weird (and hated) menu-driven remote.

SL-HF2000 (1993)
The last Sony Betamax released in the U.S., a low-end follow-up to the SL-HF2100. Stripped down, no frills, mediocre performance.

A UNIQUE SONY BETAMAX, INSIDE A PROJECTION TV!
model FP-60 (1984)
Here is the Sony Vidimagic, a projection TV with a built-in Betamax AND a 125-channel, cable-ready TV tuner!

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