I don't know why but I bought a Betamax machine today.

[Montycat]

I debated about including it but with those blanks went a Beta copy of D.O.A. which I never did see. Either Syd Viceous was in it or it had something to with him.

DAMN!! Wish I had known. Even without a machine I would have wanted it.

 

[62vauxhall]

Yeah I regret not hanging on to it. Doubtful there many copies out there.

I had a Beta machine briefly (an NEC) between VHS ones and did wind up owning a bunch of movies. When I sold it the movies went with except D.O,A. which got overlooked.

Included in that batch with the machine was a copy of Caligula and I really wish I'd hung onto that!

Hindsight - always 20/20.

 

[Gazdatronik]

I had that same deck 10 years ago but never got it to work properly. The beta 1 switch is hidden under a small cover in the back, yes?

 

[Montycat]

I don't really plan on turning into a beta guy. We have no other vcr in town and this was just for fun.

I do have an old vhs machine (and Blu-ray of course) at the Mayne Island cabin plus a selection of a few tapes. We don't have cable or internet there so it helps keep the entertainment options nice and wide.

 

[Montycat]

I had that same deck 10 years ago but never got it to work properly. The beta 1 switch is hidden under a small cover in the back, yes?

I don't know as I haven't checked it over yet. I'll look soon.

 

[SoCal Sam]

Beta sells. Maybe not that one but a lot of late model Sony's are worth something. Getting harder and harder to find but they are still out there. I'm still kicking myself for selling my GCS50 which had the best Beta picture ever. BTW, beta tape collections are worth something. Scoop them up!

 

[Pio1980]

Some of the later ones have shrinkage problems with Delrin shrinkage on metal components and glides. Acetal plastics on metal components in general seem to age problematically in aging mechanisms due to shrinking, with misalignments and breakages causing jamming and other failures.

 

[kfalls]

I wouldn't trash those Betamax players too soon. There's a growing archiving business out there. Digi-Beta, Betacam, Umatic, 1" C-Type, DVCAM, HDCAM, DVCPro, VHS... Last week alone we purchased three DVCAM "parts players" just to get the iLink (firewire) modules. Good quality cassette decks are also difficult to find. The Tascam 122 MKIII we use have been picked through enough that only players in the $400-$600 range are available. We also use Nakamichi MR-1s, but finding one with reel and cam motors intact is difficult. We've also purchased inventories of players from other archiving companies and colleges. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

[Hyfi]

They are good for music and 5 hour mix tapes.

 

[luxmaster]

Thsts

It's a nice looking Sony SL-5600, complete with manual and remote control. I don't have any tapes; what was I thinking?

View attachment 1525464[/QUOT

Thats awesome. Regardless of using it or just having it around for looks, it is a peice of history you have there. Sometimes i have urges to buy that stuff too because it is from my era and i like vintage technology. Only reason i dont is i cant stand seeing equipment sitting around not being used.

 

[jberger]

My latest TV doesn't have any composite video inputs; just HDMI and component video. I couldn't plug in my LaserDisc, let alone a Beta recorder!

 

[BilboBaggins]

Yeah, that’s a problem, but only if you are using it to record video. If it is for Audio only, no problem!

 

[seacliffe301]

It's a nice looking Sony SL-5600, complete with manual and remote control. I don't have any tapes; what was I thinking?

View attachment 1525464

Wow, that brings back some memories. I had (2) SL-5800's back in the day. Kept them going until the release of the SLHF-900.
I still have a working 900 due to a large Beta collection, and the 5800's are in their original cartons in my attic. I should probably think of selling them LOL.
If you're in search of blank Beta tapes for cheap, PM me. I'm pretty sure I just saw some sealed Sony HG tapes stashed away. Something else that I thought I should think about selling.

 

[Montycat]

Wow, that brings back some memories. I had (2) SL-5800's back in the day. Kept them going until the release of the SLHF-900.
I still have a working 900 due to a large Beta collection, and the 5800's are in their original cartons in my attic. I should probably think of selling them LOL.
If you're in search of blank Beta tapes for cheap, PM me. I'm pretty sure I just saw some sealed Sony HG tapes stashed away. Something else that I thought I should think about selling.

I've yet to test it out even. Perhaps I will this morning as I did get a few tapes. Hopefully the one open one has something interesting on it. With the tapes I also got a remote control and manual for a later model. I should check which that is. It might actually match your 900.

 

[Montycat]

Hmm, I plugged it in and the clock and some other lights work but not the power light (burnt out?) or the drive system. Nothing on Play, FF, REW or anything. I don't have time to open it up now but I wonder if it has any internal fuses or other really simple solutions. Peering in I can see at least 2 intact belts and no sign of dead ones.

It might make a great door stop or, with some hairpin legs, a decent end table...with clock!

 

[Pio1980]

Vcr has many points of service maintainance, belts and such. If default check startup functions fail due to improperly positioned loading parts, or inability to do the checks, you get nada.