The SL-HF900 is the only Betamax to ever offer a detail switch. Turning on this picture option during playback employed a noise reduction circuit that took advantage of recordings made using super-density high performance tapes. Details of the signal that were formally lost could be reproduced with more accuracy as long as the tape could tolerate and retain the higher frequencies. Ultra-high quality tapes were just becoming available, and this VCR was made to take advantage of them. It was another way that Beta could produce a better picture than the competition. This feature worked well, and was a selling point for the SL-HF900. This VCR was the crowning achievement of Beta's picture and audio prowess (up to this time). When playing recordings made using high-grade tapes setting this switch from NORM (indicating normal grade tape) to HIGH, a sharper picture could be obtained. These higher-quality tapes were commonly designated as PRO-X, SuperChrome, DynamicronHG, Super High Grade, Master, Archival, or other such declaration. How the DETAIL switch works is by altering the video noise reduction circuit during playback to more closely match that of the denser surface formulation of higher-grade tape. This allows the reproduction of signal nuances that are normally lost when using standard grade tape. This results in increased detail in the picture. On the technical side it alters the video head noise suppression circuit so that it can pass through a stronger signal for a dramatically sharper picture. The superior SL-HF900 is fully compatible with all Beta recorders and can record using standard grade and high-grade tapes. The detail switch only works during playback; it has no effect during recording. It is the tape that matters. Models that came after the 900 had this technology included in some form because tape in general had become better.

The SL-HF900 was one of the most popular Betas ever made. It was also very popular in Japan and was released twice using almost identical model numbers. One change was to add the letters P-R-O to the word Beta, making it a member of the BetaPRO series. It was slightly different from our (North American) SL-HF900 in that it also played and recorded the s speed (called Super HI-Band), and it had linear stereo, in addition to the Betahi-fi. For some reason the s speed wasn't included in our models (even though our SL-HF900 can be altered to do it, the circuits are already there). So why did Sony omit this speed in the USA? Some think it was done to avoid competition with Sony's valuable professional division of VCRs. They owned the executive news, business, and broadcast market here, and that lucrative branch didn't want any competition, especially from a Betamax home recorder (which was suffering in sales by this time). But wait, it gets more interesting. Sony released a second version of the SL-HF900 just in Japan called the Mark II. It was a souped-up version of the original BetaPRO model and was designated as the BetaPRO II. It was a little more expensive and had a very desirable remote, similar to the one that came with our stateside model SL-HF750 (the RMT-143; to see it click here). To see booklet covers for the two Japanese models click here). To see the remote that came with their SL-HF900 BetaPRO II (RMT-142), click here. The remote that came with their SL-HF900 PRO (not the Mark II) was the same as the stateside RMT-125 that came with our SL-HF900, only it had Japanese characters and was their number RMT-121. To see it, click here. Were the Japanese confused by all this? Who knows? They were really into Beta so probably not (because Sony kept selling the 900 like gangbusters in Japan and in the USA). The SL-HF900 was the best-selling Betamax ever made.

In 1985, Sony announced that they would no longer manufacturer any standard Beta (only) VCRs. Going forward all new Betamax models would be either SuperBeta or SuperBetahi-fi. Even the Betamovies would become SuperBeta capable. In keeping with Sony's compatibility promise, the new models would still play back recordings made using the previous standard Beta (and Betahi-fi) machines. There also would be a switch provided for selecting between standard and SuperBeta for both recording and playback. This pledge turned out not to be entirely accurate. While it was true for almost all models, a few did not come with a switch. This was either done as an economy measure brought on by the pressures in the marketplace, or it could have been that these machines were sophisticated enough not to require a selection to be made (to obtain the best quality, sparkle-free video playback*). The last standard Beta unit was the SL-HF500.
* Now what does this mean? For information on this phenomenon, click here.