Editing is a generalized term used to describe any kind of change made to or during a recording. It can be simply pausing during commercials or composing scenes from one VCR to another. There are a number of ways to make edits giving the Betaphile lots of options. All of them require a player and a recorder except where noted. Most editing techniques are described below and some are possible only with certain models.

Continuous editing: This method is used when recording off-the-air programs or from an external input by just stopping or pausing the recorder. Audio is edited along with the video. Every Beta VCR can do this.
Butt editing: This is making edits from one Beta VCR to another. When one scene has finished the recording VCR is placed in the pause mode. Next you find the start of the scene to be added from the player (source). You then place the player in record pause and then both VCRs are started from pause. This result is the combining of the two scenes on the recorder. Audio is recorded along with the video. Every Beta VCR can do this, requires using two units.
Manual audio insert editing: Many Beta VCRs have an AUDIO DUB button or switch. This lets you separately record the audio to the stationery monaural audio head, called the NORMAL audio track. Adding new audio is performed like simple editing. Picture and Betahi-fi stereo are unaffected. You cannot add to or alter the audio in Betahi-fi stereo because it is imbedded in the recorded video signal. The majority of Beta VCRs can do audio insert editing.
Manual video insert editing: This is inserting a new picture (only) from another source into a previous recording. The normal monaural audio track is not affected. To do this you press the VIDEO INSERT button on the recorder before starting your edit. Only Beta VCRs that have the video insert feature can do this.
Manual video and audio insert editing: Here we are inserting new video and audio from another source into a previous recording. To do this press the VIDEO and AUDIO INSERT buttons on the recorder before starting your edit. The scene is inserted and the at the end the insertion the trailing video and audio in not altered. Only Beta VCRs that have video and audio insert can do this.
Synhro-editing: This feature puts the player (source) in charge of starting both VCRs from the pause mode. You place the player in pause where you want a new scene to begin and the recorder in record pause where you want the new scene to between. Turn Synhro-edit ON and by just pressing pause on the player both VCRs will begin the edit. Communication is done through a Control-S cable and it is only one way. Audio is recorded along with the video. Some Beta models can do inserts while being controlled by Control-S. Only Beta VCRs that have the Synchro-edit function and a Control-S out jack can do this.
Simple assemble editing: Similar to butt editing but with more control. You press EDIT ASSEMBLE on the playback VCR (source). Then locate the starting point of the scene you want record and place it in the pause mode. Next locate the point on the recorder where you want the edit to start and put it in pause. Press EDIT START on the playback VCR and assemble editing will begin. Pressing pause on the playback VCR halts the edit and the playback VCR goes to pause after two seconds and the recorder rewinds the tape to where the edit ended and goes into playback pause. You can now make another edit by finding the next scene on the player and repeating the procedure. Pressing EDIT ASSEMBLE again releases the editing mode. Audio is recorded along with the video. Only Beta VCRs that have a Control-T jack and the assemble edit feature can do this.
Simple insert editing: Here the tape handling is the same as simple assemble editing except now you select which to record, the audio, video or both. Selecting AUDIO INSERT or VIDEO INSERT on the recording VCR only copies only that part. Video only records the picture and audio is just the sound. The monaural audio track can be dubbed later if desired. Betahi-fi stereo audio is in the video and cannot be altered. The Betahi-fi will be added if the video is copied. Communication is done through a Control-T cable. Only Beta VCRs that have the Control-T jack and the assemble edit feature can do this.
Automatic insert editing: This feature lets the Betamax automatically controls the operation of both VCRs. First press EDIT then press INSERT then audio, video or both. On the VCR with the tape for editing locate the point where you want to start the insertion, and set the VCR to the playback pause mode. Press EDIT MARK and the starting point is now memorized. Next find the point where you want to stop the insertion, and set the VCR in pause and press MARK again. The editing end point is now memorized. On the VCR for playback (source) locate the starting point of the scene to be inserted, and set the VCR to playback pause mode. Press EDIT START on the VCR for editing (where the points where memorized) and insertion will start. VCRs will proceed to make the insertion. At the preset ending point it will stop automatically and both VCRs will go into the playback pause mode. Only Beta VCRs that have a Control-T jack and the assemble edit feature can do this.
Automatic assemble editing: This feature also controls the operation of both VCRs during editing. Up to eight desired scenes can be memorized and assemble to a tape. To do this you first press EDIT then ASSEMBLE. On the VCR for playback (source) locate the starting point of the first scene and place it in playback pause mode. Press COUNTER RESET and all zeros will appear in the display. Press EDIT MARK and the starting point of the first scene is now memorized. Locate the ending point of the first scene and press pause and then EDIT MARK. The ending point of the first scene is memorized. Each of the edit start and stop points are shown in the display. Next you locate the beginning of the first edit on the player (source) and place it in the pause mode. On the recorder find the location where you want the first edit to begin. Place the player in playback pause mode. You can repeat these steps until eight edits have been placed in memory, and they can be in any order. Press EDIT START on the playback VCR and it will find the scenes and assemble them to the recorder in the order programmed. Audio is recorded along with the video. Only Beta VCRs that have a Control-T jack and the assemble edit feature can do this.
Pre-roll editing: This feature runs the original tape and the tape to be edited for several seconds before the pre-programmed edit starting points arrive. During the pre-roll routine the two VCRS are fully controlled for synchronized operation. Up to eight desired scenes can memorized and pre-rolled automatically using this feature. The set up and operation is the same as with assemble editing except when EDIT START is pressed both machine will roll back their tapes for five seconds and then pause. The machines will then start running the tape at normal speed. When the pre-programmed edit point arrives the recorder will switch to record and the editing will begin. When the ending point arrives the recording will cease and the machines will do one of two things. If no more edits are programmed the player will go into pause two seconds after the edit has ended. The recorder will run for two seconds and then back up to the ending edit point and go into pause. If more than one edit is memorized the player will continue on and find the next edit and repeat the process, and so on. After all the scenes have been edited the player and recorder will each run for two seconds and then go into pause mode. The edits can be memorized in any order. Audio is recorded along with the video. Only Beta VCRs that have a Control-T jack and the assemble edit feature can do this.
Controller editing: There are several stand alone external controllers that are available. They can store more edit points and can control more VCRs. Consult the various models for their various functions. Check these out by going here.

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