Before the Beta VCR revolutionized television viewing we were all slaves to the three major networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. If two programs we liked ran in the same time slot our only option was to choose one over the other. So primitive and so brutal! But that was just the way it was. The big three fought over those evening prime time slots like wolves, knowing that their ratings (and their advertising revenue) depended on us choosing their show over the others. That all changed in 1975 when Sony bestowed upon the world the first practical home video cassette recorder, aka the Betamax. It was wonderful. It gave us TV on demand. Now we could watch one show while recording another. We could even record one while we were away. Finally we were free from the shackles of time and the cruelty of the networks subterfuge. But this new found freedom came with a learning curve. So what follows is all you need to know to understanding how Betamax works and how it changed the world.
TELEVISION MASTERED
Our first Betamax was the ingenious Sony SL-7200A* (A for USA). A single speed recorder with a built-in tuner for capturing off-the-air TV broadcasts. It came with a K-30 cassette for recording up to thirty minutes. A K-60 cassette was available that allowed up to an hour of recording. By setting the optional timer it could record a single program for watching later. The SL-7200A sold well and it inspired Sony enough to throw all their marketing expertise behind it. Video recording for the masses had arrived. That single recording speed would later become known as Beta x1. This was because their next model, the SL-8200, recorded and played a second, slower speed. This doubled the recording time. The new speed was called Beta x2 (times two). These two speeds were soon renamed using the Greek letter Β (identified by the symbol  for Beta. The Roman numeral "I" was used to signify the speed. So Beta x1 became  and Beta x2 was now  . This was done to avoid confusion because future models included a feature called fast play. It was two or times three playback (x2 or x3) with a picture. This new attraction allowed tapes to be played back at an accelerated speed while still showing you a watchable image. So the "x" (times) mark now had a different meaning. It no longer applied to recording, only to picture viewing speed. By using the new recording speed it was now possible to capture two hours of video using the K-60 cassette. Tape identity had to be changed too because it no longer matched the time. Plus a new, longer cassette length was introduced that had 50% more tape inside. (Remember the great recording time war between Beta and VHS?) Calling the new longer cassette the K-90 (or K-180) would have been confusing so the numbers were changed. The K-30 thirty minute cassette became the L-250, the K-60 now was the L-500 and the new longest tape the L-750. These "L" (length) numbers coincided closely with the amount in feet of tape inside the cassette. But wait, soon after this an even slower speed was introduced. Called  it extended the recording times even more. Now they were 90 minutes for the L-250, 3 hours for the L-500 and a whopping 4 1/2 hours for the L-750. It gets even better. An even longer L-830 cassette extended the maximum time to 5 hours in . In it was 3 hours 20 minutes. But that was it for the recording speeds and cassette lengths. No other tape length additions or speed changes were made for the remaining life of Beta. Most home recording was done in or using L-750 tapes. The L-830 was hard to find at first, and it was expensive. The (Bx1) speed was mostly abandoned. It did return later and was reserved only for making the super high quality recordings cherished by the most demanding of videophiles. But there is more to the Beta story. There were some important quality and operational enhancements made to the format during its lifespan. And these are next.
THE MAGIC TOUCH
Because the Beta format pampers the tape as it remains in the path (all of the time) machines were able to perform some very interesting functions and maneuvers that the competition had great difficulty matching. I already mentioned the x2 and x3 playback but a high speed picture search feature was available almost from the start. Called "BetaScan" it was great for findings locations on a tape. The video (no sound) went by fast, but it was visible. All but the earliest of Betas could do this. There was also clear-picture pause, single-frame advance and slow motion (or more accurately step-motion) plus many other tape talents. Creature comforts like multiple event timer recording, real time (HMS) tape indication and clutch free editing. These were standard on most high-end models. These refinements added more electronics to the VCR but it also increased its appeal. Providing a remote control that could handle all these goodies was another great convenience.
A FEAST FOR YOUR EARS
Sound wasn't forgotten. In fact it became the shinning star for Beta. Known as Betahi-fi stereo it was a revolution in consumer audio. Before this sensational innovation the audio that came from a VCR was lame. The slow tape speeds simply couldn't deliver the higher frequencies necessary for generating good quality sound, and it was in monaural. All that changed when Sony engineers developed a way to insert four FM carriers into Betas large video signal. This strategy was made possible by Betas bigger video drum which in turn made for a greater recording surface. These four carriers were used for inserting awesome stereo, and this was something that the smaller VHS video drum simply could not do. It was the high speed of the video heads spinning at 30 revolutions per second that gave Betahi-fi its outstanding audio performance. It is so good that it is nearly perfect. No wow, no flutter, no distortion and no rumble. Just clean, clear sound. Another nice thing was that it was fully compatible with the older Betas. The picture was unaffected and the regular (linear) monaural track was still being recorded along with the stereo.
A FEAST FOR YOUR EYES
And as if that wasn't enough Sony engineers performed another milestone. They improved Betas already superior picture by pushing up the luminance part of the recording signal. This way it could deliver more picture detail. They called it SuperBeta and Sony bragged that it improved the picture by 20%, or more. And yes, you can see the difference. By combining a great picture with awesome stereo the Beta format could deliver SuperBetahi-fi. Now one could fully immerse themselves in their home theater experience. There was one small glitch though. SuperBeta tapes, when played back on older standard Beta machines could exhibit some over-modulation or picture noise. Called sparkles they showed up around the edges of bright areas. It depended on the age of the machine as to how much of this happened so it was never a major issue.
AND THE BEAT GOES ON
Near the close of Beta manufacture there were some other very interesting augmentations to the picture and sound but this is really all you need to know to understand the Beta format. Fifteen years of improvements while marketing something totally new to the public. Some pretty famous nameplates teamed up with Sony to license and make their own Beta VCRs. Here were the main players: Aiwa, Magnasonic, Marantz, NEC, Navco, Pioneer, Radio Shack (Realistic), Sanyo, Sears, Toshiba, Zenith and some European names. Great companies every one. They knew that the world had been changed. It was Sony, with their introduction of their Betamax videocassette recorder, that paved the way for Laser discs, CDs, DVDs and DVRs.
A FOOTNOTE TO HISTORY
*Six months prior to the introduction of the revolutionary Sony SL-7200A there was a way to record off-the-air broadcast television. This is because Sony quietly introduced the LV-1901A to the public. It was not a stand alone deck like the 7200 but a real wood console TV combined with a Beta recorder. It weighed as much as a refrigerator and cost as much as a car. While this might strike you as impractical now what better way to test the recorder than to marry it with a Sony Trinitron color TV, and see what happens. (Their revolutionary single gun color picture tube was already a legend by this time.) So it made sense to use this high-end method to test the waters and see just how well this home video recording thing was going to be received. To Sony's amazement over 100,000 of these monsters made their way into peoples homes. They were ecstatic. Akio Morita (the co-founder of Sony) said in response to this success: "Now let's change the way people make home movies". Whoops, bet you see didn't that one coming. His original dream was to put an end to the laborious and messy filming process used at the time for making home movies (this is quoting from the biography of Sony: Made In Japan). No more sending off your film for developing and no more waiting. Instant gratification and instant results. Plus it would be less costly and much easier when using a small cassette that would fit in your pocket. But the portable VCRs necessary for making this magic happen were still in the development stages. So Akia had to settle on selling the world on this new idea of home video recording first and leave the destroying of the home movie industry until later. To see the LV-1901A click here.
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