Best BETA VCR for image quality?

lordsmurf · #1 02-27-2008, 03:04 PM

Any opinions?

debwalsh · #2 02-28-2008, 12:17 AM

Sony, hands down. I'll post the link for the best Beta resource page on the web later on.

Tcel93 · #3 02-28-2008, 12:45 AM

Yeah, Sony definitely. That is really the only company I think of when it comes to Beta.

debwalsh · #4 02-28-2008, 07:14 AM

Ray Glasser's Beta Info Guide is located at http://www.betainfoguide.com - but I just went there and the account is suspended. Bummer. http://www.palsite.com/home.html is another resource, lots of links, but it's skewed toward PAL format.

There are 3 Beta "dream machines. The SL-HF900 is the one I own. The last one, the HF2000, is the one I want - one of the last commerical Betas made, released in the 1990s. Yes, Beta lasted that long, and the pro decks are still in use at television stations and in engineering (they're used for 3D modelling).

lordsmurf · #5 02-28-2008, 09:20 AM

Any television/broadcast I worked with used Betacam, not Betamax.
Thanks for the tips.

Tranzor · #6 02-28-2008, 01:12 PM

try and get a super beta deck. Kind of like the svhs version for beta.

debwalsh · #7 02-29-2008, 04:30 AM

SuperBeta hit the market a lot earlier than S-VHS. I had my first SuperBeta deck in 1985. I think the quality is still superior in a SuperBeta recording vs. an S-VHS recording, but at this point, if I'm going to record, I go direct to disc ... there are still a couple of traders I've dealt with who prefer Beta, though. There are still a few repair shops who'll fix Beta decks, but Sony won't touch anything over 20 years old any longer - which is why I was interested in HF2000 deck, but even that is starting to get close. I know there's a shop in Chicago that specializes in Beta repair.