Expired Formats: Sony Betamax HFR-70 records off HD-DVD stunning results!

[gurutimes2]

rediculous

[static1994]

Thats impressive.

[dustYCartridge]

can you still get beta tapes at radio shack?

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@dustYCartridge You have to buy them online.

[dustYCartridge]

@Morahman7vnNo2 i know that :P

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@dustYCartridge That was just my way of saying "No only crappy VHS tapes!"

Na I like VHS too...only because I don't have Betamax!

[CoolDudeClem]

What was the film? I remember seeing that part of it in Twister, but that's all I've seen of it.

[DvdXploitr]

@CoolDudeClem "The Shining" from 1980

[SergeKGB]

Sir I don't want my movies be in 420×480p, I want them in 1920*1080p

[kdub03301986]

@SergeKGB it would be interlaced not progressive.(480i)

but you must consider the fact that back then they were capable of recording higher rez than what was broadcasted over the air. if you taped a tv show on a super beta you could fool people into thinking it was live tv, VHS even YEARS later still could not stake that claim. im a huge beta fan but my machine died a wile back im gonna save up and get one this christmas



[youbierdoppie]

Whoo expensive machine!

I got 2 BetaHifi SL-HF100 players, still working fine, almost all the tapes i found (even from 1983) still work !

[Madgefilmsinc3]

what's a betamax?

[aei05h1]

@Madgefilmsinc3 ffs you have the internet, google it!!

[Matrix803]

Analogue formats in general are just all-around better than digital formats. The reason why we don't use them anymore is simply because they're not as convenient and easy to manage as digital mediums. Most people prefer the convenience of carrying 5 full-length movies on a pocket-sized flash drive over 5 separate VHS tapes. But the reality is that digital formats will never out-do analogue formats in terms of quality.

[FRANKIESHANOWSKIY2K0]

people no need to go through all of this duplicating one format

to another these days because you can get half of the titles that

was on both betamax and vhs on dvd and bluray so save on the

hastle of duplicating and go out and buy the films on disc simples.

[dannyjaar]

you buy a brandnew tape in 1998 ??

thats not possible betamaxproductionstopt early 90s in holland

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

This was in the United States. I had my first Betamax recorder and was pleased to find a selection blanks from local distributers. I worked at Target the same year, which also still stocked L-750 Blank Betas also. By '99 they were mostly gone though. Pre recorded movies had disappeared about 7 years prior.

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

This was in the United States. I had my first Betamax recorder and was pleased to find a selection blanks from local distributers. I worked at Target the same year, which also still stocked L-750 Blank Betas. By '99 they were mostly gone though... Pre recorded movies had disappeared about 7 years prior.

[spaceking66]

i would like to hear and see a digital recording of the gloria liturgical chant lagrimi di san petrro come di falda fro neve by orlandi di lassus availuble on digital audio musicc cds availuble in record stores by sony records

[yulogarcia]

Hi-fi stereo and indeed, sounds great. And it does not get any better @ 1:47!

[Welcome24thCentury]

You got to love betamax. They were good for defeating copyguard on VHS and DVD plus also using a time base corrector : )

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

No production Beta unit had TBC (time base correction) however Video8, which was basically mini Beta had this feature in some units.

[juno4725025]

what is name of movie?

[MRLOL785]

@juno4725025 "The Shining". wow,

[ftpaddict]

Quite ironic how Betamax seems to have outlived HD-DVD. Here you are, toying around with the two losers of the infamous format wars.

[Dant2142]

@ftpaddict Even more ironic is how Sony won this time...

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

they play well together

[DvdXploitr]

I recorded a Laserdisc onto Betamax to test the quality and it looked almost identical...Betamax was a great format and highly under-rated

[ninjabluewings]

I Like This Video Very Much, Can You Still Get Betamax In The US? I Know It Has Long Gone From The UK But When I Was A Kid Back In '92 I Had A Sony Betamax Video Player For A While And Even Then I Could Tell That No VHS Could Match It's Picture Quality. Great Film Too :-)

[EmpireLS56KW]

"Come and play with us" YIKES! LOL

"Come and play with us Danny" YIKES! LOL

Looks scary in Beta with "The Shining"

[PanterAmetal100]

retro!!! my father have that player back in the day.intresting format .and looses to mainstreem consumergoods VHS-it is sad.

[MyTVcollection]

As one who has owned Betamaxes since 1976, this just goes to show how good the format is!! I run the Betainfoguide website and have ALWAYS appreciated how good Beta is - and how well the tapes hold up, year after year after year!!

[ForgetfulCollector]

I'm probably not the first person to point this out, but I find it a little bit ironic that you're recording from one replaced format to another replaced format. Never the less, that picture quality is excellent!

[Bat151]

My family had a Beta throughout most of the 80's (even after that accursed VHS format took over). Even as a kid I noticed how much clearer Beta was compared to VHS in resolution, and it even had better sound quality! Also, our Beta player RARELY broke down (like ONCE in the 8 years we had it!) After we (reluctantly) switched to VHS, we had to take the inferior player in to be serviced every few years. Most of all, I have to say my fondest memories of our BetaMax were all the movies we enjoyed :)

[hakemon]

I got the same tapes, except mine are 500 and grey.

Mine lost it's friction pad, it fell off and into the machine. Was a mess.

Got a super beta myself, phenomenal results.

[dashwarts]

0_0

That's crisp color! Not many tapes have that (curse whoever threw DVHS, WVHS, and perhaps would-be Beta equivalents...)

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

Agreed

[spacehelmetforacow]

@dashwarts Agreed. They were pretty good formats. Unfortunately, I think Tape had just passed it's time, at least as a home format. 

Maybe if HDTV had started a decade earlier....

[kdub03301986]

@spacehelmetforacow they had HD in the early 1980s (1035i) unfortunately it was ONLY in japan because the broadcast infrastructure here was not set up to send out bandwidth that high and would not have been cost effective to do so. the technology of today was already in use long before we were really aware of it. theres many examples of this, Hybrid car (1916) dual clutch transmission (1980) even 3D tv! you would be VERY surprised how far behind we actually are the tech's been there all along

[spacehelmetforacow]

@kdub03301986 Ah yes, the MUSE system. Late 1980s, not early. Neat, but not very practical due to, as you said, bandwidth issues. What I'm saying is that systems like DVHS would have likely done better had digital TV standards (720p or 1080i) come out earlier..

[oldgamingfart]

It's highly likely that VCR will outlive your XBox! A friend of mine has a ED Beta machine imported from Japan, and the picture is astounding.

[jhaughia]

Have you ever seen a 1080P BLUE RAY MOVIE?

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

I would have but I didn't have proper firmware, didn't want to wait 20 minutes to load a movie, and I was disillusioned by hdmi's fluctuating bandwidth, sync issues, version revisions, and high price to switch / split and extend. Plus it doesn't record, and it doesn't even come close to the organic fluidity of watching smoke roll of a cigarette on laserdisk or B1s. I already purchased movies, mine aren't fragile and could survive hell and still play. Breath on your Blu-ray wrong its ruined.

[Vladislaw81]

Yes, really, digital video from Blu-Ray or DVDs looks artificial, non-natural. But, transferred to analog format, it looks quite fine. Betamax has more s/n rate than (S-)VHS because of more bandwidth and larger head drum, a great format. I'm thinking opf buying a Betamax machine.

[stpworld]

Thats a great machine you have i never had beta but i know whats it is like. I have a Mitsubishi SVHS VCR its built like a tank not like your beta unit. but for vhs its very good quality great picture it probably has over 1000 hours on the head and still going strong my unit and yours will probably outlive many new technologys i still have my 1985 panasonic vcr the first hifi one available i;ll make a video of it later. @BatwaveRadioVideos

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

These days I would consider the construction of the HFR-70 tank like compared to modern VCR's. I had some JVC S-VHS machines that were of worse build quality then my Betamax.

[hakemon]

Hey look, it's the old ghiezer jhaughia, the disgruntled old man who hates his past life!

(I don't want to be rude, but he trolls the vintage video format pages for things like this, to complain about JUST that).

You should be blind by now and not be able to see the 1080p. No one of your age seems to.

[MRLOL785]

Ever seen respect, it's a great song and philosophy, jhaigia

[MRLOL785]

ever seen your asshole in HD?

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

No but i have a copy of your mother's A-hole on VHS.

[MRLOL785]

blow it out your HD ass, jhaugia

[Kyuubiboy321]

@jhaughia i have... well only 1080i but i don't think there is a big difference... I saw "The day earth stood still"... but i didn't think about greater resolution or anything... i just enjoyed the movie =P

[BatwaveRadioVideos]

Yeah the xbox is already RRD'd.