Poll – What was your first? Beta, VHS, other?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by cgw, Mar 23, 2021.

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  1. jtiner

    jtiner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine
    The first video device I owned was a stereo model RCA CED player. The rental place had 99 cent three day rentals, and a bunch of music/performance stuff (like Pink Floyd at Pompeii). It was much cheaper than VHS machines at the time, and VHS stereo didn't exist. I eventually went with a high end hi-fi VHS machine a couple years later.

    However, before I owned my own video tape recorder, I used one of these on a daily basis:

    [​IMG]
     
  2. CraigBic

    CraigBic Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I was pretty unaware of anything except VHS until I came across DVD, I guess Laserdisc wasn't a big thing in Moscow, Idaho or something. I don't recall seeing much laserdisc in late 90s Auckland, New Zealand either. DVD was quite a revelation though, we had a DVD player on our Pentium 3 and my dad borrowed a copy of Titanic off someone. That's when I started going for DVDs instead of VHS though because of good deals in the rental stores I often rented a handful of movies on VHS and watched them throughout the week. I actually think DVD still looks incredibly good if you watch it on a CRT, I think it hides a lot of the flaws which tend to stand out on an HD flat panel.
     
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  3. Bungo

    Bungo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    My parents bought an RCA VHS machine sometime around 1980. It was either the model in the image below, or one that looks very similar. I inherited it at the tail end of college, around 1990, by which time it was an ancient dinosaur, but still functional.

    I don't currently own any video players or media, except for a Roku streamer.

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. For me, VHS a Panasonic Hi-Fi 4 head, but my parents had an early front loader 2 head mono. I had played with VHS & Beta + U-Matic pro decks in college. The Panasonic, JVC, and Sony pro decks were like tanks of precision, Very impressive. Very expensive new too!

    Never got the VHS vs. Beta debate thing for consumer use. Both looked like crap and it depended on who made it and with VHS HQ they looked almost the same on good decks. National/Panasonic, JVC, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, and all the brands they OEM'd for > Fisher (Sanyo), Sharp, Funai, Orion, Daewoo, Goldstar (now LG), and Samsung. Sony > Sanyo Beta. Both Sony and Sanyo OEM'd Beta decks for others, but were mostly the same as their own. In the end, it was 1/2" tape in low rez that depended on the deck quality and tape quality, that was Ok at best.

    Early RCA decks were made by Matsushita/Panasonic until they switched to Hitachi for front loaders as Panasonic became a big VHS brand. Hitachi also made Sony's early VHS decks that were much better design than Sony's own design later for reliability.

    VHS had a realistic recording time for TV, movies, sports, car racing, T-120 (NTSC): 2/4/6 hours E-180 (PAL/SECAM) 3/6 hours

    We never got Philips' Video 2000 format here in North America. Philips in the US had Matsushita (Panasonic) for the 80s or so OEM their Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania, Philco brand VHS decks for them. Good ones. Later they switched to Funai to lower cost and quality.
     
  5. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    VHS.
    My mom bought it. It was a top loading Sylvania unit, with big clunky piano keys and a rotary tuner. The remote was wired, with a single slide switch for "pause." This one is branded Magnavox, but it was the same unit:

    [​IMG]

    Believe it or not, I used to put that sucker in a backpack, and carry it down to the local New Wave club, the Music Box, with my video tapes to do "Music Video night."
    Of course! And a Beta, Laserdisc and a U-Matic 3/4" machine! And of course Hi8, D8 and DV.
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2021
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  6. I bought the first Betamax Stereo when Sony introduced it. Cost me a fortune at the time considering what I was making back then. I use to record music on it...it was awesome and had it for almost 10 years.
     
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  7. monte4

    monte4 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ontario Canada
    My first was the top of the line Sony Superbeta hifi stereo SL900. Fully functioned with variable speed slow motion. It was just after I got married and we spent our wedding money on it. I think I paid around $2000 Canadian for it. Sadly it was in the shop for repairs more than it was home. After about 4 repairs under warranty they gave me another new machine. Same result. After 2 more trips in for repair I sold it. Terrific machine when it worked. I hooked it up to my turntable and made many great sounding tapes from LP.
     
  8. Strummergas

    Strummergas Senior Member

    Location:
    Queens, NY
    VHS.

    My family first got a VHS player around 1983 or so when I was a little kid. I got my own play in 1995, I believe. I still have it and tapes, but it's not hooked up and hasn't been for ages.
     
  9. dance_hall_keeper

    dance_hall_keeper Forum Resident

    Despite the naysayers, Beta is better.

    The main selling point of VHS at your local store went something like, “You can record up to six hours one one tape”, with no mention of picture and sound quality whatsoever.

    Sony basically fell asleep with the marketing of their line of Beta products.
     
  10. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    VHS. Christmas 1985. Along with a copy of The Compleat Beatles.
     
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  11. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    I did not know, until the other day, that the RCA CED was different than laser discs.
     
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  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Eventually it didn't matter that Beta may've been higher quality. You just couldn't get pre-recorded product nearly as easily!

    As I mentioned earlier, my family got a VHS VCR in early 1983. I don't recall if my dad debated VHS vs. Beta, but we went VHS!
     
  13. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Like a fool, I replaced my VHS collection with DVD....
     
  14. jtiner

    jtiner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine
    Way back when, the TV station I worked at made special arrangements to air The Compleat Beatles. Every time someone recorded the network feed, I'd point out that they'd only recorded one channel of audio, so all the music was hosed (missing vocals, etc.). They blew three recordings - they just had no concept of two channel audio for the VTR's. I had just purchased my first stereo VHS machine, so I was asked to bring it to the television station and make a recording of the feed to prove that it was really in stereo. I still have that tape.
     
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  15. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    It must’ve sounded all Acky Dacky.

    I wish I could get a DVD of Compleat. I got rid of all my tapes.
     
  16. jtiner

    jtiner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine
    2600? 5800?
     
  17. VHS, around ‘85.

    I held off on getting a tape deck until I could afford a VHS HiFi model. Damned if I can recall who made it, but it was a nearly top shelf model.

    Edit: Mitsubishi, I think.
     
  18. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    :confused: Is this a joke aimed at all the people who dumped vinyl for CD and regretted it?
     
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  19. jtiner

    jtiner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine
    I just happened to be walking by while another engineer was checking the tape and heard Yellow Submarine with no vocals. The programming people came to listen and said "So?". They didn't really get it, but agreed to schedule a new recording, which had exactly the same problem since the engineer didn't do anything differently. When I complained again, they dismissed my concerns and called the head of production over to listen and put an end to the matter. He walked up and said "wow - one audio channel is completely missing". They finally agreed we shouldn't air it like that.
     
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  20. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    The people watching must’ve thought they were hearing outtakes.
     
  21. My first VCR was an RCA VDT201 purchased in 1980. For some reason I still have the manual for it.
    Pictured are the first two tapes that were recorded on it, the 1980 Winter Olympics, USA vs Russia hockey final.
    The TDK tapes were $19.95 each and they still play back fine after more than 40 years.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  22. My parents bought our first VCR in 1986. Prior to that they would rent a VCR from the video store. I still own a VCR and plenty of VHS tapes. I also own DVD, Blu-Ray, and CED.
     
  23. Pinknik

    Pinknik Senior Member

    My parents were slow to get into the VHS game. I can't remember whether we had a VCR when I purchased the laserdisc player, but it was the first home video format that I purchased with my own money. I also got my own S-VHS VCR when I moved out, and it's still works. The laserdisc player died, and I attempted to replace it with one from eBay, which also died. Since I didn't have that many discs, I sold them off and haven't really looked back, aside from watching some laserdisc themed youtube channels.

    Most of the titles I had have been vastly improved upon in DVD or blu-ray incarnations, though I think the current Pink Floyd: Live in Pompeii DVD is a fail compared to the laserdisc. Still yet to be upgraded to blu-ray as well.
     
  24. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I got Beta Hi-Fi, but not that fancy one. My pal had one, though, and the PCM adapter (F1, I think?). He found out if you recorded audio with the F1 and then diddled with the slow motion knob on the deck on playback you could make real weird sounds.
     
  25. Slick Willie

    Slick Willie Decisively Indecisive

    Location:
    sweet VA.
    VHS.
    That's what the rental stores in my are had the most titles of.
     
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