fall inside a hole
Sony frontloading Betas
SL-J10 (August 1981)
The first frontloading Beta from Sony for the Japanese market. This model and the exported variants were a step down from the late toploaders, with fewer features. The SL-J10 did not have a full-function remote, only a wired pause and BetaScan control (which, to be fair, is probably most of what you would want to do remotely), and oddly did not automatically rewind a cassette after reaching the end. This chassis was referred to as the 710 chassis, and generally cost less than 711 chassis machines by using older and larger components. Scans of the J10 sales brochure can be seen here.
photo source
SL-5000 (February 1982)
American version of the SL-J10. Records Beta II and III and plays I, II and III. Includes a wired remote with pause and BetaScan controls and only a one day, one event timer. Marketing tried to sell this model as a "genius," talking about its features, but it had less advanced functionality than the late era toploaders - like the SL-J10, it didn't even automatically rewind tapes.
SL-5010 (Early 1982)
Trim variant of the SL-5000 apparently sold in some department stores.
photo source
SL-5020 (Early 1982)
Another SL-5000 variant, this one with a slightly upgraded seven day, one event timer.
SL-F11 (Japan) (March 1982)
The first "slimline" frontloader Beta, with linear stereo, a wireless remote, and an uncommon two-door mechanism. Featured a two week, four event timer, a tape indexing system, and a digital tape counter that displayed elapsed time as minutes and seconds rather than a simple counter. The mechanism was miniaturized thanks to the use of new pancake motors driving each reel individually. This mechanism was called the 711 mechanism and was used in a number of decks and has a few different variations. Cost 278,000 yen when new. I have one of these very nice VCRs which I will get around to photographing some day (year...). In the meantime, here is a scan of the sales brochure.
SL-C6 (1982)
International PAL format release of the SL-J10 with a one week timer. In the UK, (UB designation), this model also came in a MKII variant with a row of buttons like the SL-J20 instead of a T-cluster like the SL-J10. Regional releases include: SL-C6AS (Australia), SL-C6E (Europe), SL-C6EC (Swiss/Austria), SL-C6EI, SL-C6ES (European stereo variant), SL-C6F (France), SL-C6SA (South Africa), SL-C6UB (United Kingdom), SL-C6UB MKII (United Kingdom). EC variant apparently had an upgraded tuner.
photo source
photo source
Sony 1983 TV and Video catalog
SL-J20 (June 1982)
Japanese followup to the SL-J10 with a wireless remote and redesigned button layout.
photo source
SL-J30 (June 1982)
Linear stereo version of the SL-J20. Sales catalogue can be seen here.
photo source
SL-2500 (June 1982)
The American version of the SL-F11. The United States did not yet have a stereo broadcast standard and Sony was already working on Beta hi-fi by this time, with a then-secret prototype also working by the summer of 1982, so it probably made more sense to not confuse the American market with multiple stereo standards (one much better than the other). Included the other trick-play features of the SL-F11 as well as the wireless full-function remote, two week, four event timer, and electronic index system. Also interfaced with the new AG-400 BetaStack to switch up to four cassettes for 20 hours of recording. Also became the SLO-420 industrial Beta.
SL-C9 (1982)
PAL format equivalent of the SL-F11 which retained linear stereo. Some regional variants had a stereo tuner to record local stereo broadcasting. Regional variants of the SL-C9 include: SL-C9AS (Australia), SL-C9E (Europe), SL-C9ES ("Extremely High Standard," with stereo tuner), SL-C9ECS (Denmark/Sweden), SL-C9F (France), SL-C9UB (United Kingdom)
Sony 1984 Digital Audio catalog
Sony 1983 TV and Video catalog
SL-5100 (1982)
American version of the SL-J20 with wireless remote, redesigned buttons, and seven day, one event timer. These 710 chassis machines continued to be cheaper and less feature-filled than the 711 chassis machines. Allegedly also sold in an E variant, differences unknown.
photo source
SL-5101 (1982)
An even cheaper - 669.95 dollars - SL-5100 variant that was cable-ready, with a 105-channel capable tuner (but still with only 14 presets), wireless remote, and seven day, one event timer. Also included a PCM switch on the back to disable dropout compensation for use with a PCM processor.
SL-T6 (1982?)
International multi-format PAL and SECAM. Sold in SL-T6ME (Middle East) and SL-T6PS variants.
photo source
SL-C8SA (1982?)
Unknown South African machine based on the 710 chassis, likely an SL-J10 or SL-J20 based frontloader. Mentioned in the C/710/711 chassis adjustment guide.
SL-F7 (September 1982)
Darker grey and mono 711 chassis machine for Japan similar to the SL-F11 or SL-2500 but without audio dub or the tape remain gauge. Retained the slow motion and fast play capabilities.
photo source
SL-J25 (December 1982)
Last of the "J" series of Betas, similar to the SL-J20 but with a wired remote and an odd dial-based timer meant to be easier to set. Could use the older RM-71 from the SL-J10, but was intended to be used with the full-function RM-24 that you could also plug a microphone into. A scan of the brochure for the SL-J25 can be found here.
photo source
SL-F3 (March 1983)
Another stripped-down 711 chassis (the 711B in particular) but without any trick play functions. Still included a wireless remote (in matching color!) and BetaScan. Sold in red, yellow, silver, and champagne. This was the basis for the first generation of "EZ Beta" machines like the American SL-2300 and SL-2400 series and the European SL-F and SL-C series as well as the Japanese followup SL-F5 and SL-F17. Instead of the two-door system of the SL-F11 and SL-F7, these and following slimline Betas used a single door that was split lengthwise.
photo source
photo source
SL-5000MD (March 1983)
Multiformat NTSC and PAL-M version of the SL-5100/SL-J20
(not the SL-5000 that the model number would imply) with
wireless remote and reorganized controls. Brazilian
release Betas were often closer to NTSC machines than
European PAL machines because the PAL-M standard was
close to NTSC but with color handled more similar to PAL
- they also supported regular NTSC recordings.
photo source
SL-HF77 (April 1983)
The first "hifi" VCR, using the rotary video heads
to also record high-quality audio. Sony believed that
VHS could never match this technique - they did so
later in 1983, but it required two additional heads on
the video drum dedicated just to hifi audio. Sony
ended up also needing to use additional heads for
their European Beta VCRs. Not to be confused with the
later European PAL-format SL-HF77, which is a
SuperBeta hi-fi from 1986.
photo source
photo source
SL-5200 (Summer 1983)
First American Beta hi-fi in an SL-J10 style chassis. Does
not include the trick-play functions of the SL-HF77
descended from the SL-F11, but does have level sliders
for each audio channel.
photo source
SL-F5 (June 1983)
The Japanese talking Betamax, essentially an SL-F3 but with a speech synthesizer built in to assist with setting the timer. Sold in black and silver.
SL-2700 (August 1983)
American version of the SL-HF77 Beta hi-fi with
trick-play features of the SL-F11. Two week, four
program timer and cable-ready tuner linear, wireless
remote, audio dub, electronic indexing system, and 14
pin K camera connector. Can play at double speed with
sound.
Owners
Manual - Service
Manual
An in-depth review of the SL-2700 appears in the August
1983 issue of High Fidelity magazine.
SL-F17 (October 1983)
Another cheaper Japanese mono E-Z Beta sold in several somewhat odd color combinations like black with mint trim or salmon with tan trim.
photo source
photo source
SL-HF66 (November 1983)
Japanese Beta hi-fi available in silver or black with fewer trick-play functions than the SL-77, it was about 50,000 yen cheaper at launch.
photo source
photo source
SL-2400 (Late 1983)
American slimline Beta based on the SL-F3. First of the "E-Z" Betas, with a full function wireless remote, slimline form factor, and few extra trick functions beyond BetaScan. Sold in silver, champagne, and red. The Canadian variant was the SL-2400C. Audio inputs and outputs were 3.5mm phono jacks instead of RCA. Service Manual for the SL-2400 (and similar 711B chassis machines). Three day, one event timer, records and plays Beta II and III and also plays Beta I.
SL-2401 (Late 1983)
Based on the SL-2400 with a cable ready tuner and three day, one event timer.
photo source
SL-C20 (1983)
Slimline SL-F3 equivalent for PAL territories with a keypad-style tuner layout. No remote and a one week, one event timer. Express tuner used a keypad-style layout. Usually came in silver but a red variant also exists. Sold with E (Europe) and UB (United Kingdom) suffixes.
photo source
SL-C24PS (1983)
West German equivalent of the SL-C20 with a more traditional tuner layout and the same one week, one event timer. Handled PAL and SECAM video.
SL-C30 (1983)
European slimline more similar to the SL-F3 with a wireless remote but the keypad style tuner as seen on the SL-C20. One week, two program timer. Mostly sold in black but also available in red, silver, and champagne. Sold in SL-C30E (Europe), SL-C30HK, SL-C30PS (West Germany), SL-C30SA (South Africa), SL-C30UB (United Kingdom) suffixes.
photo source
SL-C33 (Late 1983)
Very similar to the SL-C30 but with an S-band TV tuner.
SL-C34 (1983)
Very similar to the SL-C30 but with 12 express tuning buttons in a row instead of the keypad style express tuning.
SL-C35 (1983)
Variant of the SL-C30 with a different tuner for some regions. Sold in SL-C35AS (Australia) and SL-C35SA (South Africa) variants in red and silver. Pictures and more information about many of these PAL format Betas can be found on the Betamax PALsite.
SL-C40 (1983)
Similar to the SL-C30 but with linear stereo and Beta Noise Reduction. On NTSC Beta hi-fi decks the hifi sound is recorded and played by the normal video heads and can work with a two head drum, but like VHS hifi, PAL Beta hi-fi required an additional pair of heads to work, so PAL linear stereo machines continued to be sold later than most NTSC counterparts.
photo source
SL-C44PS (1983)
West German equivalent of the SL-C40 with linear stereo.
SL-2410 (Late 1983)
American version of the SL-F5 with a built in speech synthesizer to assist in setting the timer. Included a cable-ready tuner and infrared remote. Unlike previous 2400-series machines, compatible with the AG-500 BetaStack.
photo source
SL-2415 (Late 1983)
Case variant of the SL-2410. Internally, this and the SL-2410 are very similar to the SL-2400, as described in the service manual.
photo source
SL-2300 (Early 1984)
American slimline Beta based on the SL-F17, seemingly, similar to the SL-F3 and SL-2400 but with full-size RCA audio jacks. Unlike the previous SL-2400 and its talking derivatives, this model could not interface with the BetaStack changer. The E-Z Betas were cheap (starting around 500 dollars, with later 1984 second-generation models selling for as low as 400) VCRs that Sony released in an effort to try to cut into VHS VCR sales (75% of VCRs in America at this time were VHS). These cheap, slim Betas did sell well, but never made a significant dent in VHS sales - arguably, Sanyo's even cheaper toploaders were more successful in the 1983/1984 cheap VCR market. Sold in red, white, blue, and silver in part to promote the 1984 Olympics. Unconfirmed variant (probably a trim/color variant): SL-2301
SL-2305 (Early 1984)
Variant of the SL-2300 in a woodgrain case. These slimline Betas often had video and audio in only on the front, in part to make it easier to hook up a video camera.
photo source
SL-2405 (Early 1984)
Like the original SL-2400 (and seemingly based on the SL-2401) the SL-2405 used 3.5mm phono jack for audio in and out and did not support the AG-500 BetaStack. Otherwise very similar to other 2400 and 2300 series machines, these basic VCRs were flying off the shelves like crazy as VCR prices dropped in 1983 and 1984 and many consumers continued to simply buy whatever was cheap and available in order to be able to record television, which is probably why Sony made so many different variations of these cheap, low-spec machines.
photo source
SL-2406 (Early 1984)
Department store variant of the SL-2401 in a different case color.
photo source
SL-2408C (1984)
Canadian variant of the SL-2400 in silver. Three day, one event timer, records and plays Beta II and III and also plays Beta I.
SL-HF55 (April 1984)
Even more inexpensive Beta hi-fi, similar capabilities to the SL-HF66 but a further 50,000 yen cheaper than the SL-HF77 at introduction.
photo source
SL-HFR30 (Japan) (May 1984)
The first "hifi ready" VCR, which was a standalone mono slimline Beta but, because of the way Beta hi-fi worked, could be upgraded to have hifi stereo later with a plug-in external adapter that provided stereo processing and inputs and outputs. This system was called "Beta Plus" in Japan.
SL-HFR60 (Japan) (July 1984)
Slightly upgraded BetaPlus model available in black or silver. The external processing system was not possible on VHS hifi, making Beta Plus pretty much the only "upgradable" consumer VCRs (a few open reel VTRs could be upgraded to record and play in color, oddly, and a handful of very early external programmable timers existed for early otherwise single-event VCRs). Both the SL-HFR30 and SL-HFR60 can be seen in the August 1984 Sony video catalogue.
SL-HFR30 (America) (1984)
Bottom-of-the-range American export Beta hi-fi ready VCR based on the Japanese SL-HFR30. These were considered the second generation "EZ Betas" and had a button which would automatically record for half an hour (plus half an hour longer every additional time you press it) on whatever channel the deck was currently set to.
SL-HFR60 (America) (1984)
American export SL-HFR60 midrange Beta with hi-fi add-on capabilities and 132 channel cable tuner.
SL-HFR90 (America) (1984)
Higher-end of the initial American "Beta Plus" exports with a 169 channel cable tuner and nine event, three week timer.
SL-10 (America) (1984)
Bottom-of-the-line mono second generation EZ Beta aimed at daily timeshifters with basic features (no frame advance/slow motion), sold for 400 dollars.
SL-20 (America) (1984)
Slight stepup EZ Beta available in red or silver with a tape window in the top of the deck which the SL-10 lacked; similar in appearance to the SL-30 and same six event/seven day timer as the SL-10.
SL-25 (America) (1984)
Woodgrain trim variant of the SL-20.
SL-30 (America) (1984)
Midrange EZ Beta with third head for more trick-play features, basically the SL-HFR30 but without the hi-fi ready parts.
SL-3030 (America) (1984)
Color variant of the silver SL-30, available in black or red.
SL-60 (America) (1984)
Four head EZ Beta with six event, one week timer. Similar to the SL-HFR60 but without hifi add-on socket.
SL-90 (America) (1984)
Four head EZ Beta with three week, nine event timer and keypad tuning. Similar to the SL-HFR90 but without hifi add-on socket.
SL-9090 (America) (1984)
Black color variant of the SL-90.
SL-F30 (Europe) (1984)
European equivalent of the SL-30 slimline E-Z Beta with wireless remote. Sold in a few different colors.
photo source
SL-F60 (Europe) (1984)
PAL format SL-60 E-Z Beta with four heads and wireless remote. Came in black, unlike the SL-F30.
photo source
SL-HF300 (Japan) (September 1984)
New hi-fi Beta with big audio indicators, sold in black or silver. Can be seen in the 1985 Sony Beta hi-fi brochure.
SL-HF355 (Japan) (November 1984)
Beta hi-fi similar to the SL-HF300 but with computerized on-screen display. Can be seen in the 1985 Sony Beta hi-fi brochure.
SL-HF900 (Japan) (Early 1985)
Released first in Japan by early 1985, the SL-HF900 was the first Hi-Band Beta and could record in the Beta Is 5.6MHz mode. Four head machine with advanced editing and trick play/record features. Can be seen in the 1985 Sony Beta hi-fi brochure.
SL-HF900 (America) (1985)
American release of the Japanese SL-HF900. Four heads, variable speed playback with jog/shuttle dial, and an option to record one frame at a time. Although the American version dropped the Beta Is recording mode, the export SL-HF900 can be modified to record in Beta Is.
SL-S600 (April 1990)
Mono SuperBeta for the 90s, continued to be sold until Beta's discontinuation in 2002. Seven day, one event timer and limited trick play effects.
SL-HF2100 (1991)
The buttonless 15th anniversary Betamax, with no physical controls except the RF modulator channel switch. Touch panel and matching remote, 30 day eight program timer, editing capabilities, Beta Is Super Hi-Band, and a redesigned transport - the last big hurrah for Beta.