** Note our new address: Greentree Audio Video, 13 Parkview Drive, Elizabethtown PA 17022

Betamax (PAL, NTSC, 'Beta') BI, BII, BIII, HiFi Video Tape transfer to file

Complete pricing below.

Betamax 'Beta' color video cassette format was introduced by Sony in 1975.  Sony was not successful at brokering an agreement with other companies to make Betamax the standard and they did not license the video technology to others.  Betamax was enhanced in 1983 with two channels of ‘HiFi’ stereo sound and released a portable camcorder in 1983.  The last commercial release on Betamax was in 1996.  Betamax tape player production was discontinued in 2002 and Sony discontinued tapes in 2015.


PRICES:
TRANSFER video tape to mp4 file: $45 per tape.
TRANSFER PAL videotape: add $15 per tape.
USB FLASH DRIVE (Thumb drive) for file(s): $10 each (16Gb max).
DOWNLOAD files and 30 day Cloud storage: $10 per order (25Gb max).
DVD (DVDs are becoming obsolete): $15 each (2 hours max).
LONG TAPE (more than 2 hours): add $12 per hour ($0.20/minute).
*Unclaimed material will be discarded after 1 year.

h264.mp4 is a very common and well supported file format; files on a USB flash drive will play in Windows and MAC computers and will plug & play in many modern TVs.  Other file formats available by request (avi, mov, etc).
 
Betamax continued: The Betamax format has three speeds but not all machines are compatible with all speeds or with HiFi sound.  An L-750 Betamax tape has 750 feet of tape and can play for up to 90 minutes in NTSC B-I mode, 3-hours in B-II mode, and 4-1/2 hours in B-III mode.  Beta-I tape speed is 4cm/s (1.575ips), B-II speed is 2.0cm/s, (0.787ips), and B-III speed is 1.33cm/s (0.524ips).  The Betamax format has approx. 240 lines of resolution.  Betamax tape is ½-inch wide and cassettes measure 6-1/8 x 3-3/4 x 15/16 inches.

RECORD MODE - TIME
                B1                  BII (B2)        BIII (B3)
L-125      15 minutes      30 minutes      45 minutes
L-250      30 minutes         1 hour        1 hour- 30 minutes
L-500        1 hour              2 hour            3 hour
L-750        1 hour- 30 min  3 hour       4 hour- 30 minutes
L-850          n/a             3hr-20min          5 hours


BETA, BETAMAX 1/2 inch wide Consumer Video tape, rated for 750 Oersted
L-120, Maxell Betamax EX120
Sony L-125HG high grade.
L-125, Sony, BASF, Scotch/ 3M, BI: 15 min, BII: 30 min, BIII: 45min.
L-250, Sony. Maxell. 3M. BASF
L-500, BASF L500 chrome pn 54552.
L-500, Memorex L0500 video cassette.
L-500 Sony Dynamicron
L-750 222m, ntsc BetaI 90 min; Beta II 180 min; Beta III 270 min.

BASF L750HG chrome, BASF ESB Dynamicron., 05879, Germany.
BASF L750 chrome, BASF Systems Corp, Crosby Drive Bedford, MA 01730.

FUJI L-750 super HG, 222m, 728ft, Super fine Beridox
Kodak L-750SGL, Cat 108-8202 Japan
Maxell Betamax EX750 Epitaxial. L-750 ESB Beta Dymanicrom
Maxell 750EX epitaxial videocassette.
Memorex L-750 222m, BI: 1-1/2, BII: 3, BIII: 4-1/2 hour.
PD Magnetics/ Dupont L-750HG Chrome Videocassette.
Scotch 3M. L750 EG Chrome, 222 meters.
Sony L-500HG high grade Dynamicron Betamax 1-hour, 2-hour, 3 hour.  

Sony L-750 Betamax, L750 HG, L750ES, B3:4hrs-30min, B2: 3 hrs, B1: 90minutes.
Sony L-750-ES extra super, dynamicron, 222 meters, made in USA.
Sony L-830. Beta, Super Beta, Super Hi-Band, Beta hi-fi, BNR

HEAD CLEANING TAPE
Sony BCT-5CLN, 5sec/50x (4 min).
Sony Beta L-25CL, 7 meters

EXAMPLE MACHINES
Sony SL-HFR70
Super Betamax, 3-video head.
Sony SL-HF400 sturdy and reliable.

 

BETA BETAMAX transfer record vintage Beta 1, 2, 3 video tape, BetaMax, Beta I, Beta II, Beta III, Beta HiFi, Beta stereo, PAL Beta, Secam Beta to mp4, avi web download, hard drive or Flash drive files, DVD.