Sony Betamax SL-5200 (the first Hi-Fi VCR) 

I actually have the Zenith VR-4000, which was a clone of the JVC HR-D725 - the first Hi-Fi VHS VCR!

I have some made by "Channel Plus" that modulate two channels on UHF. I've done a few videos about them. You can use one of those basic ones as well that outputs on channel 3 or 4, but those will probably need a booster if they're not in the same room as the VCR and TV.

The music video is 1985 Wang Chung 🎶📼

They're definitely electrolytic, but I've seen people replace them with film caps due to the better tolerance and small values. I remember someone saying that Sony "should have" used film caps.

No, Betacam is a different format - both the speed and signal recorded to the tape are completely different.

Yes and no. The early Betacam oxide tapes can be used in a Betamax VCR for recording but recordings made on Betacam machines won't play on a Betamax machine. Don't use any other variants of Betacam tapes such as SP or Digital. Those use metal-particle tape which will destroy the heads of a Betamax machine.

Good to know. I do have several copies of ET, so I should see if the others are the same. Overall, I've found that early Hi-Fi releases seem to vary wildly. Even when the levels are ok, the overall quality is the same as the linear track, since the source wasn't much better.

@@probnotstech I have early HI-FI tapes on both VHS and BETA and the very early ones unfortunately seem to have the intro (RCA, Paramount, MCA, Touchstone, Warner Brothers) in STEREO but yet the movie was NOT in stereo despite the HIFI light is on BUT the peak meters (VU meters) were perfectly equal lol. I Think they thought they could get away with this because most people used coax cables and not many people had component type TVs. Back in 1987 my mother 100% broke the bank (as a single mother of 2 kids) and saved up and bought an RCA Dimensia 27 inch TV. Now...this thing was AMAZING and we had it up until 1995 in regular use, and then in our rec-room in 1991 (They-mom remarried in 1988) bought a RCA Console with a 36 incher) and then I got it for my bedroom in 1997 when they bougyt a 36 inch Hitachi. Anyway I never knew the potential of this TV until we got the Beta HI-FI in 1989 and hooked it up though the RCA jacks. HOLY HELL what a difference!! in 1991 they bought a Sony SLV-R5UC VCR S-VHS Hi-Fi because the RCA console had a S-Video jack.....which NEVER got used properly until 1993 when we got our Echostar Dish (The OLD OLD Bell Expressview) which had a full 500 lines of resolution. The best part was that I had that old RCA right up until 2009 without any picture problems! I NEVER maxed out the contrast and brightness and every couple months I took the back off an used compressed air and a vacuumed to keep it clean (I smoked...still do just not in the house). At a young age I always made sure our electronics we kept cleaned as a family member owned a Electronics repair shop and I use to hang out there and learned a LOT! I still have both the Sont Beta and VHS and they work as good as they did new. However when I'm not using them I shut off the power bar just to keep the displays bright and not run power though them because I might use them a few times a month when I'm craving a movie that I KNOW is online...but I'd rather watch it on tape. Weird eh? I still have a full case of 10 L-750s bought in 1995 because I use to tape a LOT of music video off much music from 1991-2003 on S-VHS on then pick out my favorites and put them on Beta because it became mine once they got the VHS lol. WIN for me lol. I have 15 tapes of music from 1991-2003/2004 all taped in Super Beta BII copied off S-VHS SP T180 tapes. Plus I use to make a little money very early in my years by hooking the VTRs through the stereo and making cassettes. I always has the newest music and people would give me a list and a blank tape and 5 bucks and they would have PERFECT Stereo recordings on a Denon DDR-780 from '91 (still have that too). That's my story with that lol.