Betamax Question

Hi everyone,

Hopefully I've put this in the right forum (requests) being as it is a question.
Anyway my question is a couple of days ago I was clearing out my grandands loft who sadly past away a couple of week ago and I come across quite a few Betamax videos.

Some of the videos are made by Sanyo and some are made by Sony etc.

I'm looking at buying a Betamax player to see whats on them but does a sony betamax tape only play in a Sony betamax player and do sanyo tapes only play in sanyo players etc or is it the same as vhs where any tapes of any make can be played in any player make?

Sorry if this sounds a stupid question and Im quite embarresed about asking It but I havn't got a clue when it comes to the betamax format.

I am sure any brand will play in any player. It's like VHS I think, but I am ready to be proved wrong!

Any brand, any player. Betamax was a format, and tapes were produced under licence to meet the specifications.

Be prepared for there to be a lot of degradation. Magnetic tape doesn't store well - but its sure to be an interesting experience.

Thanks for the replies guys,
Hopefully they will still be playable but I'm not sure how long they've been up there.

You've said you were looking for a Betamax player - you may have already got one at this point, but from what I gather, the Sanyo VCRs are considered to be of solid build and more reliable than Sony ones - and later Sanyo models unlace the tape during full winding, which should prolong the life of the heads. I don't really have personal experience to draw upon, but it is what I've heard. It may not be a factor depending on what / how much you're doing, but may be something to consider.

Also, you may be aware of this but, if any of the reels look like they've got a lot of white powdery residue on them, they are probably very mouldy and best left unplayed.