The SL-5000 was sold in the USA and Canada while the SL-C6 was sold in Europe. These two machines are very similar. They come in a silver metal cabinet (later model C6 Mk. II sold in the U.K. with a dark brown cabinet and minor changes to the electronics). I owned a SL-5000 when I lived in Canada in 1991 and have picked up lots of SL-C6's (Mk. I and II) from junk sales, then trash-cans in England.

The American model pictured has 14 channel selectors. The British one has a more modest 8 - still more than enough. The SL-5000 is multi-speed; it can play BI tapes and record + play BII and BIII. This means a L-750 tape can contain 1.5, 3 or 4.5 hours of video. As with all British Betamax machines, the SL-C6UB operates at one speed only; L-750 tapes run for 3.25 hours - usually enough for two feature-length movies.

Both machines share a couple of common faults. The first is that after inserting a cassette, the machine whirrs for a few seconds then ejects it. This is due to a small rubber wheel not gripping the tape-threading mechanism. Replacing the belt attached to it is often enough to fix the problem.

Another fault that happens a lot is a white flash across the screen every few seconds, accompanied by a 'wobble' on the sound when playing back a tape. I found a temporary cure by adjusting the capstan motor free-running speed (a tiny preset on the circuit board with the tracking control on). The US model has three such presets, one for each mode (BI, II and III). For a more lasting cure, I replaced the capstan motor with another one. I have since been told the answer is to replace a couple of capacitors on the tracking PCB, but I've never been able to try this.

When they are working fully, these machines give excellent results. It's just a shame that, like all early video recorders, they had a few niggling faults which may have dissuaded users from the Beta format. In fact, these machines are much more sturdily-built than today's VCRs and should last for years if cared for well.