Beta or UHS? Get the facts in 1976

[Dubis7]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

What is that thing on top of the "Sony" machine? A mechanical clock?

It's a timer. The original Betamax deck didn't have an internal timer because they didn't want consumers to have to turn in the entire unit for service if the timer failed. At least that's the official reasoning. It was also sold as a separate accessory, though, so that may have been part of it.

I don't think that's what the production timer looked like, though. If I recall correctly, it had a round analog clock and a dial timer, but I may be mistaken.