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PAL Betamax question...

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I know NSTC and PAL are incompatible with each other, but if I were to play a PAL tape back, would I be able to listen to the linear audio track?
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Where were you in '77?

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If you played a PAL tape on an NTSC deck, you would probably hear something, but it will not be playing at the proper speed.
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For info, there is a speed difference of 4% between PAL and NTSC audio tracks...
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Thanks for the info, guys. There are two early PAL Beta Star Wars on Ebay right now, and I'm delusional enough to think maybe it's got the mono track. Unless somebody can prove otherwise?
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Where were you in '77?

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The original mono track would only be found on someone's recording from British TV. The mono Star Wars audio was never released to the commercial home video market.
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You would be able to hear the audio. I recently found this out by playing a PAL tape that a friend's had made for them in Europe decades ago. The 4% pitch increase is unmistakable. Of course, I don't know how distorted it would sound compared to the output of a regular PAL player, but it seemed okay to me.

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<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
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Originally posted by: SilverWook
Thanks for the info, guys. There are two early PAL Beta Star Wars on Ebay right now, and I'm delusional enough to think maybe it's got the mono track. Unless somebody can prove otherwise?


I have both of these, and I believe that they are identical to their VHS & Laserdisc counterparts. I don't have the VHS, but I do have the Laserdisc and its Stereo. There is no mention on the Star Wars box or cassette of either Mono or Stereo, but it states on the Empire cassette that its Stereo.

Neil
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Empire came out after Beta HiFi decks were on the market. The earliest "rental only" Star Wars Beta I've got is mono, (no indication of stereo anywhere on the labels or box) but is really a mixdown of the stereo track. I was hoping against the odds that across the pond they used a different master or something. Oh well...
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Where were you in '77?

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VHS tapes play at different speeds in PAL and NTSC, far more than the 4% shift in sound, so you may find there's even more difference than that if the same holds true for Betamax.

DE
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Well, whatever speed it was playing at, it was definitely faster. Again, since I don't have a Betamax unit for comparison, I couldn't say how much faster.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>