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@mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy Oct 4, 2026, 11:12 PM

Installed the #HTPC now the endless software tweaking begins.

What looks like an ordinary Sony SL -5000 Betamax player in a home theater cabinet with a television above. It is showing the Jellyfin web interface and some obscure television comedies.

@mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy Oct 4, 2026, 12:31 AM

The Sony #Betamax SL-5000 #HTPC is done, now just to see if it will actually fit in the TV hutch. I plan to weigh the parts I have removed from it - it is substantially lighter after gutting.

EDIT: It's 11 pounds lighter now. These Sony motors and read heads and actuators and boards could be yours!

The front of the Sony Betamax SL-5000 VCR shot from the left corner. My favorite part is the SIMULATED WOOD CABINET sticker, they were very proud of that. And of course the fake maple burl. The original clock blinks 12:00 PM in blue.

The front of the player from the right corner. The top door of the split cassette door has been replaced by a Blu-ray player. The lower door reads Betamax. It is very eighties.

The unremarkable back of the VCR. An Optiplex ultra small form factor PC is back here but it's hard to find, my goal. There are various bits and bobs in the foreground.

@mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy Oct 2, 2026, 3:51 PM

Hoping to solve the remaining engineering challenges with my Betamax #HTPC build this weekend: rerouting the Optiplex power switch and LED to the Sony switch (involves soldering fine wires, I am scared haha) and what to do about the cassette door - does it hinge […]

[Original post on pdx.social]

The cassette doors of a Sony Betamax player, gutted. They are opaque lexan, and the bottom door has a Betamax decal. As designed the doors are swung inward by a servo motor, but I didn't want to have to figure out how to preserve all that and integrate it with software. An external Blu-ray player sits on top.

@mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy Sep 27, 2026, 1:09 AM

I like how normal the back of my Sony Betamax #HTPC build looks even upside-down. There's a Dell Optiplex hiding here.

The back of a VCR. It looks normal except for the USB and other PC ports in a cutout at the bottom of the lower grille

@mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy Sep 21, 2026, 1:05 AM

More #HTPC project pics. It is considerably lighter now. If anyone could use the various boards, motors, linear actuators, and so on I have removed from it they are yours for the cost of shipping. Sony made all of this stuff and it seems very very well designed.

A close up of the left front side of the VCR with the face plate removed. There are three orange circuit boards with buttons and an old ancient blue led clock. It's made in Japan and it's marked No Jewels for some reason. It's beautiful.

The RF tuner module mounted behind the power supply, with some hefty cables and connectors.

A shot from the side of the VCR from the left with the top off. The RF cables have been pulled free. A giant aluminum heat sink faces the side of the case.

@mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy Sep 21, 2026, 12:45 AM

Progress on my 'hide a #HTPC inside an old Sony Betamax player case' project. As my wife is a professional jeweler, my allocated home workspace is the dining room. It's all disassembled now and the clock still works. I am going to hide a Blu-ray drive behind the cassette doors.

A Sony SL-5000 Betamax VCR with its top cover and face plate both removed. The faceplate rests on top. The original clock works. Two days later and pounds of VCR stuff removed it still works!

The scary power bits of the VCR before I started removing things and cleaning it. It has several decades of dust everywhere. Part of the transformer is a coil of copper ribbon the size of a small apple.

What I am calling the tape handling pan, from the front. The lexan doors for the tape are opened. A lot of parts have been removed. This steel part is what all the various motors and actuators that manipulated the tape attached to.

@mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy Sep 7, 2026, 9:30 PM

Well I have the software stack for my #HTPC build all set up and I was able to revert the firmware on my Blu-ray player, so all ready to start physically hacking on the old Betamax player it will live in. It's supposed to be here tomorrow.