I have an old Betamax tape, but I don't a VCR to play what's on it.  I
do remember there were devices which you plug the tape into that
convert it to fit a UMAX large VCR or a VHS VCR perhaps.

Do they exist online?

Would like to get one, even from www.ebay.com would be suitable.  New,
refurbished or used in a a very good condition.

Thank you.

/DustyDune

You'll need to dub a copy from a Beta machine to a VHS machine. It's
not as simple as just using an "adaptor", as can be done with a VHS-C
cassette that you want to play in a standard VHS machine. Beta tapes
and VHS tapes differ greatly in ways that go beyond the contours of
the cassette case. Among other things, the two formats have different
tape speeds and track pitches.

Here's a newsgroup post on the subject:

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=19991027195245.12554.00001541%40ng-ff1.aol.com&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain

There are services which will make a Beta-to-VHS copy for you,
provided that the original material is not protected by copyright.
Would you be interested in information about such services?

Hello PinkFreud,

I sure appreciate the comment, will get back to you with the agreement
or not for the new scope.

Would it be more logical to buy a Betamax VCR from eBay and connect it
to a VHS VCR to make a copy?

/DustyDune

Buying a Betamax in order to make your own copy sounds to me like an
excellent option if you can get a nice price on the Betamax. This
would have several advantages: you would be totally in control of the
copying procedure, and could monitor the quality; plus, of course,
you'd have the Beta machine around for future use, in case you wanted
to make more copies. Additionally, there is a certain historical
significance to Betamax, and for some people there's a distinct
nostalgia connected with the format.

You might be interested in reading an answer I gave last year
regarding the Beta-versus-VHS era:

http://www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=71809

Thank you Pinkfreud, you've been very helpful indeed! :-)

/DustyDune.