The ultimate video recorder of the day, this "Video Profeel" combined the compactness of the Betamax format with a new U loading system of the SL-F1 to offer a unit only 8 cm high. It is the model that set the appealingly simple standard of design in Sony recorders (with all controls on the left) at the peak of Betamax popularity. Adopting a linear time counter for the first time, the recorder presents all controls on front, where tapes are loaded. This model also signaled the trend toward audio component styling for consumer VCRs.