How long is SL and SLP on VH-180 Tape ?

SL is 129 minutes and SLP should be 1/3 longer or about 173 minutes.

Many VCRs can record and play tapes both in Standard Play (SP) format and in Long Play (LP) format. LP format increases the available recording time, at the loss of some video and sound quality. Some can even record/play in the Extra Long Play (EP, ELP, or SLP) format, which slows down the tape speed to about one third of SP; however, this causes even greater loss of sound and video quality. Extra long play was mainly aimed at the American market, where the general public seemed less concerned with playback quality.There is a lot of confusion as to the exact time a video tape runs, SL or SLP. Even though tape are usually marked (T-120) it does not mean it will run for 2 hours. The speed in which it was recorded and the country where the tape was manufactured makes a difference as to how long it will run. The system used in the United States (NTSC) uses tape at a higher rate (6.6 feet/minute) then European (PAL) or French (SECAM) (4.69 feet/minute) systems.

Video tapes are marked in playing time as opposed to tape length, which is why a PAL/SECAM VHS E120 (2 hour) tape will not give two hours of recording time when used on a US NTSC Video recorder.

A NTSC VHS T120 tape is 812 feet in length and will give 2 hours play time on an NTSC VCR recorded at the SP speed. This same tape used on a PAL VCR will give 2 hours & 49 minutes of playing time.

A European E120 VHS tape is 570 feet in length and will give 2 hours of playing time on a PAL VCR. The same tape used on an NTSC VCR will give only 1 hour & 26 minutes of play time. (approx. 1:25:00)

NTSC recording times (in SP mode).
E30 = 22 minutes
E60 = 44 minutes
E90 = 65 minutes
E120= 86 minutes
E180=129 minutes
E240=173 minutes
T20 = 20 minutes
T30 = 30 minutes
T45 = 45 minutes
T60 = 60 minutes
T90 = 90 minutes
T120 = 120 minutes
T160 = 160 mintes


Standard Play (SP) is the most common recording speed used for VHS tapes. You can get up to 120 minutes of recording time on the normal (T-120) video cassette. This is the speed most rented movies are recorded at. Using the highest tape speed in the VHS format, SP speed will offer the highest measurable quality for both audio and video segments. SP is recommended for both real time and high speed duplication.

Long Play (LP) is a seldom used format. Many newer VCR's cannot play and/or record in this older format. We do not duplicate in the Long Play mode.

Extended Play (EP) or sometimes (XP) is the longest VHS recording speed. You can get up to 360 minutes of recording time on a T-120 video cassette. There are two reasons for using the EP speed. One reason is where your recording must exceed 120 minutes on one tape. The second reason is for cost savings.

Chris Marsden
September 2005